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powerfulscribbles · 7 months ago

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In Need of Aid - A G/t Elden Ring fic (3)

Prologue | Chp. 1 | Chp. 2 | Chp. 3 | Chp. 4

Chapter 3: Floral Scent

->Read the chapter on ao3 (registered users)<-

Chapter summary: Varré relives a very sweet moment, before learning the news and dealing with the aftermath of the invasion.

Warnings: swearing, fearplay, some slight creepiness.

This story contains g/t stuff, so if that's not your thing it's in your best interest to click away! Thank thee kindly~

Words: 6k~

~ ° ~ ° ~ ° ~ ° ~ ° ~ ° ~ ° ~ ° ~ ° ~ ° ~ ° ~ ° ~ ° ~ ° ~ ° ~

~Limgrave, First Step site of grace. 1 day and 16 hours before the meeting.~

“A gift? For me?”

“Yes! All yours! Please accept it!” the Tarnished woman cheered, offering him a small bouquet.

It was finely garnished with various types of flowers. Golden lilies, Erdleaf flowers and some slightly wilted sunflowers, held together by a bunch of evergreen leaves at the base.

Those flowers…

“I thought you might appreciate these!”

“But…”

“Mh? What’s wrong? You don’t like them?”

“Oh I do actually, I’m… very flattered, thank you. But… why would you hand me such a present? I… I haven’t done anything remarkable or noteworthy” the surgeon said.

“Heh, nonsense. You had the patience of explaining how the guidance of grace works, and then you gave me directions, pointing me right to Stormveil’s Castle, to Godrick. Actually, you even mentioned his new trick up his sleeve! So when I went to fight him I was more prepared, and now he’s no more!” Valyssa said, smiling brightly.

“You did it? Oh, my sincerest congratulations! I always knew you would succeed.”

“Heh, thank you, you’re too kind” she said, looking down bashfully.

“I only speak the truth. Although decrepit as he was, taking down old Godrick must not have been an easy feat.”

“Yeah it wasn’t. Dodging his big axe attacks was quite the challenge, and the dragon head was a whole problem on its own. But as you can see, this is his Great Rune!” she continued, retrieving from her bag a big, greyish rune made out of a golden circle, with three ellipses that met each other in the middle.

“I still need to restore its power at the Divine Tower, but here it is! In all its glory! And it’s all thanks to you!”

“Me? Oh no no, I appreciate the sentiment, but you did all the work. I merely provided the basic information so you would triumph in your deed.”

“Still, isn’t it something I should be grateful for?”

“What do you mean by that?” Varré asked, inquiring.

“What I’m saying is, I don’t think I should take everything for granted. I’ve arrived here in the Lands Between just a few weeks ago, and even though I don’t remember much from my past, it’s obvious that here things aren’t too different. Although there are some kind people who are willing to help, there are also selfish, greedy folks who don’t want anything to do with you or just don’t care.”

She sighed, her jade green eyes looking down.

“That’s why I think we should appreciate and cherish each positive moment, since we don’t see them very often.”

A pause. So they could both reflect.

“…Yes. I suppose we should” Varré admitted, clutching to the gifted bouquet he’d just received.

“Very beautiful flowers. You have good taste.”

And it’s peculiars that, of all flowers, you have instinctively picked these lilies in particular.

“Now you’re the one doing the flattering, haha” she laughed. “I hope they’re not poisonous by the way. I thought they looked pretty and decided to craft a small bouquet out of them.”

The surgeon chuckled.

“Oh absolutely not! They’re safe to be plucked, even though they happen to be very uncommon to find. How did you come across them? I haven’t seen any in such a long while.”

“Uh… I think I found them in the inner side of a church, here in Limgrave? Like, it’s that one church in Mistwood, near Caelid.”

“Ah yes, that would be the Third Church of Marika, to the east. And it’s there you gathered the lilies?”

“Yep, they were right underneath Queen Marika’s statue, if I recall correctly.”

Hm, I can see that.

“Anyway, if they’re so rare that’s one more reason to keep them, right?” she chirped, smiling from ear to ear.

Thump-thump.

So sweet.

“You are right, in fact I’ll hold onto the bouquet. I can’t say no to such a wonderful gift, crafted with so much care, nor I can thank you enough for it”

“Oh it’s nothing!” she said softly.

“Changing the subject, there is something I wanted to ask. Have you had the chance to have an audience the Two Fingers, in the inner chamber of the Roundtable Hold?”

