Bound Evil

Emily was growing increasingly tired of the lies and deceit.
"Alright, I'll bite, what was it now?"

Teo cleared his throat.
"First, you have to understand that the sapphire you brought holds significant importance to us. We call it the Heart of the city for a reason. A settlement can only grow as large as its Heart can sustain. The trees are vital to our survival, and they require that crystal to live."

He paused.
"The pieces you gathered were from the largest gem ever found. They allowed us to build that glowing metropolis centuries ago. So when an ally told us about a particular beast that could enhance them, we jumped at the opportunity."

His voice grew heavier.
"Unfortunately, those creatures were far more than we bargained for. They corrupted our Heart—and that alone killed hundreds of thousands."

Teo met her eyes. "If you win the fight and are allowed to leave, you'll have to travel through their territory."

Emily's voice was quiet but firm.
"What are these things called? The ones that corrupted your Heart?"

"We eventually took to calling them Demons."

Emily's brows drew together. Demon? How was that word here? Was that just how her subconscious was choosing to interpret the word, or was it something else?

Either way, these beasts didn't sound like something she wanted to encounter. Especially if all they gave was that foul, pitch-black life force she drank from the mutated venomtail.

As it was, she had already sealed away a kernel of its power. She'd need to speak to the Hearthspeaker about getting rid of it, but not now. It would be better to discuss those matters in private.

"So if these shards are so dangerous, why are you asking me to bring them back? Shouldn't I just destroy them now?"

Teo shook his head.

"Were that the case, I would have already had you so do. Unfortunately, the demons came from a completely different world, and whatever they did to the gem made destroying it impossible."

That caught Emily's attention further.

Other world? Did that mean that they had ways of traveling between the worlds? And if so, could she get her hands on that type of ability? It wasn't like she was that interested in going back, but it would be great owning that kind of power.

The Hearthspeaker had kept talking, and Emily had to refocus on his words.

"-Being what it is, it is far safer in our hands so that the roots can lock it away."

Emily shrugged; she didn't have any desire to keep the obviously cursed item.

"Okay, fine. For now, we can table it, but just know I want something good as an apology. Coin, relics, information, you name it, but had better be good."

Emily could be very vindictive, and there was no doubt she would find someone to take it out on, but for now, she may as well get what she could. If her guess was right, the Hearthspeaker was the ally Alex had spoken about that got them out of the city last time. So it was wise to avoid burning a bridge when it could still be useful.

The Hearthspeaker nodded with a warm smile appearing on his face.

"Of course, I'll prepare something for your return."

Emily let a satisfied smirk appear on her face as they exchanged a knowing look.

"Alright, well, I don't see a reason to hang around out here when we have what we want. If everyone is ready, we'll make our way back. Hopeful we'll arrive soon."

The Hearthspeaker nodded in turn.

"Then, for now, I will leave you and return this one's body to him. I look forward to seeing you all in person for the coming duel. Safe travels."

With that, the Hearthspeaker's presence faded from the tent. Teo's consciousness came back to the forefront, and he grinned.

"In a hurry to leave?"

Emily shrugged.

"Yes, well, if you were watching everything. I'm sure you saw the slow-approaching storm."

Teo's smile dulled somewhat.

"Yes, the Hearthspeaker said we have a recorded history of this type of disaster. But we've endured before. Plus, we're not certain it will even reach us, so he's chosen to remain optimistic."

Emily hummed as she glanced at the tent wall that blocked her view of the storm. At its current pace, the storm would reach this spot within a day, and if it kept growing, it would reach the city in four or five. That meant they had to be out of there in that time.

"Well, I'm not sticking around. If you have any authority, you might want to get everyone moving," she said to Teo.

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Sol had not spoken at all since she'd entered the tent, but he stepped forward now.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure they're all ready within the hour," he said.

Emily nodded and turned to leave, only for Teo to speak.
"Emily, what you did out there was incredible, and I want you to know things will be different when we return. Not in a bad way, but now that they've seen your strength, no one will dare dismiss you."
Emily's lips pressed into a thin line.
"All I want is to wipe that frustrating glare off a certain Chieftain's face. But… I'm not blind to everything you've done for me, Teo. So… thank you."

From the beginning, it had been clear that Teo was the one the Hearthspeaker trusted to guide her, but he hadn't needed to go as far as he did.
Despite her being an outsider, Teo had accepted Emily without hesitation and taught her their ways.
She wasn't ungrateful.
As she left the tent, she offered the man a quiet nod.

Heading out into the sun once more, Emily found Cupcake right where she'd left her. Alex stepped out shortly.

"Come. I'll take you to a spot you can rest before we head out."

Emily didn't say a word, but she followed him without hesitation, Cupcake walking beside her.

As they traveled towards the open gates of the sanctuary, Emily spotted several warriors watching her with interest. Some looked wary while others merely looked like they were seeing her for the first time.

She was not happy to see that I'llva was part of those numbers. The Shaman was not a welcome sight to Emily, but she was part of Sol's team, so it was probably to be expected.

