Soulweaver 50: Tarquin (Patreon)

“You’re a failure, Grug. Always have been. Always will be.”

“Oh yeah?” I said, bristling at the disheveled, gaunt man who had no right to be giving advice to anyone. “Rich, coming from you. I mean, look at you! Your shirt’s stained and you look like you’ve got one foot in the grave. You’re telling me about failure? Nah. If you want to see failure, all you need is a fucking mirror.”

“Don’t you dare speak to me that way. We raised you better than—”

“Did you? You didn’t do jack shit, dad. It was all mom. She took care of me. She raised me. And then you went and killed the best thing that had ever happened to you.”

“Oh yeah, smartass? That where you want to go, Grug? Sure. Fine. I’ve tolerated your shit long enough. Time I put you in your place.”

I barked a laugh, derision oozing out like a waterfall. “You’re drunk, dad. Can’t even remember your own kid’s name, can you? Fine. If a fight’s what you want, a fight’s what you’ll—”

“Grug!” 

I blinked. My old man was gone. In his place was Rogar, attacking me with a hammer. I dodged, only to turn and see it wasn’t Rogar at all. 

“You’re an elf!” I said, pointing at the platinum blonde’s ears.

“What’s it to you?” the elf replied, full of skepticism.

Then the world shook, and the forge disappeared in an instant—replaced by the timbers of a vaulted ceiling.

“Greg?” The voice was laden with concern, and a pair of hands pushed me gently. 

I groaned and turned to see Aerion standing over me, a distraught expression on her face. 

“I’m sorry!” she said, stepping back. “I wasn’t planning to wake you, initially. Just that… Well, may I have a bit of your time?”

I clutched my head and let the dream pass over me. That was way too lucid for my liking. And why my old man? I hadn’t thought about that piece of shit in so long. Was leaving for another world not enough to escape him?

“Sure, Aerion,” I said, groggily sitting up. “Just gimme a moment.”

“Bad dream?” Aerion asked, tugging on her hair.

“Something like that,” I said, squinting out the window. “What time is it, anyway?”

“Nearly dusk,” she replied. “Your sleep schedule is all off.”

I yawned. “Yeah, well. No more graveyard shift for me. Got promoted… I think?”

“Promoted?” Aerion asked, full of surprise. “How? To what?”

“By getting caught red handed forging when I wasn’t supposed to. And to apprentice.”

Aerion gawked. “You’re lying.”

I held up a hand. “I swear by my love of X Wings and TIE Fighters, I’m not.”

“What is an X Wing?”

“Ah, my bad. That’s the common name for the T65B starfighters used by the Rebel Alliance in their fight against the Galactic Empire.”

Aerion looked at me flatly. “Greg?”

“Mhm?”

“Shut up.”

“Yes, sir!” I said, throwing a goofy salute that’d have made any member of the military douse themselves in gasoline and light themselves on fire.

After glaring at me for a moment, Aerion chuckled, shaking her head. “You act like such a child sometimes… And now, for some inexplicable reason, I feel stupid to have worried.”

I shuddered, and Aerion noticed.

“What is it?” she asked.

“I just had the weirdest sensation right now,” I said. “Like Cosmo was rubbing off on me for a sec there.”

Aerion’s eyes narrowed and her smile faded.

“Ah, no, just his humor. Sorry. It’s nothing. You wanna tell me what was bugging you? I’m wide awake now.”

I expected her to roll her eyes or make some exasperated comment, but instead, she tensed up and plopped heavily down on her bed across from mine.

“I… could use your advice. On something personal.”

That got my full attention. It was a rare occasion for Aerion to come to me for anything ailing her. In fact, the only times I could recall her ever having done that was for Emma, information about her class, and leveling. 

I felt myself lean forward. “Tell me.”

— — 

An hour later, I was clutching my hair with both hands.

“Let me get this straight.” I struggled to keep my voice calm. “You went alone into a slumlord’s den. With a huge bag of coins. In a city where elves are rare, and a neighborhood that, by your own admission, is distinctly unsafe for elves.”

“That’s… er,” Aerion fidgeted, staring down at her feet. “I admit, I may have been a bit reckless.”

A bit? I took a deep, long breath to calm down. “Aerion, l’m going to be frank. That wasn’t just reckless. That was downright stupid. Like, me deciding to go fight a dragon in a dungeon I could have walked out of stupid.”

Aerion cracked a smile. “Which we did.”

“Which we did,” I admitted. “But we can’t get away with rolling the dice forever. What would you have done if you’d been mugged? Or if the Don had sprung his Blessed on you? Did you at least have contingencies against those possibilities?”

