The Zombie Knight

Chapter One Hundred Ninety-Nine: 'The designs of the Disparate...'

'That's everything,' said Emiliana. 'Did you get it all?'

Hector's pen was still scribbling. 'What was that last one again?'

'Ridgemark,' she said. 'A sunken cave near the two-toned rock.'

He nodded as he finished transcribing her words. 'What's a two-toned rock?'

'I don't know. I am just telling you what it said.'

'Hmm. Do you know where Ridgemark is, exactly?'

'I do, actually. I looked that up, too. It's a city on the southernmost coast of Vantalay. Near the Gulf of Vantalay.'

He added that to his notes. 'Thanks.'

Hector put his pen down. 'Ah... no, probably not. I expect we'll run into a lot of dead ends before anything pans out.'

'I suppose it simply depends on how good my information turns out to be,' she said.

'Fingers crossed...'

'Yes.'

Hector paused, considering how to transition into his next query. 'Ah... have you, er, discovered anything about the other stuff I mentioned before?'

'Not yet. You said that those subjects were not as much of a priority, did you not?'

'Yeah. It's just curiosity, right now.'

'..."Right now?" Does that mean you expect your interest in them to eventually become MORE than curiosity?'

Boy, she sure knew how pick up on little things, didn't she? On impulse, he wanted to tell her that she was reading too much into his words, but... she wasn't, and he knew it.

'It's possible,' he told her. 'At this point, I honestly don't know what I expect the future to bring. It seems like a thousand different things could happen--or none of them.'

'I see. So in other words, this interest of yours in ancient gods and peoples is not merely academic?'

'Yeah.'

'...Dare I ask why?' she said.

'Uh. Well. If you really want me to explain, I will. But it's a long story--and probably pretty confusing.'

'Hmph. I have time, right now. And compared to the tomes I've been trying to read lately, I'm sure your tale will be much easier to understand.'

Tomes? Had she been reading physical books for all this research? Hector supposed that wasn't surprising. Abolish probably had loads of libraries. But considering how tight-lipped she'd been about her circumstances so far, that sliver of confirmation almost felt like a slip up on her part.

He didn't want to draw attention to it, though.

'Alright, well, it started when we went to the Undercrust...'

And Hector told her all about his time in Himmekel. She had several questions, especially about Malast and Ettol, and he wasn't able to answer any of them. That was why he had asked her to look into those names, after all. If nothing else, his story seemed to provide her with extra motivation to do so.

He told her about the "tournament" as well, and the mayhem that ensued during it, particularly at the end.

'Ah, so that was why you wanted to know more about worms,' she said. 'You were fighting one.'

Hector tilted his head as he thought back. 'I told you that at the time, didn't I?'

She gave a telepathic giggle. 'You were quite cagey about it at first, but yes, you did. You yelled it at me, actually.'

'Oh yeah...' He was about to apologize for that when he remembered something else. 'And you laughed at me.'

'Hehe.'

She'd already said once before that she was sorry for laughing at him back then, but hearing her tone now as she apparently recalled it, Hector wasn't so sure he believed that anymore.

Not that it actually bothered him, of course. If anything, he was a bit relieved to hear her laugh. Most of the times when they talked, she'd seemed rather somber. A few of those times, he'd even been able to feel her sorrow through the Shards.

Which was another subject that he was reluctant to bring up. So he chose not to.

'Well, I wish you luck with your search for money,' she said. 'I hope my research bears fruit. I will try to contact you again with more information in a few days.'

'Thanks for doing this.'

'Not at all. If I am not able to make myself useful, I fear I might go crazy in this place.'

At that, Hector was tempted to pry a bit more into her circumstances, but he resisted. It seemed like she was in a relatively good mood, and he didn't want to risk spoiling that for her. He got the impression that this strange relationship with her might be extremely important in the future. So he really didn't want to fuck it up.

He was trying to think of something else to tell her that might make her happy. He'd never felt like the best purveyor of 'good news,' but there had to be something, right?

'...Uh. Y-your dad seems to be doing better.'

'Oh? How so?'

'When we were training earlier today, he was actually kind of nice to me.'

'Hmm. Is he not normally nice to you?'

'Ah. Uh. Well. Not exactly, no. Not that I mind. He's my teacher, so it's good that he's strict. It's just--er... He seemed like he was in a good mood today.'

'I see.'

Hector wondered if that had made her feel any better. He couldn't tell.

