22 - The Sacrifice Play (Patreon)

Dazien stayed focused and gave orders to the bard and mage, “Rayna, Uriel, execute the broodmother!”

Phoenix could tell that he had triggered [Lead the Charge] as he rushed the heavily injured Sapphire Caste monster and Rayna was beside him the next moment, both landing their executes on the massive monster.

She heard Uriel calmly incant beside her, “Your days have come to an end,” and another few seconds later a black void appeared around it causing more of the wailing shrieks to echo throughout the mountains.

When that spell ended, the Misery Broodmother seemed to collapse under those final blows but the new threat of the Crystalline Elementals was turning towards them and made clear that their battle wasn’t over.

Both parties were worn out from the long battle that had used much of their resources and Po would need to do an expensive and time-consuming ritual to resummon her Familiar again. Luckily, the bonded ones had survived the encounter but they weren’t so certain they would all make it through the next one after having exhausted the group’s many summons to the miserling horde.

Po knelt down next to Phoenix to try and help her down the [Restoration Elixir] she was weakly trying to lift to her mouth, barely having any stamina remaining to lift the vial on her own. The potion had cost her quite a bit, being an import from the southwest, but it was the only thing she found that would replenish all three of her resource pools at once if she needed to keep going after a [Supernova] on top of triggering her [Starlight Qi] to avoid the mana headache.

The cinderen woman asked quietly to Phoenix but the whole group could easily overhear them as they stood between the downed members and the new threat, “Any more ideas to save the day?”

Phoenix grimaced at the Summoner as she pulled out another potion, this one a normal mana one, and handed it to Saiya who was slowly coming to and sitting up with Simmon’s assistance, “Just one but I can’t cast again for a while and it’ll probably kill me.”

“No,” Dazien said firmly, then added through a private communication channel, “I don’t want to risk your life or secret talent. We all agreed you should keep it from public knowledge as much as possible. While we’ve been getting along with this party, they are still rather unknown and the group leader is obviously not a fan of yours.”

“It might be fine. I didn’t die the last time I did it. With that Sapphire Caste archer in the corridor outside Tulisuda.”

“No,” Dazien reiterated, “These might not be Sapphire but they’re tough and there’s three of them. You just used almost all of your resources to kill off the swarm,” he gestured to the field of white ash drifting around them as Rayna and Uriel were finishing off the few miserlings unlucky enough to survive the explosion. “If you try the [Magi Fortune Booster] with your avatar form, it will kill you. We’ll find another way.”

“But I can-”

“You don’t always have to make the sacrifice play, Princess,” Dazien stated firmly but with a smile, “You can trust your party.”

The Astromancer began to protest again but the Defender knelt down beside her so they were eye to eye as he rested a hand on her shoulder, “Trust me, Phoenix.”

She paused, closing her mouth as she looked at her friend, then nodded weakly.

He smiled at her then gestured to the side of the group as he commanded, “Open a portal and take us back to the rendezvous point. We can get help to finish these off and rest up.”

Phoenix blinked at him, then gave a weak chuckle that grew into a laugh as she realized her foolishness. She had been willing to sacrifice her life and a decent chunk of the progress she had made in her abilities when she could just simply retreat and fight another day.

Worse was realizing that if she had died and failed to kill the monsters, her party would have been without their portalist and could have died in turn, even with the emergency scrolls. She wasn’t sure how instantly those worked and, even if they did, then they would have been out of the precious tool on top of needing to explain her non-death. It struck her just how reckless she had started to become as her laughter became mixed with tears.

Once she regained her composure, the trembling ground from the monster's movements literally shaking her out of it, and she was able to cast again, she summoned her portal for Saiya and the other Crystals to retreat through to safety. Tanner, Rayna, and her then moved to put distance between them and the monsters as the bard was quicker than her and the Summoner could hop on his Sivatherium Familiar, named Silvie, to ride even faster across the snow-covered ground than them but chose to keep pace alongside them.

Another five minutes later she sent Rayna through the next portal and Tanner pulled her up to ride behind him. She gave him points for not abandoning her in the snow but wasn’t sure if that was more for her survival or his as another five minutes passed and they moved through a final portal.

As Saiya arrived back at their rendezvous and took stock of their situation, she quickly informed the other parties through Officer Wysmont’s communication ability of what had happened. One of the Sapphire Caste parties, the one called “Weather Machine” which was made up of a group of women that each seemed to make up the various elements of a storm, quickly returned to them on fast-moving clouds that hovered over the ground to handle the Crystalline Elementals while the rest of them took a bit to recuperate.