“Not yet unfortunately, but I’ll be seeing them shortly.”

“Good idea. Having acquired a Great Rune, you’re now a true member of the Roundtable Hold. Thus, the doors to the inner chamber must have opened, so they can receive you at any time.”

“Oh I see. Mmmmm, maybe I shouldn’t leave them waiting, then” she decided.

“A wise choice. And after your audience, come and pay me a visit again. I might not be here by the time you arrive, so I’ll leave a message for you in that case. Would that be alright with you?”

“Yeah, sounds good. I feel like we’re going to discuss about a lot of things, the next time we’re seeing each other.”

Oh, you have no idea.

“Well then, see you soon! Bye!” she waved at him happily.

“Be well. Until next time.”

She smiled wider and approached the nearby site of grace, focusing her hand on the it before disappearing in rays of golden light.

The surgeon watched her leave, before bringing the flowers to his chest.

Nobody had ever given him a bouquet. Even better, these golden lilies, belonging to the Luminary’s consort, were no mere coincidence.

A promising sign. Divine, even.

He moved the flowers closer to his face, so he could smell their delicate scent.

… I look forward to see you again.

~Liurnia of the Lakes, Rose Church. 3 hours past the meeting time.~

She’s not coming…?

Was he wrong? Did he… misinterpret her actions?

Her words?

The white mask could easily remember just how joyful she was the last time he had seen her… Had something changed?

His heart ached in sorrow and worry.

Hopefully not…

“Varré?” a feminine voice called out to him, dragging him out of his internal doubts.

A woman wearing a drake knight armor had approached him. Her cape crafted with a dragon wing membrane fluttered gently in the cool breeze of the damp region.

“Violet Finger Eleonora? What brings you here? Is something the matter?” the white mask asked, surprised.

“Yes, actually. Something requiring your attention. Word is spreading in the dynasty, that a Bloody Finger invaded a Tarnished without requesting it to a superior beforehand, only a few hours past.”

The surgeon sighed softly, attempting to keep his serious demeanor.

“…That isn’t too surprising unfortunately, it’s already happened before. I’ll make sure to deal with them after journeying back to the dynasty. I’m waiting for an important disciple at this very moment.”

“Is this disciple, by any chance, a woman that rides around on a spectral steed? Wearing a vagabond knight’s armor, usually armed with a greatsword?”

“Precisely. Have you met her before?”

“I haven’t, actually. But she perfectly fits the description provided by that Bloody Finger.”

Eleonora couldn’t notice it, but Varré’s heart skipped a beat.

“What you’re saying is… She’s the Tarnished that fell target of such invasion.”

She nodded somberly. “Correct.”

The surgeon’s mouth felt dry, all of a sudden. If the mask could keep his expression a secret, the pale golden eyes betrayed his deep concern and pain.

“…Who was it? Do you know who committed the violation?”

“I do. Nerijus slipped up when he came directly to me, to inform me the Hunter Yura still lurks around. He was defeated by him, from what it looks like.”

That fool Nerijus… What… What did he think he was doing?

Varré did his best to keep his composure.

“Even though Yura must be getting on years now, he’s still the capable swordsman he’s always been. And here I thought he had retired.”

“We all did. But if Nerijus is telling the truth, we have quite the situation on our hands. First your Tarnished, then him, as a Bloody Finger Hunter” Eleonora explained.

“I’ll see to both of these matters.”

“… And if he proves himself to be a more serious threat than expected, do not hesitate to request assistance. I know how hard it’s going to be, for you” the surgeon reassured her.

“Worry not.” She placed her hand on her poleblade. “I will not falter.”

“As you wish. I trust in your skills. You will do a fine job, if he ever comes looking for you.”

The woman nodded, almost coldly.

“We shall head back to the dynasty now, and solve this madness” Varré said, before bowing reverently to her.

“I thank you deeply for the report, Eleonora. You’re a Violet Finger worthy of its name” the man praised her.

“Just doing my job. When someone else clearly misbehaved.”

~°~

“You have quite the explanations to do. And I hope you had good reasons to go behind the interests of the dynasty, which I believe you do not.”

The Bloody Finger Nerijus sat before the Varré in the latter’s study. He had removed his black, embroidered hood and now the big red trident was very visible on his annoyed face. The surgeon merely welcomed him at his desk with a stern look, while two Sanguine Nobles stayed by the door behind the guilty man. A third instead remained by Varré’s side.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, you don’t? Is going behind your superiors’ back that much of a habit, to you?”