“I… didn’t.” Aerion looked like she’d shrunk to half her size, boring holes in the ground with her eyes. “But I’m… not the same. As before,” she said meekly.

“Because you have Reave?” I asked. 

“Y-yes?”

“Aerion, you can’t use that. You can barely control that ability as it is. You have no ability to restrain yourself in that state. You become a killing machine—which, don’t get me wrong, can be totally badass in the right situation—but it’s horrible for taking people down nonlethally. Was your plan to just kill everyone if they jumped you?”

“They’re… not exactly law-abiding citizens,” Aerion said.

“Still. You’re talking about killing people, Aerion. A lot of people. I’m not saying it’s wrong, mind you. If they attack, sure, kill them all if you have to. But what about after? I’m guessing there’s a justice system in this world. Do you really want to deal with that shit? And what about you? I’m gonna take a wild guess, but I’m betting you haven’t killed anyone in your life. Have you?”

Aerion’s voice was barely more than a whisper. “I haven’t.”

“Right. Neither have I,” I said. “I’m not naive enough to think I’ll never have to kill someone, but fuck if I know how I’ll deal with it after! I can tell you I probably won’t be sleeping that night. Or many nights after.”

“That’s…” she trailed off.

I let out a breath. “Besides,” I said, a bit more calmly. “It consumes all of your Essence. Every last drop. I’ve seen what it does to you after. Usually knocks you unconscious. What if you don’t win? You said this guy has a Blessed and a Boonworthy… What if one of them is still alive? You wouldn’t even need them to take you out once you’re unconscious. Any of his lackeys could do that. And I’ll bet he has no shortage of those.”

“You’re right,” Aerion almost yelled, fists clenched. “You’re right. It was stupid of me. I was stupid to go alone. But what choice did I have? I can’t afford to hire bodyguards. It took every coin I had just to pay off my debt!”

Aerion sniffed, and I knew it wouldn’t be long before tears streamed down her face.

I immediately felt guilty. Who was I to tell her off like this? I was a friend, sure, but this was overstepping and I knew it. Except, I was more than a friend, wasn’t I? We relied on each other to survive. For both of our sakes, I had to know she understood that this was the sort of thing that got people killed. And it wasn’t even necessary. Not remotely. Not while I was here.

“Aerion,” I said, softening my voice. “Did it ever occur to you, even for a moment, that I could’ve come along? Sure, I’m not exactly hot shit, but there’s safety in numbers. And I’m not entirely useless in a fight, you know?”

“I know,” Aerion fired back immediately. “You’re not useless. You always come up with plans. Just… That’s…”

“It’s hard for you to rely on others,” I completed for her. If I was honest, this conversation was a long time coming. It was a conversation I’d been wanting to have, but hadn’t been able to broach. It felt too soon after our previous argument. It felt too much like prying. But…

“Aerion, we really gotta talk about this. In the Trial, you hid that you were poisoned. You hid your injuries several times. And I know—you absolutely hated it when I rescued you.”

“Debts are… Difficult for me.” Her words came out slowly, as if each one caused her physical pain.

“I know,” I said, again softening my voice to show I understood. “And I won’t pry. I’m guessing you have a good reason for feeling that way, and I don’t need to know. Not until you’re ready to tell me. But goddammit, Aerion, you have to rely on me sometimes. We’re a team now. Trusting each other may very well mean the difference between coming out of a Trial unscathed, and not coming out at all.”

Aerion was silent for a moment.

“I… I know,” she said at last. “I’ll tell you. I promise. One day. For now… Just know that it was an obligation that killed my mother. And my grandfather.”

I took a moment to digest that. Her words could’ve meant anything, of course, but I had a hunch she wasn’t speaking figuratively

I was just about to reply when she spoke first.

“Still, I understand. I’ll… be more aware. From now on. I can’t promise I’ll change immediately, but… I’ll try.”

“Good enough for me,” I said. I’d fully expected her to dig her heels in and defend herself. It was nice, seeing her be so reasonable.

“But Greg?”

“Yeah?”

“I could say much the same for you, you know? About recklessness, I mean. Your idea with the subs… The goblins, even saving Emma. At the time, they sounded plausible, but looking back…”

“Yeah… Not my finest moments, admittedly,” I said. “Well, from a self-preservation perspective, anyway.” I was somewhat proud of the intent behind those actions. “I could make excuses all day long about how we were both weak, which meant taking risks we wouldn’t otherwise have.”

“Which is true.”