Dazien had gone off with Phoenix to have a quick aura training session before dinner, which the pair had been regularly doing since Paul had begun teaching the Defender more directly, while Tanner, Mohala, and Polissa went off to their own tent to talk but Simmon surprised Saiya by pulling her aside and asking, “Um, Lady Dewsong? C–could I trouble you for some advice?”

She smiled at the nervous boy and reassured him, “Sure, do you need to speak in private or would you like to join me for some tea?”

“Tea?” the young cinderen seemed to perk up, “Like the warm kind?”

The voxen laughed, “I’m guessing you don’t get that much when out on a mission?”

He nodded, “Even if we put it in a dim-bag with stasis it always turns cold quickly once in a cup and I don’t like it as much chilled.”

The Tranquil Healer nodded and took Simmon’s hand in hers to lead him towards the [Fortress of Solitude] that Uriel had reconstructed to rest and make them some dinner as Snowbelle glided in after them. The center room was mostly open space with some floor pillows spread around to sit and meditate on and Saiya pulled the young Adventurer down onto one of them. Snowbelle clambered onto her lap and promptly rolled over to beg for tummy rubs as she obliged while asking Simmon gently, “Not that this matters much but I’m curious; how old you are, Noble Teras?

“I turned sixteen about a month before the blood moon. Took my Adventurer Trials that same week,” he replied almost proudly, adjusting the pillows under him more to his liking.

“That must make you one of the youngest Adventurers ever,” she replied with wide amber eyes, “They don’t allow taking the trials before then.”

“I’m not the youngest ever but it is a rare feat,” the young cinderen admitted, then took one of the cookies from the plate Rayna had procured and brought over for them, “Thank you, Lady Dewsong.” 

“Please stop with the titles,” the bard grumbled, “It gets super confusing with the two of us and you’re also a noble and Adventurer like us,” then the pugilist took a cookie for herself and asked, “Is this more of a private session or can I hang out and listen while I munch?”

“Ah, um, you can stay. It’s not like an important secret or anything, I just wanted some more advice about healing in general and also maybe about, um… well…” the healing summoner trailed off uncertainly as if second-guessing himself now.

“One of your party members?” Saiya guessed.

He nodded quickly, seeming relieved by not having to say it aloud and Rayna spoke up, “Is it about the giant stick that’s been shoved up Tanner’s a–”

“Rayna,” the voxen Healer interrupted, “That’s his party leader you're talking about. Show a little more decorum, please. Simmon came to us for assistance, not snark.”

“Right, sorry,” the bard said with a dip of furred ears, “I’ll just focus on getting the tea and more of these amazing cookies,” the Striker added and stood, “Where did you get the recipe for these, Uriel? They’re awesome.”

The taller cinderen gave a slight smile towards them as he was pulling out a large pot with the lid tied onto it from one of the enchanted storage containers they kept inside the fort, “Thanks. Elder Pualani’s Familiar, Fen, gave it to me. The secret is in the butter that was infused with honey from their rooftop garden.”

Saiya turned her focus back on Simmon who took a bite of the cookie while watching the exchange before reaching over to offer some to the tiny Familiar wrapped around his left bicep. The small serpent seemed to unwrap itself and grabbed the cookie with equally small claws to nibble, chirping happily up at the cinderen who gave one of the sweetest smiles Saiya had ever seen as the teen rubbed the top of its shimmery scaled head with a single finger.

“And who is this sweetheart?” Saiya asked gently as she leaned forward slightly to get a better look at the serpentine creature.

Simmon blushed slightly as he answered, “Walter V. Teras, but I mostly call him Wally. I was only thirteen when I named him.”

That piqued Saiya’s attention even more as she clarified, “You had Aspects at thirteen? That’s extremely rare.”

He nodded, blushing further, “My dads were really proud of that fact. I have a Natural Talent that allowed me to get them earlier than normal. They said I was born to be a Caster. It’s why I was able to pass the trials so easily at sixteen.”

“What were your Aspects again?” Rayna called over as she delivered the tea.

“Ah, thank you,” he said gratefully, accepting the cup and adding, “And it’s Devotion, Noble, Renewal, and Seed for the Beloved Cultivator Class.”

“Can I give Wally a little pet too?” she inquired, scooting closer to the pair, much to Snowbelle’s discomfort. Simmon nodded, holding his arm out further towards her and the little Familiar gave another cheerful chirp at the head rub she gave the mini beasty while she asked, “What kind of aval is he?”