“And not only that, of all Tarnished, you simply had to go after her? The number one pawn that could even pose a threat to the whole dynasty, if not our mighty Luminary?”

“I… I wanted a real challenge. I didn’t think I would beat her so easily!”

“But why risking the odds at all, when there are other strong Tarnished that have nothing to do with the dynasty?”

“None but her has taken on a demigod, and succeeded” Nerijus specified.

“Yes, but that’s precisely why we need her allegiance in the first place! To assure her a place under the Luminary’s guidance and love. Attacking her was nothing but pointless and counterproductive on your part.”

The Bloody Finger grumbled, refusing to meet the other man’s gaze.

“Well then, fine, I got carried away. I should’ve consulted with someone of a higher rank beforehand. I’m in the wrong. Are you happy now?”

Varré’s lips tightened in a thin line behind his mask. “Watch your tongue, Nerijus. And behave. I now need more information about the invasion.”

The surgeon opened a drawer from his desk, taking out a small vial of ink and a quill, along with a register. It contained various files about different Bloody Fingers. When he found his, he cleared his throat.

“Tell me where you fought her, how it went, and the weapons and tools you have utilized.”

Another snort from the grey-skinned man.

“Fine. I invaded her by the Murkwater river. She had just come out of a cave when I spotted her. I almost killed her before the Hunter Yura appeared and pierced my chest from behind with his Nagakiba, vanquishing me. And I had brought two Reduvia daggers as usual, then a bunch of Swarm pots and two Freezing pots.”

The white mask gave him a quick glare, before dipping his quill in the ink and writing down the details on the refined paper.

“Well then, is that all?” he asked, raising his pale golden eyes from the book to look directly at his subordinate, who seemed reluctant to return the gaze.

“That was everything, right?”

The two Sanguine Nobles who guarded the door now approached Nerijus from behind, until they were too close for comfort.

The Bloody Finger shook his head.

“N-no. I forced her to drink a potion that I had brought along. It made her shrink, until she was only a few inches tall. I had received it from Esgar some days ago, and I wished to try it out.”

“… I beg your pardon?”

“I know Esgar has been experimenting on a new blood-driven tool for the past months. He promised he would let me test it, once it was ready.”

“It is true, he has been busier than usual of late. So he succeeded? That potion was the brand new tool for the dynasty?”

Nerijus nodded. “It was.”

“…So she turned no bigger than a smoldering butterfly?” the surgeon asked.

“Yeah. She probably still is, Esgar guaranteed that the potion wouldn’t wear off any time soon after .”

“… I see. Did he also let you in on an antidote? Or some other way to counter its effect, or reverse it.”

“No, as far as I know. The potion was created as an extra tool to debilitate a target before the elimination. And as such, whoever drinks it is usually not expected to survive the invasion.”

“… Something isn’t right, however” Varré pointed out.

“Esgar has left the Mausoleum for the capital of Leyndell around two weeks ago, in search of the Luminary’s shackle… How did you obtain his final approval to not only bring that potion with you, but to use it as well?”

No response came from the grey-skinned Bloody Finger, who lowered his gaze.

“You didn’t wait for his return, did you?”

“And how could you, after all? You must have been so eager to try it out…” the surgeon continued.

Nerijus simply frowned as he locked his eyes full of hatred with his superior.

“But if, as you have said, you wished to only challenge her strength…”

“Why then in the name of the Formless Mother did you go as far as administering a potion that reduced her size by force?”

Nerijus sighed again.

“I saw that as a golden opportunity to weaken her! Who else should we use our most powerful tools, if not on our strongest enemies?”

“But that’s exactly the point, she was not an enemy to the dynasty! To me…”

“… it just sounds like you also took the opportunity to finish the job in a more grotesque and humiliating way for her. You treated her like prey!”

Varré sighed in exasperation.

“You just acted like a thoughtless, reckless, disrespectful ruffian, and that is not the type of behavior the dynasty should represent, nor be associated with.”

“Oh, you think all the other Bloody Fingers shy away from a good bloodshed? You can see it in our eyes, you’ve anointed us yourself! Even the others are all sooo eager to just get their hands on a poor bystander and slit their throat right and there!” Nerijus retorted.

“Enough!” the surgeon yelled.

