Heart of Dorkness

Scourge Epilogue

Two days pass while my friends and the Templars try to fix up the city a little. Well, no, we mostly spend that time chasing after the undead and a few necromancers that have hidden away. The actual cleaning mostly comes from the civilians we’ve found in the docks who seem... well, one part downtrodden because of everything that happened, but one part hopeful now that they’re free once more.

On the same night that we took out Getorix, I made a point to stand on the walls near the docks and used a few small friends to call out for our ride back home. It would take a bit for my monsters to reach our ship, and longer for it to get back to us, so we basically had a bit of time to faff around and help.

Helping was great, because as long as we all kept busy we could pretend that there wasn’t a whole heap of new tensions between my friends and I.

But, eventually, the day arrived when we saw rolling fog on the horizon and a few little monsters zipped by to warn me that our ship was going to arrive by mid-afternoon.

We still had some time for a few last bits of help. With all of us working together and the Templars laying a trap, we were able to open one of the main gates leading out of the city, then attract a lot of the undead wandering outside into a prepared killing ground.

I didn’t envy the city people who’d need to fix the courtyard once we were done. So much unrestrained cultivation used in one place really isn’t great for the local architecture.

Once that’s done though, there’s really not much for us to do but stand by the docks with whatever we want to bring back with us, and wait. Esme has the most stuff, though to be fair to her, it’s mostly books.

Felix and I have some supplies for the trip back, because while there’s some food on our ship, it’s mostly stuff that’ll keep for a long time.

Bianca’s with us, and Lily too.

“So, this is goodbye, huh?” Lily asks.

“Yeah,” I say. “But just for now. I’m sure we’ll run into each other again. Besides, if you really want to see me, you can always stop by my place!”

“You mean the evil dark castle of the evil dark goddess?” Lily asks.

“Mom’s not nearly that bad,” I say. “I mean, sure, she’s evil, but she’s not evil-evil, you know?”

Lily grins. “Only Luna could convince someone like that to chill out a little just by being weird.” She hesitates, then raises her arms a little as if asking for a hug.

I, obviously, hug her for all she’s worth.

“You know,” she says while our heads are still close and no one else can overhear. “Being in this world was really hard at first. And the entire time I kept thinking back to all the fun I had with Luna. It helped. I’m glad you’re alive, even if you’re even weirder than I remember.”

I squeeze her even tighter. “Thanks,” I say. “I’m happy that I was a good friend, and... maybe we can keep being friends?”

Lily ends the hug with a big smile. “Yeah, of course. But I’m not joining your weird harem thing. I’m good with being friends and that’s it, you know? Besides, I think Heroe would have kittens if I ended up with the Dark Goddess as a mother-in-law.”

I laugh, then pull her into another, shorter hug. “Thanks! And it’s okay. I think I’ve got my hands full as it is.”

Felix and Esme say their goodbyes to Lily while I turn to Bianca.

“It was really nice meeting you,” I say to the reserved young woman. “I’m glad we were able to become friends.”

Bianca smiles back. “I’m glad as well. I think the last week has been... quite the education. If you ever need anything in Caselfella, please don’t hesitate to contact me.”

“Of course,” I say. “And if you’re ever in a spot of trouble, don’t even hesitate to write or bug some monsters to let me know. I know a dragon or two; they’re great for solving problems.”

Bianca laughs. “I can imagine. Thank you, Valeria.”

There’s a lot more hugging, and maybe we’re all a little teary-eyed as we start telling hugely exaggerated stories and poking fun at each other.

Before long, though, a slight fog rolls over the ocean’s choppy waters and the sun is masked by a thin layer of steam. A glance below the docks reveals long, slithering limbs that reach out and grab hold of the wooden beams plunging into the depths.

“I guess it’s time to go,” I say.

There’s a last round of hugs, and more promises to write and keep in touch as the ship comes to a gentle stop right next to the dock.

A gangplank is lowered from above, and with a few final waves, my friends and I board the ship with all of our stuff.

Back on the city's walls, the pentagoose honks a final chorus of goodbyes.

Once we pack everything away (the ship is quite large for just three girls, so there’s a multitude of empty spaces we can tuck things away in) we regroup below deck.

Originally, this ship’s middle deck was for the people who’d row the ship out into the ocean, but since it’s now monster-powered we don’t really have any use for that. Our propulsions comes from the huge tentacled squid-monsters.

“That was... fun,” I say at least.

Felix nods. “Yeah, it really was,” she says. I can practically feel the happiness wafting off her, like a delicate perfume. “I especially liked the end there.”

Esme sniffs. “Because you got everything you ever wanted?” she asks.

“Yeah, exactly,” Felix returns.

I can feel a bit of a blush touching my cheeks. We’ve been dancing around the subject for the last couple of days. Well, Esme and I have. Felix, I think, is just happy for the progress we’ve made.

I think she’s more than willing to be a bit patient with Esme and I though, at least for now, while we get used to the idea that we're maybe more than just best friends.

“I hope Bianca manages okay,” Esme says.

“Why wouldn’t she?” I ask.

“Oh, well, she’s in a bit of a precarious position. But I think spending time with us might have helped a little. She certainly knows how to make a statement now,” Esme says.

“I think if anyone tries to mess with her, she’ll burn them,” I say. “That girl’s got a lot of anger stowed away for a rainy day.” A sort of opposite to Lily, who wears her anger on her sleeve for the whole world to see.

I don’t know which method of cultivation is better, having your emotions rule you, or repressing them until they’re needed, but in either case, my two... friends are pretty well-equipped to make a mess of things if they really want.

“She’ll be fine,” I say. “And if she’s not, well, Caselfella’s only a day or two’s ride away. We can pop in to make sure things are alright.”

Esme grins. “Yeah. That would be nice. Plus it could be like a mini-vacation. Just the three of us, heading out to see what kind of trouble we can save a friend from.”

“Like a date!” Felix says.

Esme and I both light up and suddenly we can’t look at each other in the eyes anymore.

“You know, you both need to get used to the idea that we’re all dating. Might as well start practising now,” Felix says.

“We don’t need to do that,” I say.

“We only have two days until we meet your mom again, and I bet Semper will be there,” Felix replies.

“Oh... oh Mom, I’m going to have to tell her,” I say with my heart sinking. “What will she say? Do you think she’ll approve? Does she even like the idea of me dating at all?”

Felix gives me a look then rolls her eyes. “Valeria, you are the smartest idiot I know. You’re lucky I love you so much or else I’d want to smack you upside the head.”

Esme giggles, then shakes her head. “Don’t worry, Val, we can fix this. What if we wrote a formal declaration of intent so that there’s no ambiguity?”

Felix groans. “You want to do paperwork? Really? I was hoping I could use the fact that the three of us were stuck on this boat for a few days with nothing to do to convince you to practice kissing. Not letter-writing.”

“K-k-what?” Esme stutters.

I’m starting to realise that maybe this trip back home is going to be longer than I first thought.

And maybe a bit more fun too.

***