'By the way,' said Emiliana, 'have you ever heard of something called "Sto?"'

'No. What's that?'

Apparently, it was a meditation technique that Gohvis, of all people, had taught her about.

Hector didn't know all that much about mutation, so he took the opportunity to ask questions. When Garovel had first described it to him, the mutation type had sounded like quite a horrible power to have, and judging from all that Emiliana had gone through--and was still going through--Hector's opinion of mutation didn't really change all that much.

But it was a relief to know that she was getting a handle on it, at least.

And a part of him did find it fascinating, to be sure. Altered states of consciousness? Tapping into hidden areas or features of the brain? What a wild concept.

'I don't know if any of this will be useful for a non-mutator,' said Emiliana, 'but I thought that it couldn't hurt to tell you.'

'Hmm.' It was giving him ideas, to be sure, but after hearing her say that, maybe he shouldn't get his hopes up. After a moment, though, another thought struck him. 'Hey, uh... have you noticed anything different about your ability to concentrate, lately?'

'Um, now that you mention it,' said Emiliana, 'I suppose I have. Why do you ask?'

'Malast told me that I was already in possession of a blessing called Focus. I'm not entirely clear on what it does--or what it MIGHT do in the future, I guess--but, uh... I'm pretty sure it helps me concentrate on multiple things at once.'

'I... see.'

'And I definitely got it from Rasalased. So I'm pretty sure you got it, too.'

'Um. I suppose that explains...' She paused. 'Wow. And here I was, beginning to feel like such a smarty pants, when in reality, my brain had been hacked.'

'That's... I mean... hmm. I don't know if "hacking" is the best way to think of it.'

'No? You don't think Rasalased hacked our brains and toyed around with them?'

'Well. Sure. But... a blessing sounds like a perfectly reasonable term for it, to me. I mean, has it been anything but helpful, so far? If not for Rasalased, I'm pretty sure I'd be dead by now.'

'You are very optimistic, aren't you?'

Hector's eyes widened a little, and he snorted. 'You'd be the first to think so.'

'Mm.'

'But that reminds me,' said Hector, 'Malast granted me a second blessing, which I know even less about than Focus. He called it Domain. If you could find out more about that--anything at all--I'd really appreciate it.'

There came a dainty sigh through the Shard. 'Despite no longer attending school, I seem to be acquiring quite a lot of homework...'

He breathed a half a laugh. 'Ah--sorry. It's not urgent or anything. I can probably figure it out on my own. You don't have to look into if you don't want to.'

'It's fine. I'll tell Chergoa to remind me about it later. Domain, was it?'

'Yeah. And thanks. Again.'

'Mm.'

Hector felt a fleeting surge of embarrassment, and it took him a second to realize that it wasn't coming from himself but rather through the Shard.

'Oh no,' she said. 'I think I'm beginning to pick up Gohvis' mannerisms.'

Hector just kind of pursed his lips as he tried to imagine that.

Their conversation didn't last much longer after that. Hector went back to checking in on Warrenhold's facilities.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly, for the most part. The kitchens were bustling with cooks. Deliverymen were arriving with food and supplies. Children were playing in the central courtyard. All the underground lights were still working. No one was getting attacked by bloodthirsty monsters or murderers.

That was pretty much all Hector wanted, when it came down to it. Everyone safe and fed.

But there was more to it, of course. The reconstruction effort was progressing at a remarkable pace now with so many of the Rainlords pitching in--and not just the ones who were servants, either. They had a few planners, organizers, and designers offering their expertise, as well. There'd been some disagreements a few days ago between the old crew and some of the Rainlords, but as far as Hector could tell, they'd sorted things out now, which was nice to see.

Either that, or they were just pretending to get along whenever he was around. That seemed quite possible, too. But maybe if he was around often enough, they would have to pretend to get along so much that they eventually would.

Whatever the case, they were already approaching the end of the renovations on the Entry Tower, and smaller teams had already branched off to begin working on the Bell Tower. Prevailing wisdom seemed to be that if Warrenhold ever came under attack, then a functional Bell Tower would be the next most valuable thing to have after a defensible Entry Tower.

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Hector knew that he had one Rick Cortes to thank for much of the progress they were making. The man was a carpenter with some twenty years of experience under his belt, and being the husband of Zeff's sister, Joana, seemed to afford the guy an extra level of clout as well.

