The Way Ahead

As soon as the fight was over, Edwin started scrambling down from the top of the wagon. It had only been a minute or two at most, Aerfa would probably still be alive and he might even be able to save her if he acted quickly… However, as soon as he hit the ground, the knight spun around, bloody blade still in hand, pointing it at him. The knight- he was close enough now to see he was a Silver Blade- started to say something, but Edwin hastily raised his hands to show he was unarmed and blurted out, “I’msorrypleasedon’tkillmeIjustwanttosaveher,” he vaguely tried to indicate he was talking about the fallen avior, which was trickier than anticipated, given his attempt to keep his hands above his head.

“You are not a Citizen.” It was a statement, not a question.

“…Correct?” Edwin hazarded, “I’m kind of just passing through. Needed a ride?”

Even though his face was completely obscured by his helmet, Edwin got the distinct feeling the Silver Blade was narrowing his eyes at him, “You do not have a Healer’s License.” Another statement.

“Yes? I have the First Aid skill, though. I can help! She’ll die otherwise!” Edwin protested, not liking where this seemed to be going.

“It is forbidden for any without a Healer’s License to use medicine-related skills on another individual. As an Enforcer for the Empire, I cannot stand by and allow you to break the Empire’s laws.”

At this point, a few other members of the caravan returned from where they had fled off to, and those which had remained in the first wagon were slowly peeking out to see what was going on. Most seemed to immediately make themselves scarce once they noticed the Silver Blade, though.

“We have laws for a reason. People like you always think themselves above them and do more harm than good. Allow the medic to tend to the merchant,” Edwin could feel the knight’s gaze even through his helmet.

“She’ll die if nobody does anything! Look right there!” Edwin protested, pointing to the wingless avior lying near Aerwyn’s barely moving body, “That was the medic! There’s nobody else! What could I do that would be worse than just letting Aerfa die?” He nervously shifted from one foot or the other. Hopefully, that sword wouldn’t come any closer to him…

The helmet implacably stared at Edwin. How was he supposed to tell what he was thinking? “I cannot allow you, adventurer, to break any laws of the Empire under my watch, foreigner or no.”

The sword wasn’t moving. That wasn’t good, but it wasn’t bad either. He still had a sword pointed at him, though…

The blade was withdrawn in an instant, “I shall return!” he called out, “Some of the bandits fled into the woods and it is my duty to track them down and end the threat they represent. Empire Ever Strong!” the enforcer spun around to some confused, scattered cheers, then fled into the woods in a flash of silver.

Edwin stood still, blinking in confusion. What had just happened? He was clearly mad at him, yet ran off? Gah, people. Oh right! People! He scrambled over to where Aerfa was bleeding out, Forala panicking next to her. He tuned out the frantic cries of the avior, it wouldn’t help him. A quick Identify proved that the medic was indeed dead, also that he could apparently use Almanac using ‘avior’ as a material… Focus!

Okay, so he was dealing with a fairly deep cut along her back. After getting a bit of space by shoving Forala to the side and sending him on a task to get clean bandages, he gingerly started removing a few severed feathers from where they had fallen into the wound. By the time he had finished, Forala returned with some linen strips of cloth, handing them off to Edwin before he resumed his panicking. Honestly, what was that supposed to accomplish, anyway? Applying the bandages slowed the bleeding, at least, and Edwin found after a bit of frantic trial and error that if he Infused the cloth through First Aid and Firestarting, it would cause it to heat up and stay in place, stopping enough of the blood flow to make him feel comfortable while also hopefully sanitizing any infections living on it. Aerfa had still lost a lot of blood, though, but Identify kept returning ‘Caravan Merchant Leader’ rather than ‘Avior corpse,’ so he was still fine.

“Forala.”

“Mum! Mum, wakeup! You can't die here, you aren’t ready ta pass it on ta me yet. Comeon mum, comeon…”

“Forala!” Edwin slapped the shoulder of the panicking avior, “I need your help. Give me a hand carrying your mom inside. She won’t die, but we need to get her somewhere sheltered and more comfortable.”

It took a bit of coaxing, but he was eventually able to calm Forala down enough that the two of them were able to transport Aerfa inside the first wagon, where they carefully laid her on top of two beanbags pushed against the wall. Once there, he breathed a sigh of relief, dropping into a beanbag of his own.

