Somewhere Someplace

The chamber's doors slid open as the two walked out.

"Finally!" Hathway exhaled a breath that hid his relief. "You two took long enough… What were you doing in there?" He flipped to glare, yet only for his face to promptly soften with a stare. "Ah…"

"Getting her ready." Novea frankly replied. Strapped around her shoulders were both that revolving rifle and her large carry bag, held in her hand being that smaller ammunition bag. She had decided to bring her belongings along, it seemed.

"I have the proper shoes now." the butterfly masked Nilia decided to inform him, her own backpack on back.

Hathway was looking at the form-changed lady, as if now seeing a more familiar mystery rather than a violet enigma. "Impressive…" he blurtfully remarked, before promptly aheming. "Although, your dress is obviously worn; and your hair, while straight, is unfashioned."

"This did not matter in Strawberry, no?" Nilia replied.

"Oh, it did matter—we just didn't make a matter out of it. It wouldn't have changed anything." Hathway frankly stated; "But here? It matters more." He proceeded to sigh. "And with all that time you took, one would have thought you were thoroughly fashioning yourself into a proper woman…" He looked into her masquerade-lensed eyes. "You didn't get too distracted by curiosity, did you?"

"Hm…" Yet Nilia turned her head aside, as if 'really' trying to ponder. "Well, that room was suspiciously empty…" she thus remarked; "I admit that perhaps I became curious. After all, with many of these secret doors, what if there were the hidden weapons hiding somewhere?" Her voice was deadpan, yet there was something within it that was almost…teasing.

Novea, witnessing and hearing, was beginning to feel…quite weird, even though she logically knew there was nothing to this.

"…" Hathway stared at Nilia; he simply began to move. "Mind yourself, volunteer, and remember your standing." he cautioned; "If the Strawberry headquarters' response to your presence was any indication, you must be at your absolute best here."

"It is understood…" Nilia faintly sighed, following.

Novea, however, quickly stepped ahead of him. "Uhm, excuse me? Where do you think you're going?" She respectfully yanked the oil-lamp from his hand before tossing him her ammunition bag to be held. "I am the one who knows."

"Right…" Hathway realized, a gentle embarrassed sweat dripping down his cheek.

Novea gave him quite the flat stare from behind her corvid mask. "Come on, then…" Sighing, she began to walk with herself in the lead. "You don't want to meander in these catacombs. Exit isn't too far from here; it'll be the same way in and out."

"So, no two different—" Nilia was going to inquire, but…

"Nil." Novea was very quick to intercept; "Just because the sergeant gets to know about Grandberry's doesn't mean he should know about anything beyond that."

"Oh… Rightly…" Right, such was obvious. Never mind that the question had already been implicitly answered by Novea's remark, 'same way in and out'. It was not going to be like Strawberry, where there were two separate routes dependent on 'form'.

"It's sergeant-major." Hathway corrected.

"Oh, what's the difference?" Novea waved her hand, dismissive.

"Considerable." Hathway stated.

"Indeed," Nilia provided her remarks, "he has the most stripes, and stripes are very important to them. It is bizarre." Again, her voice was flat yet deliberately sarcastic—as if teasing. Now that she was back in this 'form', she might as well practice socialization; such was her mentality, although she did perhaps…find this…interesting to do, even if she could not comprehend it.

"Uhuh…" Novea meanwhile glanced at her… Although she had not necessarily known Nilia for all that long, she had been around her enough to have picked up on the…subtleties in her voice. Even if it was difficult to differentiate the witty sarcasm, she was well aware by now that Nilia was capable of such… However, from what she had seen, Nilia had only ever been 'playfully' wry and teasing with her—no one else.

Only her.

Perhaps Nilia was always like this with anyone to whom she spoke after long enough—not like that girl had even been allowed to really talk to anyone else throughout their journey.

Or…

Perhaps this was indicative of…something else—something more…

And that thought alone was enough to stir.

Indeed, as Novea led them through the catacombs, she could not help but keep her focus on those two behind… They were walking next to each other—obviously, what else were they supposed to do in this narrow space with her in front? Yet… She nevertheless felt weird—very weird…

"So…" Novea began to say, voice not as 'in character' to her Raven form, "you two, uhm, seem familiarized with each other—and I mean, like, mutually…"

"Hm?" Hathway titled his head.