“You will not speak ill of me, or your fellow Bloody Finger siblings any further. The fact that you even have the nerve to argue back and compare their noble behavior to yours is beyond outrageous.”

“This being said, theft among fellow dynasty members is not to be overlooked. And let me get this straight.”

“Not only you didn’t inform a superior of your invasion beforehand, and gravely endangered an essential pawn for the dynasty, but you also made use of unauthorized enchanted equipment, taken without the proper owner’s permission, and lied shamelessly about it.”

Varré slowly raised from his chair, splaying out his arms on the desk so he could lean forward as he faced his underling.

“All this information is more than enough to allow me to relocate you to the dungeon for an adequate amount of time. So you can reconsider your actions.”

His subordinate raised from his chair in clear anger.

“What? Why? Because I decided to go after your precious sweetheart, is that it? I disrupted your well thought-out plans of turning her into a bloodthirsty sucker like all the others before her?”

The yelling turned to silence. Not even a pin drop could be heard as the two men stared at each other in the eye. Varré just looked at his subordinate, unfazed, while the main hand of all three Sanguine Nobles crept to the sheath of their helice, in preparation for the incoming bloodshed.

But the Bloody Finger soon backed off, sitting back down on his chair with a grunt. The horned creatures returned to their neutral position, but never lowered their guard.

“You know, Nerijus. I’ve always seen endless potential in you. Even long before your anointment, you never disappointed with your impressive amount of slaughter. But I’ve been doubting your careless behaviour for far too long now.”

“I see some fixing is in order. And I will gladly take care of that myself. I’m certain you won’t mind, will you? Sanguine Nobles, take him away. To the dungeon you go.”

The Bloody Finger’s red eyes widened in fear as he bolted from his chair.

“W-wait! If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have known about Yura!”

“Ah yes, that tiny itty bitty detail. It would alleviate your sentence by about a day or two, if only you didn’t draw his attention by picking a very inconvenient target. Get him out of my sight. I have seen enough of his face for today.”

Nerijus snarled and struggled as he was dragged outside the study, but the surgeon was already too focused on his next move to care. Every sound and noise around him was dampened as he was absorbed in thought.

Shrinking her? Why? What was even the point of that? He was going to ruin everything!

He felt himself hyperventilate all of a sudden, in terror of what could possibly happen in the future.

With how things are now, she is going to mistrust me if she is to find out about the dynasty from unreliable sources, such as Yura. What happened with Nerijus wasn’t supposed to be her first impression of it!

The white mask desperately clutched his head with his hands.

How is he going to get her closer to him and keep her at bay, if she knew about his position? And what about the trails? There’s no way she can take any of them in her current conditions.

Varré took come deep breaths. In and out, slowly.

It’s okay. It’s going to be alright.

Maybe he could salvage the situation nonetheless.

Every cloud has a silver lining.

And that’s when a familiar, cherished words resonated in his mind again.

“Go ahead and claim it. Take it. It is yours to have.”

Could…

Could have the Luminary known about this matter already, when he summoned me to see him?

…

A sly grin made its way under his mask.

Yes… It all makes sense now.

… I know what I must do.

…

Yura must have brought her to a safe place close to where the invasion happened, if she was so in peril of death. He can’t have gone too far.

But first, I shall have Esgar’s room searched, to locate any notes from this last research of his. He’s no fool, he must have invented a way to nullify the effects of his own potion.

And although he will not be pleased we have looked through his belongings, there is no easy out of it. I’m not going to send an envoy or a research party to the Leyndell undergrounds, just so we can find where he is and bother him to ask if he’s developed an antidote already. It would be a waste of time and resources for everybody.

“I have a request for you” the surgeon finally said, turning to the Sanguine Noble to his right.

“I want you to search the private rooms of Esgar, our Priest of Blood, and bring me the tome where he usually catalogues his blood experiments. Pick all the locks that block your way, if necessary. And please fetch me the Ravenmount assassin, at once. I have a job to assign him.”

~°~

Valyssa’s eyes slowly opened, one by one. Her vision was very blurry, causing her to blink a few times to adjust to the light brought by the massive bonfire in the cave.

I’m… I’m still alive?

“Mmmmrrr…” she complained, shielding her eyes with a hand.

Her whole body hurt, like she had fought Godrick a second time. With some groans, she tried to move to a sitting position, but pain flared up in her wounds again, causing her to hiss.

Her noises didn’t get unnoticed.