Notifications

Level Up!

First Aid Level 13→17

Visualization Level 25→26

Identify Level 30→31

Polyglot Level 13→21

Congratulations! For putting yourself at risk to save another’s life through medicine you have unlocked the Steadfast Medic path!

Congratulations! For defying an Enforcer of the Empire you have unlocked the Rebel path!

Huh. Interesting Paths, there. Decent skill levels, too. He had to wonder what sort of skill the Rebel path- why were all the ones he didn’t want only 30 points- would give him. No new skills, though that wasn’t really a surprise. He hadn’t done anything particularly novel, after all.

The clatter of armor outside the wagon led Edwin to want to get up and investigate, but he decided he was far too comfortable in his seat to actually do so. It also seemed that he didn’t need to, as the Enforcer, whatever he said his name was, appeared in the doorway.

He addressed the carriage as a whole, “The bandits have been vanquished. May the Empire be ever strong. I will be joining your caravan for the next two days until you reach Vinstead, thank you for your service to the Empire.” His tone brooked no argument, “Where is your Leader? I will speak with them.” A few fingers hesitantly pointed at Aerfa, which brought only a quickly-suppressed flinch to the Silver Blade, “Very well. Carry on as soon as you are able. There is no damage to your wagons, and thus ought to be posthaste. You, adventurer,” he pointed to Edwin, “come with me. I will speak with you.”

Edwin didn’t want to get up, and he really didn’t want to speak to some official Empire Enforcer- since when was someone with that title ever good news?- but he also didn’t want to be on the bad side of someone capable of going through almost twenty armed combatants like butter, so he dragged himself upright nonetheless, following behind the knight as she left the wagon. Outside, the bandit bodies had been dragged into a pile, and the fallen Caravan Medic was being wrapped in some kind of cloth by two avior. He almost stopped to see if the two injured Skyguards needed help- he was hardly qualified, but it didn’t seem like there was anyone better on hand. A glance from the enforcer brought him to heel, though, as the knight looked inside the next wagon in the train. Whatever he saw inside seemed to satisfy him, and he indicated for Edwin to follow as he climbed inside the passenger cart, empty save for Edwin’s small collection of stuff.

“Sit,” he commanded, once Edwin was inside, and he obliged, leaning against the wall, sitting on his bedroll. He was kind of curious how the enforcer would sit. That was full plate armor, no way would it have enough range of mobility to let him- the thought was cut off as the suit of armor began to dissolve into silver sparks, fading like one of the silver walls he- no, she- had employed in her fight with the bandits.

As the last of her armor faded away, revealing a crimson uniform embroidered with silver thread, she sat down facing Edwin with a pointed expression on her face, brown hair pulled back tightly, presumably to help fit under her armor. Was the armor one of those ‘trophy’ Skills the dwarves had mentioned? A Skill with a physical manifestation? Her sword had undergone a similar vanishing act earlier, so was it all just a Skill? Would armor like that automatically tailor itself to you? Would you need to wear hair in a specific way to get it to fit, like with normal armor, or-

She cleared her throat, making Edwin snap to attention, “Answer the question.”

He shook his head, “What?”

“I asked you a question. Answer it.”

“Look, if this is about earlier when I-”

She cut Edwin off, “I hope you are not planning to do something unwise, such as admitting to a crime directly to an Enforcer.”

Edwin immediately clamped his mouth shut, “No! No, of course not. I’m sorry, what did you ask? I got distracted by your armor.”

She raised an eyebrow, “By the armor itself? Men usually are more distracted once it’s gone.”

Wait, what did? Well, she was rather pretty, he supposed, but he had gotten sidetracked, thinking about skill mechanics. Actually, now that his mind was on the track, she was really pretty- he forced himself to look away, “Is that a skill you’re using on me?” She didn’t answer, and Edwin allowed his gaze to return to meet her eyes, which seemed to have a bit of humor glinting in them, “But yes. It was just really cool- I hadn’t seen a Trophy Skill used before.”

She raised an eyebrow, “You’re telling the truth. How have you never seen one before?”

Edwin winced. He hadn’t meant to say anything hinting to his background, “Do I… have to answer that?”