"Mh…" Nilia glanced at him. "I would not say that we are 'familiarized', but rather…"

"Already acquainted. Yes, I will admit that." Hathway admitted; "She was at our stationed headquarters, after all. I was assigned by our colonel to ensure her accommodations."

Novea's face remained pointed ahead, yet her eyes were certainly glancing from their edges. "I see…"

« …'[accommodations]', énquit. » Nilia meanwhile muttered. "To say it this way, he is to me what you are to me." A stalking monitor whom she had so frequently happened upon at 'random'… Always somewhere, indeed, to be found in the shadows of wherever she was in that Strawberry headquarters, Hathway and his men.

Novea, of course, had zero such context. "Duhm, duh-huh…" What the fuck was that supposed to mean? "Alrightly…" There was an abrupt tension in her breaths. The vagueness of Nilia's statement had allowed for more…selectively creative interpretations… Even though Nilia had already explicitly said that she trusted her and had confidence in her and that they were…

Yet reflecting on those words only made these feelings worse.

"Is there a problem, Raven?" Hathway genuinely inquired; "I and my troop were sent precisely because of our acquaintanceship. We are already familiar with her…peculiars. Isn't that preferable?"

"Huh?" Novea snapped out of it. "Oh, yeah, no… No problem at all… I was just…wondering." She tried to be as unobvious as possible… "I only met you…recently, so… It just seemed…weird, was all—but now it makes sense."

"Uhuh… I see." Hathway just replied.

Nilia meanwhile could tell…there was disquiet in Novea's voice; however, she obviously did not press.

As silence resumed, Novea was no longer feeling merely 'weird' as much as…deeply discomforted on the inside. Indeed, with tensive breaths she kept hidden, she began to feel dizzy, hot, and nauseated—sick to the stomach from these…feelings within, and the thoughts which went along.

One week. Nilia was only at that Strawberry headquarters for one week… Yet… There were many people who married in considerably less time. Indeed, it took Novea herself less than even a day to fall…all those many months ago. These thoughts were obviously irrational with respect to whom she knew Nilia to be… Yet, truth be told, it was not as though she even knew who Nilia—Antica—truly was.

Although she could recognize that it was awfully dumb that her mind was finding itself trapped in this chain, she could not stop herself from falling further into it. The more she thought, the more it burned; the more it burned, the more she thought, and the more it hurt.

"So," Hathway suddenly began to speak, "to clarify this 'exit'. What exactly is it and where will it be taking us?"

"Huh?" Novea snapped out of her thoughts; she really was trying not to show just how deliriously anxious she truly was. "The ancient elvish building…temple, as I said. There's a hidden slab in the floor that reveals the stairway to the entrance—the actual beginning—of these catacombs." she explained; "Nobody wants to touch or go near the ruins of an old religious building, so it's been left alone all these millennia. We won't be immediately obvious."

"Ah…" Hathway began to reflect on words previously spoken. "So, there is a proper entrance, then? Surely, even if hidden underneath some ruins, surely someone should have become curious enough to explore and eventually discover?"

"Still…on this, huh?" Novea sighed… "Sure, maybe. But even if they found the lever to reveal the way, you have to solve a specific puzzle to open the catacombs' door… The ancients loved putting puzzles in their temples, as if they were anticipating future dwellers would one day try to explore them."

"And nobody else, across the thousands of years spanning your history, was able to ever figure it out?" Hathway pondered.

"Nope." And Novea was blunt. "It's a logic puzzle that uses idea-glyphs from the legendary tongue—as I said: it's specific."

"Hmm.." Hathway reflected, still finding this hard to believe; however, he opted to drop this.

They continued their walk, the path increasingly becoming more upwards than linear, before soon enough far ahead was a stairway up which was that large and thick wheel-disk of a puzzle-sealed door.

Yet as they neared, Novea's suppressed feelings only…intensified within.

Indeed, once out, they were going to separate—obviously. She had accepted this, of course, even before Nilia had given her that talky-thingy. Yet now…however…the thought of leaving those two alone by themselves…

Indeed, she really did not like that idea anymore, especially the more she kept thinking and imagining.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"I changed my mind." Novea abruptly declared with a sharp pause and turnabout.