Rick and Joana's six children had been of particular interest to Hector as well. Unlike him, they were the Elroys' actual cousins, and Hector occasionally saw them playing with Marcos and Ramira.

As of late, Garovel had been paying especially close attention to that family's circumstances and had since come to learn quite a lot about their history. Apparently, the reason they and the Elroys had so many kids was because they were trying to reinvigorate their bloodline after their near extinction some twenty-five years ago. It was a touchy subject, according to Garovel, but one that had obviously affected the Rainlords of Sair quite deeply. Hector had heard similar tales from the other houses as well, but that one sounded like it was perhaps the worst one in recent memory.

Beyond that, however, there was also the matter of Selena Cortes and her reaper, Ojarea.

Thus far, Hector hadn't seen very many instances of a genuinely worrying servant-reaper relationship. Sure, there were plenty of reapers who talked loads of shit about their servants--hell, that even seemed to be the norm--but there was almost always a playful or affectionate undertone in their words.

Not so with Selena and Ojarea.

After he'd relayed his concerns to Zeff about the two of them, Hector had yet to see Selena and Ojarea together again. According to Garovel, both Houses of Cortes and Elroy were keeping them separate and under observation for the time being.

So when Hector happened to see Selena Cortes sitting on the steps of the Tower of Day with Ojarea floating over her, he was surprised. And somewhat concerned.

Garovel wasn't with him at the moment, so he informed the reaper of what he was seeing.

'Be right there. Let me find Joana first.'

Hector noticed Ojarea looking his way and decided not to just stand around until Garovel showed up.

'Hello there, Lord Goffe,' said Ojarea as he approached.

Selena looked up at him with apparent surprise but didn't say anything.

"Hello," said Hector, very calmly. He didn't have much justification for taking a suspicious or accusatorial tone, nor did he think that would be especially helpful even if he did. "How are the two of you doing?"

'We're doing very well,' said Ojarea.

"Y-yes," said Selena. "Thank you for asking."

Hector just looked between them for a moment.

Garovel's private voice arrived from afar with more information. 'Apparently, they're being granted a bit of time together, today. Joana's decision.'

Hector was glad he hadn't said anything out of turn. He didn't quite feel ready to leave them alone just yet, though. "Is... there anything I might be able to help with?"

And to his surprise, they both seemed to hesitate. It looked like they might be exchanging words privately, but of course, there was no way to tell.

Selena's eyes darted between the floor and Ojarea, before finally landing on Hector. "We have been having a--"

'Selena, don't trouble him.'

"He asked, didn't he?"

'As a guest, you shouldn't trouble your host. And as a Rainlord, you--'

Hector chose to interject. "It's alright." He was trying to smile but probably not succeeding. "Please, ah... tell me what's bothering you."

After another few moments of timidity, Selena said, "We are having... a bit of a disagreement."

Hector expected Ojarea to chime in again, but she just floated there, her hollow eye sockets seemingly devoid of emotion.

"I... hate fighting," said Selena. "I don't... I don't want to do it anymore. But Ojarea says that I--that I have to."

Hector looked at the reaper again, but she didn't say anything. He took a moment to mull over Selena's words.

Thinking back, something seemed strange to him. Certainly, he remembered the instance where she'd apparently frozen up in the middle of the fight with the worm on the train and been yelled at by Ojarea here, but he also recalled an encounter with her slightly earlier, before that fight had actually broken out.

"When we spoke on the train, you seemed pretty eager to fight," he said. "A little too eager, I thought..."

She averted her gaze and looked at the ground. "That was just--I was... I was being foolish. I'd never been in a real battle before, and I thought--I was trying to... agh..."

Hector frowned as he listened. In his peripheral vision, he noticed Garovel hovering toward them from the direction of the Tower of Night.

"That monster was... just... so terrifying," Selena said, and Hector could see her hands trembling slightly. "I never thought real combat would be that frightening. I... remember being so scared that I couldn't even move--or think. I just... it was..." She broke for a sigh. "And then, later, there was the fight with that man... and he overwhelmed everyone so quickly. I thought we were all going to die..." She touched a hand to her forehead and shut her eyes.

What man was she talking about? Oh, it must've been Leo, Hector realized. Hmm.

Ojarea was just staring at him, waiting.

Garovel was present for the conversation now, but he remained quiet, perhaps sensing that it wasn't a good moment to intervene with greetings.

