Ana had about fifteen minutes of peace before people started bothering her again. She was contentedly walking along, hand in hand with Messy and contemplating how to spend her new Advancement Points, when Captain Pirta approached her.
“We will never keep this quiet. You know that, yes?” the towering elf asked. “We have dozens of potential Ascenders all of a sudden, including myself and all of the mercenaries. Word is going to begin to spread approximately five minutes after we open the portal to Ellsthal.”
“So?” Ana replied, “What difference does that make? It’s not like I had any hope of staying anonymous as it was. I just want to make it to and out of Ellsthal alive.”
“The difference, Ana, is that the credit will be laid squarely at your feet. You’ll no longer just be the Wayfarer’s Chosen and a potential Ascender yourself. You’ll be the one who delivered all those potential Ascenders to the Bluesky Guild. That makes you not just a religious figure and a personally powerful member of the guild, but a strategic resource. Do you understand?”
“But I couldn’t have done it on my own.” Ana stated the truth bluntly. She wasn’t too proud to admit that she’d been outclassed. “If the demon hadn’t been maimed and unarmed, I wouldn’t have stood a chance. Captain, when I first faced it, I fought it for a few minutes before it hurt me bad enough that I had to run. Even then, if not for you all it would have caught me eventually. I could barely think by the time I got to you, and it showed no sign of slowing down. I didn’t do this. Hell, I didn’t even kill it. Messy did that.”
“As though I could have done it without you and that woman holding it down,” Messy retorted.
“Be that as it may…” Pirta swept her gaze meaningfully over the large group. The looks Ana’s way were constant, either glances or open stares. “Most of these people would have never seen an Ascension Point. Most of them would have died without ever hearing of them. But now, everyone in a Party where anyone did anything to contribute to the destruction of that demon has one. Now, granted, the odds are that no one here will actually reach Level 50, present company excluded. That’s just how it is. But fate takes strange turns, sometimes. Any of them might, and if they do, and if they kept that Point, they could choose to Ascend. That includes Touanne, and I expect I don’t need to explain how unfathomably rare a Healer with a chance to Ascend is, or what a force for good such a Healer could be. My point is, Ana, that this is yet another reason for any guild to want you as a member if they can get you, or dead if they can’t.”
“Jesus Christ,” Ana sighed as Messy squeezed her hand in silent support.
A note of bitterness entered Pirta’s voice as she continued, “I wish I could tell you with confidence that the Bluesky Guild will support you and protect you unconditionally—”
“But there are the Summerlands to consider,” Messy finished for her.
“But there are the guild’s devout followers of the Sentinel, foremost among them Summerlands,” Pirta agreed. “Theirs is one of the founding cities of the guild. They are wealthy, and they are powerful, both politically and personally. And while they have a reputation for fairness and upholding fairness, you did kill their son. You had every right to do so, and perhaps they will accept that. Perhaps not.”
“Captain,” Messy asked cooly, “is there a point to all this, or did you just want to ruin Ana’s day?”
Taken aback by the young elfin woman’s bluntness, Pirta stared. Then she frowned and shook her head. “Apologies, Miss Mestendi. And to you, Miss Ana. I did not mean to heap trouble on you after these painful days. My point was this: Ana, whatever happens in the future, and whatever you decide to do, you have my support, as far as I can give it. I’m certain that I speak for Tober, his wife, and the other officers as well, and for much of the population of this Splinter. There will always be a few recalcitrant holdouts to contend with, but most of our people recognize what you’ve done for us, and that no evil that’s befallen us is your fault. If we can shield you politically, we will. If you need food, shelter, or other resources, we will do what we can to provide them. Even if you wish only to disappear—though I doubt your patron would appreciate that.”
Ana imagined the Wayfarer’s reaction if she just found a hole somewhere to hide and try to ride everything out like she’d once planned. Maybe a little cabin somewhere, close enough to a village or town to pick up some necessities a few times a year but far enough that nobody was likely to stumble onto it. God, Ana would never have another good night’s sleep in her life.
She boiled that down to, “She definitely wouldn’t. And I doubt my enemies would let me be, either, even though the Sentinel took the time to offer just that.”
“Excuse me?” Pirta asked flatly. “The Sentinel— He sent you a message? How?”
“Snatched me up as I was going into a Delve. Got to say, my goddess is a lot more pleasant to talk to than your god. At least she only took away my ability to speak when she wanted me to listen.”
“Not my god for some time now,” Pirta said with stunned melancholy. “The Lord of Order spoke to you. Two-and-a-half centuries of faith, and I rarely even had a prayer acknowledged. And he spoke to you.” She shook her head, and scoffed. “No one ever claimed that life is fair.”
