Chapter 5: Sepulchral Rondo
Discord in Dreams
Ivory was a unique place. Two main roads passed through it. One marward, one eve-by-phob. And yet there was very little traffic that found its way there.
The marward road led around the mountains then eveward on to a great lake, black as night. If you took it the other direction, it would join with the main road that led to Greywatch Spire. Meanwhile the other road carried its travellers between the Spire and the mountains.
And despite being on such a prominent thoroughfare, Ivory only sported around fifty people. Particularly peculiar per my previous pondering. Why was it so isolated?
I was plagued with dreams each night we stayed in the Ivory Hawk. Gormlaith had never been through Ivory, but others had. Previous Scions had stayed in the same room, seen the same views. Fallen in love with the quietude of the place. Each of them had been forced out by circumstance.
But there was a shadow over one I couldn't place. Every other Scion left Ivory. Every other Scion arrived at the Aerie. Every other Scion did their duty.
But not them.
They found joy in Ivory. They found peace in that town. And it was like the Lady of the Aerie was actively trying to keep me from remembering it was possible. Why?
Somehow, we'd managed to stay five suns in Ivory before strange things started happening again. Pleasantly, it wasn't a progression of the profusion of petals. Nor was it a wistful warhammer's wayward wandering. Instead, I started hearing things.
"I like it here, Nyxara," Eliana would be saying, "and I'm so glad I joined you at the Aerie." But that couldn't be right. We weren't at the Aerie. Not yet. When I asked what she'd said, she would correct it.
Or Kettle would interrupt my sparring with Pot, and they'd say something like, "You'll never amount to much if you don't leave." Certain I'd misheard, I'd ask, and they'd tell me it was about taking breaks. "You won't improve if you push yourself like this."
Everywhere I went in Ivory, something else happened. The only person who seemed exempt was Micah. They were a comfort. In five suns, I heard nothing but their clear words, even as they critiqued everything about the way I fought when I joined their defensive training.
I didn't bother telling them that I'd never been much of a fighter. The only thing I punched was rising dough. The only thing I took to task was the dishes when I finished. So for three suns straight, I was easily taken to the ground without the aid of the fascinating cold-flame techniques they were all studying.
And that continued until the fourth sun when Nickel and Mill stopped everything to ask an important question.
"You aren't a brawler, are you?" It was gentle, but Nickel's question stung some. It didn't help that Mill had me twisted like a pretzel on the ground, holding me with one hand.
Mill smiled, not releasing me. "She's right. You are definitely not built for fistfights. Why don't you use that warhammer everyone's been talking about?"
I managed a shallow breath, just deep enough to reply. "Five-times goddess-cursed thing's cursed."
That drew the attentions of Pot, Kettle, and Micah, who all just stared as Mill let go of me and stepped away.
"I'm not cursed," I clarified. "The warhammer is, but it's no normal curse. It doesn't want anyone else to use it but me. And I'm not willing."
Something in Micah's expression turned sour, but they said nothing.
Taking a moment to stretch out all the bits that had nearly been crushed by Mill's strength, I breathed deeply for a second. "If I try to get rid of it, something compels me to collect it while I sleep. So maybe I am a little cursed."
"I'll say," Nickel laughed. "Even so. Go get it. Let's see how you fare with a weapon in hand. If you can't cut it, then we'll go back to letting Mill twist you into increasingly improbable arrangements."
"Very funny," I stuck my tongue out at her. "Fine. But you'll see. I'm almost as bad with a warhammer as I am throwing a punch. But if you ever want me to bake for you, I'll deliver the best loaf you've ever tasted."
The walk back to Ivory proper was quiet for a while until Micah caught me up.
"Was that all true?" They were flat with the question, but it was clear how they felt. Worried. Confused. Desperate.
I breathed a long, level sigh as I considered how much to share. "To start, I have dreams I'm not entirely certain are just dreams."
They slowed down a bit. "Prophecies?"
"Something of the sort. Though some of them feel like memories."