The Enforcer’s gaze turned hard as she seemed to stare into his very soul. Heck, she might well be doing that literally, if she had a Skill for it, “We shall see. Now, my original question?” Edwin shrugged, slightly embarrassed, which prompted a slow exhalation from her, as she closed her eyes in a slow blink, “What is your name, and what is your purpose here.”

“I’m… Edwin. And honestly? I just kind of want to get somewhere else. I had a… disagreement with the dwarves of the…” he tapped his knee, trying to remember the name of the place, “Highpeak Kingdom?” he ventured, “Anyway, I just want to get far away from there. What was your name, if I may ask? I know you said it at one point, but I’m just awful when it comes to names, I have to-” he stopped himself before he blurted out “mark people with their names with a skill I have.” It was probably innocent enough, but then again, mentioning concrete to a bunch of dwarves who lived in a city made of magical concrete had seemed innocent as well. No sense taking that risk.

Her gaze was fixed back on him, unwavering and strong, making Edwin want to shrink backwards from it, but his retreat was foiled by him already sitting against the wall. Underneath him, he felt the wagons begin to move forward, the cobblestone road rattling the floor and wall just enough for him to wish he had a beanbag again. After what seemed like an unbearably long time, she spoke once more, “My name is Tara Lisana. It is my duty to ensure that the Empire does not fall to threats internal or external. I would advise that you cooperate with me and are honest when answering my questions, lest you be deemed a threat to stability.”

Edwin took a deep breath, “Okay. What do you need to know?” Hopefully she wouldn’t ask anything to direct…

“Tell me what precisely the nature of your disagreement with the dwarves was, how you got your Class, what your previous Classes were, and why you have never been in any city of the Empire?”

Well, darn it.

“Can I… not?”

No sooner had the words passed his lips than the sword was back, its very sharp tip resting directly under his chin, making him make eye contact with the Enforcer as she took to her feet, looming over him.

“Let me make this very clear. My job is to deal with threats and potential threats to the Empire. You show up in the middle of my jurisdiction as an Adventurer, a language I have never heard of before, apparently escaping some conflict with the dwarves. If I kill you here and now and ship your body back to the dwarves, I’ll probably get commended for heading off a diplomatic incident and dealing with an unknown threat, showing tremendous initiative. You will answer my questions, or you will die. I do not wish to kill you, but if you force my hand I will not hesitate.”

Edwin whimpered, “If I’m not a threat,” he swallowed, throat suddenly dry, “Can I get some help? I’m kind of just lost and confused right now. And I have dangerous secrets. Not to you or the empire! Just, last time I told them it… didn’t go well. Mainly for me.” he tried to back up, but already being so pressed against the wall prevented him from budging more than an inch, which was in turn closed by the blade advancing just as far, until he could feel the point against his throat.

Tara assessed him, “If you truly are not a threat to the Empire in any way or form, and indeed need my aid in some manner which I can provide, I will uphold the principles of my office and do everything in my power to help you. I shall keep these secrets of yours unless my duties have previously and directly require me to disclose such information. This I swear on the Honor of the Empire.”

A notification popped up.

Silver Blade Tara Lisana has sworn an Oath of Aid, Duty, and Secrecy

Silver Blade Tara Lisana has broken: 0 Oaths

“Are these… common?” Edwin asked, poking the message away, “I didn’t see any of these ‘manmade’ notifications before this week, and now I’ve seen two. Also, what sort of things are you ‘required’ to not keep secret?”

Tara assessed him again, making Edwin shut up quickly before he said something else that gave away his secrets. Keeping quiet about something as huge as his entire life was hard!

“Common enough. Are you content, now? I would certainly not wish to break an Oath for you, I’m certain that whatever secrets you may have, however dangerous you may think they are, would not be worth the future stain of having a single Oath broken. So long as your secrets do not directly threaten the Empire itself or its citizens, you should have nothing to fear,” she chuckled slightly, a tiny smile creeping onto her face before it turned serious once more, “Now, speak. You’ve said many strange things and I demand an account for your strange behavior.”

Edwin opened his mouth to speak, closed it, took a deep breath, and spoke, “I’m from another world. I fell out of the sky about a month ago, but before then I had never set foot on or even heard about Joriah.”

That got a reaction, and her entire body flinched as she assessed Edwin in a new light, “Well. That certainly is a secret worth breaking an Oath for.”