The other two paused in kind.

"…Regarding?" Hathway, confused, immediately asked.

"…" Yet Novea stood there… Crap. She had acted on pure impulse, but now she had to commit. "Ahem, uhm… I think it is, actually, better if…Nilia comes with me to the…Guild hall…to handle the Security Office matter first."

"This is sudden…" Hathway remarked. "And what is your reasoning?"

"…" She had none.

"I thought the current arrangement was preferable to both us and the Bureau. Weren't you trying to avoid even implying an association?" Hathway added.

"Well, yeah…" Novea began to reply; "But I've been thinking about it, and I believe it would be better if…I was with her for the summoning." She tried to maintain a degree of confidence so as to not indicate that this was coming completely out from nowhere. "I know the Security Office and how to read them, Nilia doesn't. If I'm there with her, I can make sure she doesn't say the wrong thing, and I can gauge their words for what they might already know…"

"Hm…" Hathway pondered… "So, you have suspicions?"

Novea suppressed her nervousness… "In a way… I do find the circumstances too convenient—from how long their letter was sitting at your headquarters and how easily it made its way to us… It's like they already knew she was heading this way. By Fortune's luck, they probably already know she's with us." In reality, this was mere speculation amongst many without definitive certainty to state with confidence, let alone change the plan.

"Well, if your concern is her being alone, we can arrange things so that she arrives while you're still there." Hathway stated; "Even if things drag, you can…wait there for her, no? Or perhaps handle this tomorrow. But the issue remains that Captain Alfred is expecting her, and she must—"

"Be introduced, I know." Novea interrupted; "But Alfred can probably be kept waiting longer. The Security Office, meanwhile… When they send a summons like this, they are expecting her to come as priority, and they don't like to be kept waiting—trust me…" In reality, it did not matter as long as the summoned appeared within a 'reasonable' timeframe.

"Hm…" Hathway, however, was naive to the insides of the Guild; to him, she was the 'expert'.

"Look," Novea began to further say, "the Bureau knows the Security Office, and the Security Office knows the Bureau; we both can smell when we're scheming something. If they don't already know she is part of our 'team', then it might actually be better to establish that firstly—the Bureau is cooperating with the Company, after all. But if we shuffle her around or appear too staged, they might smell something and become more curious than they already might be… But if we boldly appear together and just tell them she's a volunteer with us, it implies we aren't trying to hide anything—even though we are."

Hathway, stroking his chin, continued to contemplate, not replying beyond a prolonged "Hm…"

"You'll have to trust my instincts on this, please…" Novea's persistence was perhaps because she knew the dubious grounds she stood upon.

"I am fine with either way." Nilia meanwhile provided her own insignificant input… Not like this whole discussion was appertaining to what she ought to do or anything.

Hathway gave an acknowledging sigh. "You know better than I regarding the innerworks of your Guild, Raven.. If you believe that this is for the better, I will defer to your judgements…" he thus said; "Fine, I'll head to the old headquarters in advance whilst you two handle this matter, then."

Strange relief washed Novea within.

"However," he then gave her a stern eye, "I expect her to be there as soon as you are done—no delays, no 'side-quests', no excuses."

"Yeah, of course…" she so replied, feeling…so much better inside. "I'll bring her. I know where it is—hard to miss that building."

"Good." Hathway replied, intending to continue… Yet then his eyes drifted, remembering…where they were. "We can…elaborate on the details…once we are out of here."

"Rightly, yeah… Let's get out of here." She covertly smiled behind her Corvid mask.

Although she had perhaps stepped far too out of bounds with what she had just done, she nevertheless got exactly what she wanted… For now, indeed, it was to be she and she, not she and he.

Delighted within, Novea hopped her way up those catacomb stairs to solve that puzzle and open the doorway. Yet as she arrived, she noticed that the mechanical puzzle was already solved; the circular door, while closed, was unlocked. Being so ancient, the puzzle mechanism did not always reset after closing; whichever Raven had last opened it did not bother double checking, was her assumption.

Naturally, she did not tell Hathway or Nilia about this.