The woman had given their mercenary group so much trouble on arrival that Emily only had a bad impression of the woman. Though I'llva did look somewhat more restrained than last time, almost entirely avoiding eye contact.

Thinking nothing of it, Emily ignored her and entered the butte. Once inside, Alex led her to the back room that overlooked the chamber below. There, Emily rested and restocked her supplies while she waited for everyone to pack up.

Almost an hour later, all their gear and belongings were packed onto a small horde of beetles as they finished their final preparations.

Emily climbed onto her own beast and lay flat. Without much fanfare, they were off. Moving away from the large rock as they plunged back into the desert. It wasn't a long trip, but hours later at the midway point, they stopped to let the beasts rest.

Emily hopped off her beetle and took in her surroundings. She could no longer see the storm in the distance, but she was certain it was still there, growing ever larger.

All of the desert looked the same, honestly, but something felt off. She couldn't quite put her finger on it when she turned to Alex. The man seemed to be frowning as well as pulled out his Cardinex. He looked at it and frowned. Glancing up at Emily, she could see his annoyed expression turn to one of shock.

Alex's arm went down to the blade at his hip, but it was too late.

Emily had dismounted from the beetle and had been standing alone in the sands as the group of escorts milled about.

What she hadn't expected was for three of their passing guard to suddenly pull weapons from seemingly nowhere and stab Emily from three different directions.

The first blow came from behind, slicing through her travel clothes, grazing her shoulder blade, and piercing straight through her heart, exiting cleanly from her ribcage.

As if that weren't enough, the second and third struck from either side, spearing her with the glow of skills trailing behind them.

They pierced her chest cavity, spearing her lungs and who knows what else. Their coordination was so flawless that Emily hadn't seen it coming; all three attacks landing almost simultaneously.

What was more surprising was that Tested flesh barely offered any resistance against her attackers, so they had to be highly ranked.

Before the pain even hit, Emily sent large quantities of life force to those areas to heal them, but faltered when her wound didn't respond.

The healing that would have normally sealed off her veins and closed around the weapons was bearly effective. Only just able to stop the blurring near the edges of her vision.

Alex was already in motion, charging the attackers and severing his fingers and skewering the attacker.

Everyone's attention snapped to the scene, though Emily suspected it was the sound of her choking on her blood that had truly drawn them in.

There was, however, one voice that broke through Emily's stupor.

"By order of the branches, the death of this outsider has been decided. All those that interfere shall be put to the blade!" I'llva voice sounded out.

Emily couldn't even turn her head to see the traitorous worm, but suddenly there was movement all around her.

Sol appeared at Emily's side, impaling one of her attackers with a spear through the skull, his face a mask of barely restrained fury.

"All who dare attack our charge will know my spear!" he shouted at everyone nearby.

Emily couldn't see it, but she could hear the sands behind her explode as Teo attacked the man behind her. At the same time, she felt a warmth suffuse her chest as he pointed his hand at her.

She was dimly aware that it was a spell intended to help, but it wasn't doing a whole lot. The surprise nature of the attack had made her reactions sluggish. She tried to ignore the pain and move her life force properly, but as it got to the wound, it halted. Energy encompassed the spears, making it difficult to heal. Whatever this was, it was made specifically to deal with her. It felt like poison spreading through her veins, but if it were, she would have been able to react. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could remove. The next best thing was to hold her blood in and try to remove the obstructions, but while she did this, the area exploded into action. All around her, people picked sides as they either turned to attack Emily or defend her. She didn't have time to spare because of her emergency, but it looked like her defenders were severely outnumbered.

Emily keeled over in the sand as she concentrated on keeping herself alive while the sounds of people charging arrived in her ears. It could have been seconds or minutes; she didn't know, but the sound of battle echoed around her. A peak in their direction saw Mo and Ra having joined the defenders as they formed a loose ring around her. Streams of blood splattered the sands, and Emily realized this was an assassination. She would have wondered who, if she didn't already have a good idea. The problem was that people were paying for her weakness. She should have seen this coming.

Still on her knees in the sand, she heard a scream of pain from Teo. Grabbing the spear from over her heart, she pulled with all her might. Send blood there to push it out. With her combined efforts, the shaft of the spear fell into the sand. The moment it did, her sluggish thoughts sped up. Removing the other two allowed her to heal her wounds, but by this time, Sol let out a grunt of agony.

Finally, with the force suppressing her healing gone, she drew a breath, steadying herself.

When Emily opened her eyes to the battlefield, what she saw rooted her to the spot. Corpses surrounded her, among them was Teo, his eyes staring blankly into the distance, a spear jutting from his chest.

She saw Alex, Mo, and Ra all badly wounded. And though Sol was still standing, he looked like he was at death's door.

Her eyes dilated to pinpricks.

Emily had rarely had people she could rely on, let alone people who would risk themselves to protect her.

So when she saw Teo's body—Teo, who had congratulated her just hours earlier—something fragile and newly formed inside her shattered, and in its place, only wrath remained.

Blood points: 669