Once Pirta had drifted away to walk alone outside the group, it was apparently open season on Ana. She never quite got mobbed, but she rarely had a moment to herself, either, with a stream of admirers and well-wishers vying for a moment of her time. Some she truly didn’t mind. Captain Falk asked her to join him by Marra’s stretcher, and they told her much the same as Pirta had about her having their unconditional support, come hell or high water. Her friends had thanks and congratulations to heap on her. Some people just wanted to be close to her, to gawk or even try to touch her. It was the whole situation after she first manifested her wings all over again.
It quickly became a little too much, and while Ana could have easily just walked away or insisted that they leave her alone, she also recognized the value of herself as a symbol of their survival, whether she wanted to be one or not. Being seen to refuse their gratitude just didn’t seem like a good move, not politically and not when she might be relying on any or all of these people to get out of the Splinter alive in the near future. Nor would she let Messy drag her away. She’d already seen some jealous looks shot her girlfriend’s way; she didn’t want to make things worse by letting people think that Messy was keeping her to herself or gatekeeping access to her, even if Ana would be very happy to let her do just that.
It was Waller of all people who came to her rescue. The tall man came elbowing his way through the crowd, followed closely by Tor and Om.
“Alright, show’s over,” he bellowed, forcing his way to Ana’s side. “Give the hero some fucking air!” Then he gave her a pointed, almost pleading look before putting one hand square on her back and beginning to lead her away, off the trampled path.
It quickly became clear that this was planned. Choreographed, almost. While Waller approached Ana, Omda had continued right past and created an opening in the circle of people walking around Ana, and Waller took her right through it. Messy caught on immediately, and flanked by the two Ana soon found herself deep among the trees, where her friends walked along, parallel to the main group.
Tor arrived thirty seconds behind them. He’d been left to soothe tempers and apologize for “that asshole Waller’s” behavior.
“There she is!” Kaira cheered as Waller drifted away and Jisha practically skipped over to pull Ana into a fierce hug. “Now, don’t worry, yeah? We didn’t have the gents drag you out here just to smother you like everyone else has been.” She looked around the dozen or so people surrounding them. “Right?”
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“Of course, right!” most of them replied merrily.
“Of course fucking right! We just all want to tell you, again: you’re bloody amazing, we love you, and gods beyond, thank you!” With that Kaira clapped her hands together as hard as her considerable Strength would allow, and declared, “Alright! You all know what to do. If anyone comes close and you don’t think they’ve got a bloody good reason for it, turn them away! Now let’s give our girls some space, yeah?”
With a few last words of gratitude and kindness, and more than a few pats on the back, everyone drifted away to form a screen between the two lovers and the group on the path. They were still there; Ana could hear them if she focused, and occasionally see them between the trees and bushes. But for all intents and purposes Ana and Messy were alone for the first time since they left the outpost more than a week earlier.
For a long while they just walked, enjoying the companionable solitude. The only words spoken for a handful of minutes were when Messy remarked, “That was nice of them.”
“Yeah,” Ana agreed, and they went back to listening to the wind, the birds, the burbling of a nearby stream, and all the other little sounds of the forest. The sun was beginning to peek down between the trees, but the baking heat of a week ago had given way to a more enjoyable warmth. Ana closed her eyes and raised her face to it. Her world became the pink of sunlight through her eyelids, and with a little focus she brought to the front a few of the thousands of sensations her Perception presented her with: the softness and warmth of Messy’s hand in hers, the sound of her breathing and heartbeat, and the smell of her—sweat and musk and lingering traces of rosemary and some flower from the soap she liked.
For a little while Ana just was, and the gratitude that she felt toward her friends just then made her eyes burn.
Perhaps it was the joy of how strongly the Attribute let Ana become one with her senses. Perhaps it was simple practicality, wanting to gain another Enhancement while boosting something she’d tended to neglect. And perhaps it was for tactical reasons—the very fresh memory of how when it didn’t want to be noticed, Ana hadn’t been able to even hear the demon coming until it was already on them. Ana didn’t know. Nor did she reflect too deeply on why she decided to drop most of her Advancement Points on Perception, but that was what she did, raising the Multiplier by three Steps for a cost of 18 Points and taking her to an Effective value of 51.
Her new Enhancement was called Tactile. She didn’t reflect too much on that, either. She just ran her thumb over Messy’s knuckles and accepted it for the boon it was.
She put 4 of her 5 remaining Points into increasing her Willpower Multiplier one Step. It was that or Dexterity, and she had so many Perks that gave her situational bonuses to Dexterity that Willpower seemed the more responsible choice. And it would let her get away with a few minutes less sleep every night, so that was nice.
Messy must have noticed something, because she turned her head and giggled at Ana. Perhaps it had been the surprised, contented laugh that escaped Ana when she left her Summary and time resumed. No, it was almost certainly that. Tactile wasn’t playing.