-||-

The sky had dimmed; the day was slowly transitioning away from late noon, towards early evening

It was just the two of them now. They were strolling down a strip of cobblestone and dirt. Novea was ahead, as always, Nilia herself merely following. Silent was their uphill walk; there was noise in the ambience, yet it was sparse and scattered.

Indeed… Vacuous and empty; such were Nilia's first thoughts upon stepping out into this outer city. Although, this section was hardly a continuous 'city' as much as a scattered collection of building concentrations and distant camps. It was a large space, certainly, but not much of it was being used.

Of course, she knew that this was not the proper city. For, indeed, those thick and powerful-looking walls far ahead made it clear to whom that honor belonged. And, certainly, how formidable those defensive walls seemed to be—the sets of towers both front and behind implying two layers of walls.

Truly, what a settlement that one seemed to be.

That gargantuan towering structuring of a so-called 'palace' was tall and profound, clearly observable even from the sloped base of that mountain. It was perhaps the most advanced demonstration of denizen engineering she had observed so far, although still being—obviously—smaller than the mountain itself. Judging from the shape and…erosion, that mountain was probably quite…old; a primeval and long dead volcano was her first guess.

"I should've done your hair, maybe…" Novea abruptly spoke.

Withdrawing from her cogitations, Nilia's attention promptly swapped to her. "Hm?" She tilted her head.

"I have the brush… Could've straightened it better and fashioned it a little—not to say your hair is bad or anything… I like it, for what it is." Novea's voice was calm, mellow, and almost reflective.

"Uhuh…" Nilia did not know how to process this. "Is there something…else to this?" she inquired.

"No… Not really, no…" Novea softly replied with a double…triple negative. She proceeded to go quiet.

Nilia simply looked up and around. "So, uhm, where is your…bird?" she decided to ask, having noticed that corvid's absence in the immediate airspace.

"Somewhere." Novea replied; "He is very smart and special; he knows how to find me always. He's probably fetching water, eating something, or maybe…bullying the others." Indeed, there were other corvids about. "He's bigger than any of them and likes to make that point." There was a smile in her voice. "Nice thing about birds like him is that…he can handle himself… I don't have to worry about him, even if I don't see him for a while. You can call it…a connection, I guess."

"Hm…" Nilia was merely attempting 'small talk', yet this topic was making her think about Bee for some reason… When was the last time she had evaluated her sentinel's core levels? She knew that it needed no attention presently, yet…

Still. She was suddenly thinking about it—thinking about Bee… She had not exactly been attending to her sentinel lately, she felt deep down within.

"Hey…" Novea's voice meanwhile so swayed as if…contemplating; "I know I already… kind of asked this, but… Are you really sure…you should be trusting me with…your talky-thing?" she once again so asked. "I haven't exactly…done anything to earn your trust, you know…"

Nilia did not reply immediately… "It is not a matter of trust anymore." she finally said; "It is obligation."

"Obligations, huh?" Novea, sight remaining ahead, shifted to a muse… "Yeah… Guess we all have those…" she remarked; "Though, sometimes you have to wonder… To whom is it owed? Whom do you respect? Whom you had thought you respected and respected you… Trusted and thought you knew…"

"Uhm…" Nilia could tell that Novea was now talking about something else entirely.

"I guess I am a girl who falls easily for enigmas and mysteries… Loyal to the disloyal, and I will probably remain caught between webs… I owe too much, and I still respect." It was as if Novea was simultaneously opening up yet also keeping everything incredibly unspecific. "That's what makes you different, though. I know you won't stab me in the back… But you can never be confident that I won't, no matter how close we are or could be—because of what I am; what my obligations are… I'm not a good person."

Nilia, ears ever attuned to the tonal nuances and pattern shifts in voices, could ascertain something was up. "Alrightly, seriously, what is this…about truly?"

Yet Novea sighed; "Nothing. Sorry, I'm just rambling…" Indeed, she was.

Silence resumed as this moment quickly passed.

-||-

"Wow, they are all over the place…" Novea muttered in observation, making way through the muddy streets of Grandberry's Low Quarter. "And, of course, they are staring at me… Pfft. Perverts."

"Hm?" Nilia was confused, though garnered that Novea would self-answer through continued speech.