"Dee was like that, too." Their steps stopped. "She dreamed of a place not far from here. The Shroud, she called it."
I remembered a line from my research. The Gardens Poem. "Marward lakes black as night —"
"Ringed by Nihil's Embrace," Micah finished the line for me. "So you are like her. Or, I suppose something like her. She at least knew how to fight."
"Is Dee why you and the others —"
They started walking again, urging me to follow. "Not exactly. She encouraged it, but the real reason was when our daughter was taken. Have you heard what the queendom is doing?"
Queen Liatris was calling it 'conscription to support the war effort', though none could quite recall who we were at war with. For the most part, she was taking able-bodied adults, mostly women. I'd heard of the queen's guard taking children, but it was mostly rare.
"Did they say why they took her in particular?" I was sure I knew the answer, but I felt I had to ask.
"Something about her hair being too black and her eyes too green." I hadn't expected them to say that. "They stumbled on Ivory by accident, and then they took my daughter. And my wife lost it. One night she was there. The next sun she was gone, a black flower on her pillow."
I sat with that for a while as we approached the tavern. There wasn't much to be said about it. 'I'm sorry for your loss' was an insult to a grieving soul, no matter how much time had passed.
"Thank you," I eventually got out. "For trusting me with that."
"And thank you," they smiled. "For not reacting like most people."
We took the warhammer from my room in the tavern. Neither Eliana nor Tareth were anywhere to be seen, but I was fairly certain I heard sounds from his room as I walked past it. Good for them.
Our walk back to the grove was in companionable silence for the most part, but just before we got to the trees, Micah stopped me.
They didn't meet my eyes as they spoke. "I have a request."
"Don't make a fool of myself or share your personal history with others?"
"Well, that too." They smiled. It was far more endearing than their snarl, if I were honest. "But more than that. I know you're leaving tomorrow. Take me with you."
"I'll set that aside for a moment. How do you know so well what I'm planning?" It wasn't irritating, but it was somewhat of a thorn in my side.
Their laugh at the question told me I was too obvious. "I suppose I might not have figured it out. If you bothered to hide how much you stared at the mountains."
"Fair enough," I said as I felt a blush burn every inch of my face. "I'll not stop you, and I'd welcome the presence of anyone not trying to get me to pair up with someone." My own smile returned. "Besides, who else is capable of coping with my carefully crafted cadence? Please join us. If they complain, then I'll set the hammer on top of Eliana and stuff some flower petals down Tareth's throat."
When their laughter redoubled, it echoed impossibly around us, seeming to shake the ground beneath our feet. Having them along would be fun.
That night, Eliana didn't join me in our room, but I didn't mind it too much. She at least left her journal, just in case. It's good she did.
I dreamed of a new place. A temple on an island in the middle of a vast lake. Gormlaith was there with Aeluin and her Lady. The Lady's deepest black hair almost made the lake look light. Aeluin's eyes matched her Lady's hair with eerie depth.
"Good Lady Nihil," Gormlaith said with a deep bow. "I trust my sister has told you of my purpose."
The Lady's voice was a timeless echo across the lake's calm surface. "She has, Hammer of Binding, and I thank you for bringing me this worry."
Gormlaith rose to her full height, nearly meeting the Lady's eyes. "Trust, I would not request your intercession could I see a manner by which I might resolve it with only my sisters' assistance."
"Certainly not, beloved one," she spoke slowly. "Are you certain of these accusations against your sister?"
A long silence passed between them as Gormlaith considered her response. "Lady Nihil, Afina has confirmed her own suspicions. If we do not act soon, all will be lost."
Scions, Sought
I awoke in a mad stir. Eliana was already gone – or perhaps still gone – but still the journal sat waiting for me. I opened it to the first page of notes I'd had her take.
My grasp of Old Fleurian was still fairly shallow beyond what I'd found in books, but I managed to make sense of most of what I found there. After underlining three names, I turned to the first blank page and wrote out the scene in my less than fluent hand. I still had so many questions, but that was for Eliana to explore once we were back on the road.