“Ah friend, you’re awake at last! Easy easy, you’re still not in top notch condition!” A booming voice coming from above her made her gasp, and she turned around to face the merchant.

“Woah Patches, when did your voice get so lou-“

She couldn’t speak anymore as she looked up. Her eyes were all wide in fear, which took control of her so suddenly as she crawled on her back to create some distance from her now giant pal. Her heart was beating so fast, it was almost making its way out of her chest.

“What??? How??? I-i… I…”

“Hey hey, careful dude! Everything is fine! You’re going to be alright!” the man said with a lower tone, backing away to give her some space.

She seemed to calm down a little, but her hand still had moved on instinct to the back of her neck, where the hilt of her greatsword usually remained. Only to grasp at nothing.

“Uh? Where’s my sword?” she asked, looking around hoping to spot her weapon somewhere nearby.

“You… must have dropped it in the river, while you were fighting… some guy?”

“Uh? Oh…” she suddenly recalled.

“So that’s how it happened, I… wasn’t hallucinating then… he did look bigger, but… I thought that was due to frostbite or something.”

“Nope, you really are as tall as an apple as you were then, my friend.”

Valyssa sighed.

“… Do you think you could go and get me my sword, please?” she pleaded.

“Oh trust me friend, I would, but it’s dark outside now, and even with a torch you wouldn’t see a thing in the river. And I wouldn’t dare leaving you alone even if it’s for a few minutes. Plus… it might be oversized for you now.”

“You mean… it didn’t shrink with me?”

“I didn’t see it in the water, but again we didn’t stop by for long, Yura and I.”

Yura? Who’s Yura?

“Is that the person who saved me?”

“Yep, that’s him” Patches confirmed.

“Ugh… Unfortunately I must have blacked out when he did, because the last thing I remember was biting into that cloaked jerk’s hand as hard as I could” Valyssa said, mumbling.

That bastard really did me dirty, with those pots.

“Girl, you really did fight till the very end! Despite being shrunken and all!”

“Oh? I mean… yeah. I really didn’t want to go like that, you know? Plus that asshole forced me to drink his fucking potion and almost made me drown.”

“What a scum…” Patches snarled.

She checked her pockets, and was happy to see her crimson tear flask was still there.

“Hey, at least I still have this! It did shrink with me!”

She took a few sips, humming contentedly. “Ah! That’s better!” she said, looking down to her body. She grimaced at her own wounds and bruises.

These are quite nasty, though. They might take a few more time to heal. I still feel all of them.

But hey, at least I don’t wince whenever I breathe! That’s an improvement, she thought, smiling weakly.

“Hey uh, could I ask you something?” Patches spoke, out of the blue.

“Oh! Yes?” she replied, looking up at him.

“I know you’re still shaken up and terrified by the whole ‘I’m small now’ situation, but… I can actually barely hear ya from uh… ‘up here’, pal? Would it be alright if I lift you up a little bit?”

“Uh… I’m… I’m not sure” she stuttered, getting paler all of a sudden.

“Oh all good, all good. The last thing I’d want is making you uncomfortable.”

She nodded. “I… I mean… maybe we could find a compromise? Like… you could place me on the stool next to you, so you can hear me and I’m not constantly shivering in fear.”

“Well sure, alright. That’s actually a smart solution.”

Nodding again, she carefully got up and looked up at her big friend expectantly.

Patches very slowly approached her with his gloved hand. One inch at a time.

When his digits were close, she instinctively flinched and squeezed her eyes shut. A thumb and two more fingers carefully pinched her by her belly and back, sandwiching her in between.

Oh god…, she thought nervously.

And with a gentle tip, the hand was now lifting her up in the air, from the Warming Stones she had been resting on. With no rush.

Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod

Her heartbeat and breathing accelerated, but she tried to focus on remaining calm.

She inhaled and exhaled deeply, thinking of something positive.

Flowers. Tons of flowers. A whole field of blooming flowers.

Patches in the meantime had picked up on her anxiety, and stopped raising her from the ground.

“Should I… put you back down? You don’t look well.”

She shook her head. “No, I want to do this. Let’s continue.”

The merchant nodded with a concerned expression. “Alright.”

And he continued to lift her up. After a while, Valyssa decided to open her eyes, hesitantly at first. She could now see that the stool was in reach now, and so the man was carefully placing her onto it.

When her boots touched the wooden “ground”, she immediately sat down, breathing deeply some more.