"The duke has been relying on them for security, but… This is a lot more extensive than I thought it was going to be." Novea, indeed, continued to remark, speaking quietly though nevertheless openly. "Moved his personal men-at-arms elsewhere? Hm…"

"Why are you speaking so openly?" Nilia decided to ask.

"See all the men with the fancy breastplates and dodo-feather helmets?" Novea pointed around; "They're the Citadel Guards. The Security Office's, and thus the Guild's, men-at-arms…or soldiers, really."

"The Guild has soldiers, not 'warriors'?" Nilia tilted her head… Hm… "But there are already adventurers, so why does…"

"Yeah… It's complicated, and it really doesn't concern you." Novea replied, there being a…subtle shift in the tone of her voice. Indeed, it had lost the warm familiarity even if remaining respectful. "Anyway, madam de Relevancia, please keep following me, and I shall take you to the Guild hall. I am only guiding you as courtesy."

Oh… Nilia quickly understood. "I give the thanks, mysterious crow lady." Indeed, already it seemed they had to start playing their parts. There was no telling for whom those observing Citadel guardsmen were notetaking.

As they continued forth, Nilia naturally began to observe the details around…

This was a strange settlement… She had not the terms to really describe it. It was interesting in design and layout; the engineering was especially interesting, evidently being a mash of different cultural architectures. However, despite being within what was obviously the most spacious segment, there was nevertheless something…suffocating about this mountain city. The streets were narrow and everything felt squeezed; the buildings were tightly packed, being more tall than wide; and the paths seemed to curve frequently, the ground not being perfectly flat.

More apparent, however, was…the sense she was getting. From the ways the denizens seemed to be behaving; the types of eyes, stares, and gestures lancing their way. There was damage in the buildings and infrastructure, she eventually noticed—broken doors, shattered windows, and signs of relatively recent burning.

The Guild's apparent 'soldiers', she observed them occasionally interrogating passers and making detainments; they seemed…reserved—as if none of them wanted to be here. The patrol of what she inferred to be most likely Grandberry's own guards—just from the obvious equipment divergences—meanwhile were noticeably more belligerent. She observed them harshly dragging the occupants of a building—a shop of sorts—out onto the streets and away, one denizen being beaten, the building itself being thrashed and bashed in what was seemingly some kind of punitive action.

Wanting to get a better sense of matters, Nilia eventually attuned her ears…to the voices about.

"…Another execution in the outer town."
"Duke's new ordinance. I suppose that family was the announcement."
"Frankly, after that riot… This might be necessary."

Hm… A 'riot'—an incident of unrest?

"How many more omens motten there be? First what happened two years ago in Cranberry and now this? The Gods have picked a side; their divine will is against this realm… I'm telling thee, if we stay here, we will all die!"
"Shut up. Shut up. Shut your mouth. Doest thou wantest us to join the walls??"

"The Alweny have lost the Gods' favor! They will be the ruin of us… This city is doomed! Doomed!"
"Oi! What thou be running thy mouth abouts, huh??"
"Thou be complacent against the Gods!"

"Oh, those Pebblebees. Morons… Should've known better than to bespeech of those Humbleberry rumors."
"I wouldn't even mention that name if I was thou."

Humbleberry, Nilia heard… Gossips and rumors, with references to 'divinities' and 'wills' thereof… Truly, it was rather strange how such words could have possibly reached here before the majority of Humbleberry itself… Although, right, this was the center of authority—the 'capital'—and, right, griffons could fly. Thus, perhaps it made sense…

Although her affect remained flat, a strange sinking feeling emerged within…

"Hey…" Novea, having noticed, was glancing. "I'd recommend you keep walking and not stare too much."

"Rightly…" Nilia opted to follow that advice; she stopped staring and kept walking.

Superstitions, paranoia, hidden dissent, and indications that an incident had already happened… The parallels were obvious. Yet unlike Strawberry, the governing authority here was closing its fist. In some ways, Antica could perhaps…understand such a course of action; denizens, after all, barely ever understood what was objectively good for them.

However, there were still limits. And none of this seemed to be done out of any goodwill to ensure well-being or continuity; but rather a seemingly desperate attempt to keep a cracking superstructure from crumbling.

Truly, a sense far too familiar.