“Sure. But I should’ve been more cautious. Done more research on our enemies. Like how we approached the weasel hunt. Truth is, Aerion, I panicked. Plain and simple. I was panicking from the moment I set foot in that Trial, all the way up to the final fight with the dragon.”

Aerion gave me a funny look, as if she was trying to peer into my head to see what I was thinking. “You certainly didn’t strike me as panicky,” she shrugged. “If anything, you were the calm one.”

“Maybe I didn’t show it, but it’s true. Back on my world, we have these… games. Videogames, we called them. A lot of the stuff I played is so similar to the kinds of things we saw in that Trial. So much so that it makes me wonder how that’s even possible. But reality isn’t the same as playing a game. Games don’t have consequences.” I finished, realizing I’d rambled a bit.

“The stakes are higher,” Aerion added with a small smile.

“Exactly. If you lose here, you die. That makes it awfully hard to think, let me tell you.”

The smile turned into a smirk. “You don’t say…”

“Hah.” I tousled my hair. “So, I guess what I’m trying to say is, I’m gonna work on that, too. I can do better. A lot better. And I will.”

We settled into a comfortable silence, before I finally cleared my throat. As much as I wanted to put a bow on our little discussion, we weren’t done yet. We hadn’t even broached the main topic.

“It’s not just a pendant, you know?” Aerion said, breaking the silence first. “It’s… What elves call a Soulkeeper. It has a Soul Crystal inside.”

“I’m guessing it’s not just any soul?” I asked. Aerion didn’t seem like the type to engage in soul-collecting as a vanity like the rich of this world seemed to enjoy.

“No. It’s from Emma’s ancestor. Her family has protected mine for generations, and one of her ancestors accompanied my great-great-great-grandmother, and earned a Blessing. I’d… been hoping the Trial would give Emma a Blessing of her own. As recognition of her valiant effort.”

“That’s… wow,” I said. “That would mean a lot to me, too.”

Aerion nodded, sniffling. “It’s also made of mythril, and while the Blessing may only be of Divergence-Rank, it is still quite valuable. I’m afraid of what Tarquin will do with it should I fail to complete this mission.”

“About that. You said—and let me make sure I understand—he wants you to sneak into a stamp making facility, drop a note, and sneak back out, all without being seen.”

“Correct,” Aerion said.

“Did he say why?” I asked.

Aerion shook her head. “He wouldn’t. Only that doing this would clear my debt to him.”

“The debt you took on to buy admission into the Trial. Because there are Gatekeepers, and only the wealthy and the well-connected get a chance to delve. A perfectly equitable and fair system.”

Aerion frowned. “I can’t tell if you’re joking…”

“I am,” I replied. “It’s fucked up. Just like this plan of his.”

“Why do you say that? About the plan, I mean…”

“Because, Aerion… If you‘re gonna pull off a long-shot infiltration operation, why not let it be Tarquin’s place instead?”

“You suggest I steal back my pendant?” she asked. “No, he’d come after me. Nowhere would be safe.”

“Just like nowhere would be safe when the Guildmaster finds out he’s been set up. And unlike Tarquin, I’m pretty sure the Blacksmith’s Guild has the support of the government. Which, I’m guessing, means trained investigators out searching for you?”

Aerion nodded solemnly.

“Yeah. I don’t know how good law enforcement is in this country, but I’d rather deal with a slumlord I can kill without fear of legal repercussions than the friggin Blacksmith’s Guild and the armed forces of Basecrest.”

“I admit, I never quite saw it like that.”

“Well, now you do,” I said. “Which is why it should be obvious that going along with Tarquin’s plan is stupid.”

“Then, you suggest we fight him when he comes after us?”

“That’s one way. We can do better, though. Surely your pendant isn’t the only thing in his possession? If he’s blackmailing you, I’d bet anything he’s doing it to others.”

“Likely so. And?”

“And, what would happen if, instead of stealing just your pendant, we took everything he has?”

“He’d become angry. Furious, I’d imagine,” Aerion replied,furrowing her brows.

“Sure. And?” I prompted.

“And… It’d be impossible for him to verify who stole it, based on what was stolen. If we take it all, there will be nothing to lead back to us!”

I clenched my jaw. “I’ll be honest. I’m not a huge fan of this plan, either. Just that it’s better than doing Tarquin’s bidding, at least. I really want a third option. Something that would be less risky for the both of us.”

“Then what do you suggest?”

“For now? We wait. You still have some time before you have to give your response, right?”

“Yes. A few days.”

“Then we’ll use that time to come up with something better. This can be our fallback. And before that,” I said. “I’ve got my first blacksmithing session with Rogar.”

I had to admit—while the guy might have been a complete ass, I was still looking forward to this.