Throwing on the barest minimum of clothing to be considered decent, I rushed to the door of Tareth's room and knocked.
Eliana's voice answered me. Confirmation, as though I needed it. "Who is it?"
"It's me," I said through the wood, "and I have something to ask you."
The door's lock clicked, and Eliana opened it, revealing the woman wrapped in a blanket and nothing less. "Come in. Tareth is still sleeping." Good for her.
With the journal opened to the page I'd been defiling with less than perfect diction, I turned it to her. "Can you make sense of this?"
Eliana stared at my writing for almost a full minute. By the end of it, she had apparently forgotten she was still undressed, as she let the blanket begin to slip in her excitement. I gently reached over and tugged it back into place, catching a blush from her.
"Nyxi," she said, continuing her adoption of the nickname everyone in Ivory insisted upon after our second sun in the town, "this is big. I just don't know how or why. We need a library. Preferably the one in the capital."
Taking the journal back from her, I winced. "I was worried you would say that."
"Well then you should've held off on showing me," she teased, "but what's done is done. Now, I expect my beau to wake soon. Make yourself scarce. We'll see you before lunch, and we can leave this evening."
She didn't have to tell me twice. I scampered out the door and closed it behind me. Without doubt, I was certain Micah would already be waiting for me in the bar, so I decided to join them for breakfast and a drink.
They were sitting at a table in the corner, the four other members of their defensive training group filling up space. Kettle was between Micah and Pot, their eyes following whomever was speaking at a given moment.
After watching for a few seconds, I approached and heard the tail end of the discussion. "So you're all staying here. Keep the town safe. I'm going with Nyxi and the lovebirds."
"Makes a measure of sense," Nickel said as she leaned heavily against Mill. "But couldn't you have waited till after the sun was up? Your new friend isn't even awake yet."
"She is, actually," I chuckled and took the seat directly next to Micah. It was clear the group had left it open for someone. Whether that was me or not didn't change the fact they were talking about me. "Been up for a while. Dream journal," I held up Eliana's quickly filling book, "plus I had to harass her for leaving me in the room by myself."
Pot pulled several coins from their pocket at my words and tossed them across the table at Nickel. "I'm delighted for the happy couple, but I was sure they'd wait to get out of town first." They looked over at me. "So what's in the book?"
I weighed the decision for a minute before handing it over to Pot with the first page of Old Fleurian visible. "It's complicated."
They turned the book around several times. "Can people read this? It's just a bunch of scratches."
"Such is the way," I shrugged. "But it's our way of piecing together a mystery that fell into my lap." There was little harm in asking for clues, so I took a chance. "I'm looking into a place called the Aerie, and some women and souls who've gone there and never returned."
All mouths at the table snapped shut. That was confirmation enough.
"I take it Ivory has seen its fair share of these folks since the tavern was built," I said calmly. "It's fine if you don't say anything. You all have been fine hosts, and just knowing that some of them have passed through has been a huge help."
"Are you one of em?" Kettle's voice was barely a squeak, very different from their norm. "The ladies who go?"
There wasn't really a good way to answer that. "I think my great aunt was one of them. And I might be connected. But if I don't go, I can't find out."
Kettle slid down from their seat, under the table, then over to me. "Come on, Nyxi. There's somethin you should see."
My eyes raced to Micah, who was smiling, and they nodded at me. So I turned back to Kettle. "Lead the way oh young one."
I followed them out the tavern and toward a house Micah had said belonged to an old storyteller. They hadn't come to the tavern while I'd been in Ivory. Kettle's knock on the door was louder and firmer than was reasonable for any young child. They didn't wait for an answer before opening the door and dragging me in.
"Nyxi needs ta talk ta ya, Daphne," Kettle said, indicating an older person as they did. "Nyxi, this is Daphne. She's the oldes woman in town."