“Oof… We… we did it.”

“Yes! Congrats for not freaking out too much there! You did pretty well!”

“Oh… Thank… thank you Patches” she said, as she was calming down more and more.

The bald Tarnished smiled weakly, before looking down somberly.

“This just made me realize… I must be some sort of behemoth to you now.”

“Mmmmm… uhm… yes, kinda, to be honest. To me you’re much bigger and taller than any of those Trolls that wander around Limgrave.”

“But definitely more friendly and not as scary, right?” he joked.

“Well… You could’ve crushed me between your fingers just now, but you didn’t.”

“True, you’re still all in one piece! See?”

“Yeah… I… I guess it wasn’t that bad after all” she smiled, blushing lightly.

Nobody spoke for a few moments.

“But.” she continued, raising a finger in a fake condescending way.

“You did give me a scare the first time we met, when you jumped down that cliff behind me” she giggled.

“I took you for a demi-human! And you were in the middle of stealing my clothes pal, don’t you deny it” he smirked.

Her cheeks turned red in embarrassment. “The chest was right there, with no one around. Someone would think some good loot was inside!”

“Aaaaand instead you only found my shirt and pants” he said with a grin.

“Hey, at least I gave them back to you. And c’mon, even you would’ve opened an alluring chest like that!”

“Me? Being greedy? Nope! That wouldn’t be me!”

She groaned, before a soft smile made its way onto her lips.

A sudden rustling sound made the merchant turn around incredibly fast towards the entrance.

He leaned towards her to whisper as quietly as he could.

“Someone’s outside this cave right now. If they’re a customer, I’ll be sending them on their way. If not, I’ll deal with them in the best way I can. Either way, get ready to hide somewhere, okay?”

Valyssa was hesitant at first, but then nodded less worryingly.

Patches took a deep breath and gently placed her back on the ground, before he picked up his usual spear and greatshield and headed to the entrance of his shop. The green-eyed woman in the meantime sprinted away as fast as she could, looking around for a good spot to conceal herself under.

“Hello, the shop is closed until further notice! I suggest going to the merchant Kalé instead, at the Church of Elleh! Now leave quietly, or you’ll have to face me and my men!” the untethered Tarnished exclaimed.

No response.

“Well, that’s it then!” he yelled, before an arrow pierced his shoulder through his leather armor, making him wince.

As he moved away from the entrance to lean against the stone, another arrow passed by him, getting stuck in the soil. It looked like it was made out of a thin animal bone, a light purple substance slowly dripping from the tip.

As soon as he could he whistled loudly with his fingers. “C’mon boys, get them!” he bellowed. But nobody came to assist him.

“… Guys?” he called out, before he started to feel weaker and… drowsy? He could barely keep his eyes open, but he did his best to keep going as he drew out one of the acid spraymists he always had on him.

He quickly drank it and immediately spew out an orange cloud in front of him. It wouldn’t do much, but at least it’d keep the attacker at bay for a while, and give Valyssa some more time to hide.

The merchant didn’t expect the mysterious foe to ignore the acid cloud altogether, however. They walked right in, wearing a banished knight set with a scarf that surrounded the helmet and fell on their shoulders.

They immediately approached Patches with a strange-looking branch. The emblem of an unalloyed gold tree appeared before he pierced him with it, releasing a dark pink mist around him.

The merchant coughed, but soon fell on his knees due to the enchantment and his own tiredness. The spear and shield were dropped to the side.

“Now you will answer to some of my questions” he spoke, with a deep, rich voice.

The untethered Tarnished nodded, as if he wasn’t in control of his actions. “Y-yes. Anything you say is my command.”

“Very well. Tell me, where is the Bloody Finger Hunter Yura? Why isn’t he here?”

“He… he left. He said he was going to look into whatever made Valyssa shrink. First he mentioned his shack, and then the Academy of Raya Lucaria as a second location if he couldn’t find anything about it.”

“Noted. Where is the girl? Did he bring her along?”

Patches shook his head.

“She’s somewhere in this cave. I told her to hide because I heard you coming. She was badly injured and Yura deemed the journey was too risky for her.”

“Good. Thank you for the useful information. Now you can shut your eyes and rest. The next time will wake up, you will have no memory of what has just transpired. Understood?”

The merchant nodded again, more absent-mindedly this time as his eyelids closed.

“I… I understand.” And he was soon out like a light, falling to the ground.