Hector considered his next words carefully. "You're not wrong," he said. "Real fights can be terrifying, even for servants."

Selena looked at him with big, despondent eyes. "I'm pathetic, aren't I?"

Hector's frown deepened. "No, you're not."

"I am," she said with surprising calmness, as if stating an obvious fact. "Everyone else is so brave, but I..." She hesitated again. "I've always been clumsy and weak. I thought that would change once I became a servant, but it hasn't, really. And on top of that, I just... I hate violence. I don't want to get hurt, of course, but I also don't want to hurt anyone else, either. Even if--even if they deserve it, I'm not sure I could--ah..." Her gaze returned to the ground.

Hector scratched his cheek with one finger as he thought. "Well... that's okay, too."

Selena looked up again, surprised.

'What?' said Ojarea.

"You do need to be able to defend yourself," said Hector. "You're a Rainlord, after all. But... I also think there's a big difference between training to defend yourself and training to fight on the front lines." He motioned around the main courtyard, toward the throngs of people bustling to and fro behind him. "This is a group effort. The important thing is to contribute. And there are a lot of ways to contribute besides just fighting."

Selena stared at him. And after a few more moments, when she still hadn't said anything, Hector began to feel uncomfortable.

Ojarea, however, was not quite so speechless. 'Lord Goffe, I appreciate your attempt to provide Selena with encouragement, but I must disagree with you rather strongly on this point.'

Hector just waited for the reaper to explain.

'You speak of Selena taking on a more supporting role,' said Ojarea, 'but as a servant, not having her fight on the front lines would be a profound waste of a precious resource. Servants are not easy to come by, you know. And we have many non-servants who are perfectly capable of taking on supporting roles.'

Hector bobbed his head admissively. "What you're saying makes sense... and I do think that you should try to make use of all the advantages of being a servant, but at the same time, is that really all there is to it?"

Ojarea's skeletal form shifted a little beneath her black shroud. 'What are you saying? Servants have a responsibility to protect others. Rainlord servants, even more so. You may not be a Rainlord yourself, but I thought you, of all people, would understand that much.'

"No, I get it," said Hector. "Believe me, I do. But if you want to talk about managing resources, then... I mean, what if Selena, as a servant, is able to provide higher-quality support than a non-servant can?"

Ojarea's hollow gaze seemed to twitch, and she glanced at Selena. 'I find that unlikely.'

Garovel decided to chime in. 'Why?'

But Ojarea made no response.

And Hector was left to wonder. With what little else he knew about their relationship, he couldn't help thinking that perhaps Ojarea didn't have much faith in Serena's overall competency--and that she didn't want to come right out and say so.

'I agree with Hector,' said Garovel. 'Take your time and look around Warrenhold--REALLY look around it, I mean. Every facility in this place is meant to provide support in one way or another. And yes, some of those facilities are in shambles or barely functional at the moment, but that doesn't mean they won't become important or valuable in the future. One day, perhaps the Book Tower over there or the Bell Tower next to it might become the difference between life and death for someone here.'

'Hmph.' Ojarea did not look pleased. 'What, are you advising her to become a librarian or a bell keeper?'

'I wouldn't presume to tell her or her family what path she should pursue,' said Garovel. His gaze became fixed upon Selena, who seemed to be hanging on his every word now. 'But I would also remind her and them that, once upon a time, long ago, the world was full of warriors and not much else. And it was an absolutely miserable place to live.'

Hector could all but see the gears turning in Selena's head. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking. He hoped she would take Garovel's words to heart.

Ojarea was watching Selena's face as well. '...We shall take your words under advisement,' the reaper said. She turned to Hector. 'Both of you.'

'What is her ability, if you don't mind my asking?' said Garovel.

'Oxygen materialization,' said Ojarea.

Hector's brow receded a little. That sounded like it could be quite powerful, if harnessed well. And thinking about it like that, he suddenly understood Ojarea's point of view even more than he did before. Not putting a power like that to use in combat did seem like a bit of a waste.

But it didn't change his mind. He stood by what he'd said wholeheartedly.

Garovel elected to remain silent as well, which made Hector wonder if he was thinking the same thing.

As the silence drew out, Selena's eyes moved from Garovel to Hector, then lingered there. "I'm sorry for taking up so much of your time," she said. "Thank you for listening. You've given me a lot to think about." She gave a small curtsy before turning and walking away, with Ojarea bidding farewell and following.

Hector just watched them go.

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