The old woman wore a hair covering and a sort of shift dress. She looked far too young in the face to be called 'old', but her pale yellow eyes spoke volumes. "I'm not so old I won't tell your older sibling you barged in without my permission. Again. But if this young woman needs to talk, we'll talk. Now get out. And send someone quieter here with breakfast."
As soon as Kettle left, Daphne turned her gaze on me. "So you're the next her, aren't you."
"I suppose? I have dreams of her, and I feel pulled toward the Aerie." Her expression was flat as I spoke. She indicated I should continue, so I did. "There's this hammer and these flowers. And I can't get rid of either."
"Well that's different," she smiled at last. "She's never had dreams before. Perhaps you're different."
"How many of her have you met?"
"Too many. And they never return if they leave Ivory. Of course, they don't have to leave Ivory. But no one ever tells them that." When my face contorted to display my confusion, she chuckled around coughing some. "Well, let me be the first to tell you. You don't have to leave Ivory and continue on. If you stay here, another will follow eventually. It's not your responsibility, Nyxara."
Either she'd heard my name in the time I'd been in town, or she had powerful skills for perception. Or else, something more. She knew who I was.
"How long have you lived in Ivory, Daphne?"
"I think you know the answer to that." Her eyes closed at the thought. "Though at this point, I'm not certain I'd call it living. Even if I do love it here."
"Thank you," I said gently, "that tells me all I need to know. And I'm sure you understand that it doesn't change anything."
"You'll go. Just like the rest of them," she smiled at the thought, "because no one is holding you here. Nothing is your anchor. If you find one, cling tightly to it. You're different, Nyxara. Just like I was. But as you can see, different isn't necessarily enough."
"Again. Thank you for your guidance," I stood to leave, "I'm sure I'll never find anything like that, but I have friends. And they care for me." As I opened the door and found Micah standing there with a plate of food, I said at last, "And I'll do anything I can to make sure they make it safely home."
"Good girl," Daphne said as I switched places with Micah and stood outside to think.
"You lied," I told Eliana as she and Tareth came out of their room after Micah and I had already finished lunch, "but I'll not hold it against you so long as you and he don't burden me with any of the details."
Tareth's blush was more than enough to tell me I was safe from those harrowing tales. Unless
"Please do burden me, if you like," Micah's words oozed with voyeuristic glee as Tareth groaned deeply about all of this. "Unlike Nyx, I'm not entirely a prude. Only mostly."
"So it's just Nyx, now," Eliana waggled her brows at me. "What happened to the other syllable, Nyx?"
"Now you'll stop right there, Eliana," Micah barked. "No one else is calling her Nyx. Just me. Because she hates it. And that is essential for maintaining a professional distance."
"Then shouldn't that mean I, as her least favourite, should also be so privileged?"
"You answered your own question, dove," they said drily, "she already dislikes you. She's actually actively falling in friendship with me, and we can't be having that, now can we? Right, Nyx?"
"Point taken."
Whoever or whatever convinced me to weave this group together was a five-fold goddess cursed villain. "Can we not?" I growled, bringing them back in line. "We need to be on the road soon. How quickly can we be packed?"
Tareth started doing figures in the air in front of himself. "Well if Micah is coming along, and we have to pack for them, and I'm still carrying El's pack, and she hasn't started packing, and you've got things to pack yourself, then about —"
"I can have us ready in ten minutes, Nyxara," She indicated herself and Tareth. Hearing her return to my full name kind of stung, but her banter with Micah was already too much. "Provided you and Micah are ready by then."
Not fifteen minutes later, the four of us were at the edge of Ivory proper, receiving a fond farewell from most of the town. Tareth had asked me to carry the warhammer on account of 'unexpected fatigue'. A remark that caused me to huff, "Not entirely unexpected," to my new friend.
Micah, meanwhile, was carrying far more than a person of their stature ought to be able, but I wasn't fighting it. Given what I'd learned from my time in their grove, it made a measure of sense. Perhaps I'd figure it out with enough time at their side.
Kettle ran up and hugged Micah a last time before we turned about and started on our path.