The banished knight moved away from him and had a good look around. The inner cave wasn’t too big, but there were definitely many hiding places for a tiny person. A couple of small unkempt bushes, some empty barrels piled up in different spots, a few sacks of flour, some bundles of twigs gathered around, a single open chest…

He checked behind the barrels first, lifting them carefully to avoid them falling and crushing her by accident. The bushes were searched next by moving the leaves away, but again, there was no sign of her. And no luck with the sacks of flour and the bundles of twigs either.

Then he realized, the chest was only touching the ground where its legs were. The rest of it remained above the dirt and gravel, creating a small gap of about an inch and a half. Ideal, for someone tiny to crawl under and hide.

So the banished knight knelt before the chest and took a peek underneath.

Laid down on her stomach, a miniature woman stared back at him with horror in her watery eyes, her hands tightly clasping around her mouth to stifle any whimper and sob that may come out.

“Ah, there you are.”

His grave voice made her wince, but she immediately started to crawl back frantically and as fast as she could, as a hand gloved in metal began to make its way towards her.

“S-stay a-away!”

The chest was suddenly ripped from above her though, exposing her again to the light of the bonfire.

Before she could get up and run, the same fingers grabbed her by her sides, lifting her up from the ground and enclosing her into a fist.

“N-no! L-let me go! P-please!” Valyssa cried out, wriggling as much as she could in the giant’s grasp.

“A-are you here to finish what you had started? So you can crush me into a pulp or drown me again, and feel better about yourself?” she spat out, wriggling like crazy.

The banished knight didn’t respond.

Is he… thinking? Hesitating?

“A-answer me!” she shouted, desperately.

Instead, he grabbed a handkerchief from a pouch and gently pressed it on her face. She struggled and whimpered as much as she could, even scraping her nails on the metal digits, but when the soporific grease got to her, she fell limp in his grasp like a lifeless doll.

Seemingly satisfied, the foe tossed the handkerchief into the makeshift bonfire, and that’s when he noticed the Warming Stones next to it.

With decision, he smashed them under his boots, making sure they all broke down in smithereens before walking out towards the exit.

He passed by Patches’ bandits as he did, all passed out thanks to the same sleeping bolts that made their boss fall asleep.

~°~

Outside, the fire that usually signaled the entrance of the cave had been extinguished, leaving only the burnt, glowing embers.

Not far from it, another man was waiting, leaning against the wall of rock beside the entrance to the cave. His dark outfit, consisting of a tight skeletal mask and a robe made out of black feathers of a bird of prey, allowed him to camouflage perfectly with his surroundings in the dim light of the night.

When his colleague made its way out of the cavern, he approached him in silence.

“The Tarnished is here with me, but alas, the Hunter Yura had left long before our arrival. He’s supposedly headed to his hideout first, and then to the Academy of Raya Lucaria. Track him down and dispose of him, will you?” the banished knight ordered.

The Ravenmount assassin bowed slightly with his head, before ducking and doing a leap into the air as he disappeared, leaving only some black feathers in his place.

That’s taken care of as well.

After a quick look around to avoid prying eyes, the banished knight slowly removed his helm.

His brown hair, held together by a messy ponytail, was the first to emerge from underneath the metal. A dark red trident was carved on his forehead, and some sweat drops were running down by his light stubble.

Oh my. I don’t think I’ve ever worn an armor this heavy. This was quite the ordeal.

But it was worth every single second.

His pale golden eyes fell on the asleep tiny woman in his hands. He held her close to his chest, wrapping her in the scarf adorning the helm, so she wouldn’t suffer the cold and remain warm.

From his pouch, he retrieved something that looked like a caramelized chestnut, and slipped it into his mouth.

When it dissolved, he finally was able to speak with his usual raspy, dry voice once more.

“Oh my love… Just look at what that disgraced fiend did to you. But worry not, you’re safe now.”

He leaned down and pecked the top of her head, grazing his lips against her hair as gently as possible. Despite scurrying around in some dust and dirt, she still smelled of chamomile and wildflowers.

“Where you waiting on Yura alone, with that lousy merchant? Mh?” he whispered.

“Well, no need to do that anymore. I wouldn’t be forced to take such drastic measures if it wasn’t necessary… You will understand, in due time” he said as he drew out his Pureblood Knight's medal, the red trident making its appearance and allowing him a safe travel back to the Dynasty Palace.

Back to Chapter 2 | To Chapter 4

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