“He’s a Wellspring Wyrmling,” Simmon stated proudly, giving that affectionate look once more to the tiny Familiar, “They’re very rare and said to be good luck. He’s wonderful at keeping me going with being almost a literal wellspring of mana regeneration.”

“That sounds like a fantastic Familiar to have,” the voxen cooed, “Such a good boy, aren't you Wally.”

Another adorable chirp came from the wide serpent mouth that almost seemed to smile at her and Snowbelle gave an aggrieved bark from her lap causing both Healers to laugh and Simmon leaned forward to rub the large white belly with his free hand as he said, “I’m sure you’re a great Familiar too, Snowbelle,” he glanced up at her to confirm, “That is what I heard you call her earlier, right?”

The voxen grinned and nodded. After a few more minutes of spoiling the pair of bonded Familiars with pets and cookies, Saiya decided to redirect back, “So what exactly did you want to ask me about your teammates?”

Simmon flushed slightly and glanced over at Uriel and Rayna who were deep in discussion about the stew that they were dishing up before saying quietly, “Well, Lady– er, Rayna wasn’t exactly wrong about Tanner. It’s just… he doesn’t normally act that way. He’s been a bit on edge ever since the battle for Tulisuda where he and his mother chose to turn on those of his House that sided with the Ruwenas. It’s just gotten worse since we got paired up with your party…”

“Is he angry at the part Phoenix and her new House played in that?” Saiya asked curiously, trying to get a clearer picture of the situation.

“I don’t think so, actually. He makes it seem that way now but… well, during that battle he was angrier at his family for being traitors than at Lord Wayland for outing them,” the boy admitted, shifting uncomfortably on his seat and she didn’t think it was because of the pillow.

“Then why is he so dismissive of Phoen– Oh!” the voxen said as she finally connected the feelings she had sensed earlier from the runeforged to his actions, “It’s because of your sister.”

Simmon nodded, “I think so. I’m just not sure what to do or if there’s even anything I can do about it. I don’t need to be an empath like you to see how he feels about Po. I’ve spent the whole blood moon watching those two together.”

“Does Polissa know?” she inquired.

“I think so? She’s made it pretty clear I think that he’s not really her type but I believe she’s also afraid that if she outright rejects him then she’ll lose a summoning specialist… and the one who handles all the paperwork for her,” the young cinderen added with a small smirk.

Rayna plopped down on the other side of him as the bard summarized, “So basically we have Tanner crushing on Polissa and Po crushing on Phoenix, who I’m not even sure is capable of crushing on anyone,” then the Striker turned to her and grumbled, “I told Daze this would be a conflict of interests.”

Saiya gave her a flat look, “We can still behave like adults.”

“We’re not adults!” her twin retorted and jerked a thumb at Simmon, “This kid is literally a teenager! No offense,” the bard added in an aside to the cinderen before looking back towards her, “You and I are the oldest of the lot, except maybe Tanner but he’s obviously not thinking clearly, and we’re still considered children who can’t govern others.”

“I’m still old enough to be expected to take care of myself and be responsible for my actions. Plus, we’re all still Adventurers and should focus on that during a mission rather than the feelings we have towards our teammates,” the Summoner spoke up, trying to voice the frustration she could sense in his aura.

“That’s not how feelings work, Simmon,” Saiya said with a gentle smile, “You might be able to bottle them up at times but they’ll just explode later. It sounds like Tanner has been under constant stress, more so than most of us, and what he’s been bottling up is beginning to leak out.”

“Let’s just hope he doesn’t explode at the wrong time and get one of us killed,” Rayna murmured as the bard snagged the last cookie from the plate on the floor between them all.

“So how can I help?” Simmon asked, giving Saiya a pleading look that almost broke her heart.

She decided to be as honest as she could be while still giving him at least some hope, “I have some party members that suffer from the same problem. They try to smother their emotions and keep the pain they’re feeling hidden from their friends. All we can do is remind them that we’re there to support them, not judge them. That they can trust that their friends want to help them through the rough times, instead of thinking them weak for being a person with emotions.”

“But how can I do that?” the younger Healer asked in frustration, “How can I make him believe that?”

Saiya shrugged with a sad smile, “If I had that answer, then I wouldn’t have the same problem. I can only do what I can and that’s to use my words to inform and my actions to show them that I care.”

Unhelpfully, Rayna glanced over at Uriel who was just finishing up with the dinner prep, and said, “Yeah… a few more years or near-death experiences and they might actually believe us.”

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