Just as Ana’s world of sound had expanded beyond her wildest imagination with Keen Hearing, her skin now became more sensitive than she’d ever thought possible. And it wasn’t just that she felt the faint throb of Messy’s pulse through her fingers as clearly as though she’d had her fingers on her neck, or the tiny pulses of heat in her skin as each pulse of fresh, hot blood spread through it. More than that, more than anything, it was the feeling of the air on her exposed skin; the way she felt each little swirl and eddy, each with their own temperature. A fly of some kind passed a few inches from her, and she felt the wake of its passing clearly enough to track its flight. Anyone trying to sneak up on her in the future had better hold their breath, or she’d feel the heat of their exhalations even if she didn’t hear them.
Why had she neglected her Perception for so long? She was sure that she’d had good reasons, but they were hard to remember with a whole new sense suddenly feeling in ultra-high resolution.
“So… I’m guessing you spent those Advancement Points,” Messy said, drawing the sentence out, clearly fishing for an answer.
“I did,” Ana laughed. She felt light, like smoke. Like she wanted to dance, just to see how it would feel. “I increased my Perception. Got a Perk. Makes my sense of touch, just… amazing.”
“Oh?” Messy smiled wickedly. Then she reached across herself and ran the back of her free hand over Ana’s cheek. “How’s that?”
“Amazing,” Ana repeated, closing her eyes. “It doesn’t feel better, as such, so don’t get any ideas. But it feels… more. I could feel the different ridges on each knuckle. Your ring finger is a little warmer than the others. Things like that. It’s… gods, I’m not a poet.”
“Amazing?” Messy suggested, teasing her.
“Amazing,” Ana agreed. “What’ll you do with yours?”
Messy sighed dramatically. “I’m still in debt, I’m afraid.”
“Oh. From resetting?”
“Yeah.” Then Messy brightened, laying her hand on Ana’s shoulder and continuing excitedly. “But that unexpected windfall shaved almost two Levels off when I’ll be able to start spending Points again! Next Level I’ll have a few to spend!”
“That’s great,” Ana said fondly, rubbing her cheek against the fingers on her shoulder, just enjoying the new sensations. “Maybe we’ll find some demons when we go to find my weapons. Get you another step closer. Um… are you okay with going out again in a week or so?”
“Sure,” Messy agreed, without hesitation or worry. “We should see if we can get Kaira and the guys to come with us, though. There… I mean, it’s a terrible thing to plan for, but there may be half a dozen revenants out here. We shouldn’t take any chances.”
“Yeah,” Ana agreed. Even that couldn’t sour her mood. “I’ll talk to them.”
The return to the outpost the following day was equal parts joyous and solemn. The demon was dead, and it was a miracle that they hadn’t lost more than they had. But three of their number were dead, on top of Part’s entire Party, and many were on stretchers. Halmer had yet to wake up; Touanne wouldn’t say what the problem was, only that she would need to keep him under careful observation at her home for the foreseeable future.
Ana had her suspicions. She’d seen his head after the blow that put him down. Its shape had been wrong. But when Inspected he was still a [Human Hammerer (18)], so she had to assume that he was still alive. And where there was life—and Touanne—there was hope.
The mercenaries went on their way quickly, pausing in the settlement only long enough for Touanne to give them a final examination and to collect Karti from the cells under the guardhouse. Them not overstaying their welcome was for the best. Helping to put down the demon hadn’t earned them much in the way of forgiveness, though the outright hostility had perhaps cooled to a general antipathy. They may, Ana thought, even be able to visit the outpost during the next few weeks without the risk of violence.
Not that she cared; nothing was going to make her warm to them. But the way Aaspiyah had helped incapacitate the demon when she could have just let it keep pounding on Ana had bought her some credit. Ana just might not kill the Iron Warrior if she thought she could get away with it anymore, and that was a big step up from before.
She didn’t miss that Aaspiyah chose not to leave the Party until the mercs were on their way back to their fortified camp. Apparently the disdain that the woman had expressed for Ana and her friends wasn’t enough to deprive herself of that sweet Vitality bonus. Frankly, Ana didn’t blame her—though she had toyed with the idea of booting her from the Party unexpectedly. In the end, she decided it was more satisfying to make Aaspiyah do it to herself.
It would be days before everyone recovered from their injuries. Far longer than that before those who’d lost someone close to them would feel like the world was right again. And the scars on the settlement, the destroyed buildings, wouldn’t be fully rebuilt until the cycle ended, and experts could be brought in to do the work. But there was still a sense of something being over; of a chapter being closed. There might, finally, be a lasting chance for a return to normalcy.
Ana knew better than to hope. She allowed herself to do so anyway.
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