CHAPTER 34: SECOND STORY

Charon took the water bottle Annie offered.

It was one of the first metal things he had seen her use, and he inquired about the River Acheron’s technology.

"I see you all running around using campfires and wooden items, but not any modern equipment. Why?"

Annie sighed.

"That has more to do with our rank than anything else. The Fort does have a decent amount of technology, but it’s limited. We can only power as much as the lightning mages can provide. The fire mages help somewhat, but the majority of what we can provide goes to the high-ranked squads."

That caught Charon’s interest.

"Do you have laser weapons? Or powered buildings? Anything like that?"

She nodded.

"Yes, but not very much. People have arrived here with some, but that’s rare, and the gods do not bless technological weapons very often. Benefits are based on rank, and so we all use relics to grow our ranks. Something like a laser weapon may be effective, but it makes life more difficult long term."

Charon’s mouth dropped open, so many things suddenly making more sense.

’That’s why the heroes don’t use laser guns, and the same with the academy! If the gods want us to use medieval weapons to advance our magic, then it’s too much of a hassle to use non-relics.’

He had always wondered about that, especially when the government promoted training in advanced weaponry. Even as a child, he had loved the thought of blasting Elves from miles away, his trusty rifle always accurate.

’Looks like that’s not in the cards for me anymore.’

’Scythe.’

The Warden’s opinion streaked across his mind, making him smirk.

’Yeah yeah yeah, I’ll use a scythe. It pairs with my element, after all. You liking it is just a bonus.’

"And the buildings?"

That made her smile.

"Yes, we do have powered buildings. Mostly in the inner sections, but as our population has grown, we have been able to power some of the outskirts. The modern systems, however, are only for the High Elders. They use it to keep the barrier online. Without it, we risk invasion by beast hordes."

She shuddered.

"Two years ago, the generators failed, and the shield came down. For weeks, the streets were crawling with all kinds of monsters. We lost a lot of good people."

Annie’s head fell to her chest as he became lost in thought.

Charon watched her, unsure how he could help.

He knew he could relate, his own home having been invaded and burned before his eyes, but she couldn’t know that.

Charon’s mind flashed back to his element ritual.

The visions he had seen, the mage bloodied, the pharmacist hanging, the fields of corpses...

He knew exactly what she must have gone through.

His hands balled into fists, his jaw clenching in a hidden rage.

’I’ll kill all those bastard Elves one day. I’ll return what they did to my home a thousandfold, and then I’ll find that red armored Elf and force him to watch his empire burn.’

It was an uncharacteristic show of anger, one that he wasn’t entirely sure was natural.

That didn’t stop it from feeling real.

The two of them sat there in silence for a few minutes, distracted by their own thoughts.

Until Liam decided he was bored.

"Hey, Charon, tell another story, and make it a funny one! If I’m gonna freeze to death, I’d rather do it laughing!"

Looking up, he glanced at Annie and saw she was also looking at him.

’Gods damn it, tell one story and suddenly you’re a minstrel.’

Sighing, he shook his head and racked his brain to find a good one.

’I could tell them about the Light Hunter... no, his story is too serious. Dawnstar, then? No, they won’t understand the references.’

He sat there for a minute, contemplating the options, before finding the perfect one.

Leaning forward to allow the fire to wash over his face and set the mood lighting, he twiddled his fingers and launched into one of his favorite heroic tales.

"This is the tale of one of the most powerful mind mages to ever exist..."

Red turned sharply, joining the other two as they listened to the story.

"Thas’wchi Said, the Murmuring Mime!"

Over the next hour, Charon explained every story he could remember about the elusive trickster. From assassinating an Elvish Lord, to saving the Emperor of Earth in his greatest moment of peril, Thas’wchi Said was an unstoppable clown.

He would weave thick enchantments on people’s minds, thrusting them into imaginary worlds entirely of his creation. It allowed him to learn forbidden secrets and enemy war plans, making him an important hero during the First Second Elvish War.

To Charon, he was also somewhat of a sore subject, as the Mistress couldn’t stand the thought of him.

’Not that it matters anymore.’

At multiple points during the story, Annie and Liam would stop him, asking questions about why things were happening the way they were, and Charon would explain, doing his best to make it vague, while still entertaining.

Liam always took the first answer he was given, content with the surface-level description, but Annie would ask half a dozen clarifying questions.

The most numerous of these was about the human and Elvish war.

"Why were they fighting again?"

Charon sighed for the umpteenth time, and Liam rolled his eyes.

"The Elves wanted to take planets that the Human Empire controlled. Initially, they tried to negotiate, but those broke down, leading to a galactic conflict that lasted a few years."

She blinked, her curiosity not sated by his simple answer.

"But that makes no sense. Why would they go to war over that?"

’Gods, isn’t she supposed to think this is my own imagination? Why is she so invested in the plot?’

It was strange how she kept digging, especially because she had no memory of what came before. As far as he knew, she couldn’t even remember the Human Empire even existed.

"It doesn’t matter, it’s just part of the story."

She leaned back, shaking her head and muttering something about consistency.

’You try telling the stories next time!’

"Just get on with the story!"

He glared at Liam and rubbed his hands together, frowning as he remembered where he was.

’What was it? Oh yeah, when Thas’wchi Said stole the Elvish Scepter.’

Continuing his story, he managed to finish it without any more interruptions. Annie seemed to be somewhat put off for a little bit, but she came around as he got to the climax, both of them leaning so close to the fire that Charon was worried they might singe their chins.

"... and then he managed to escape, fleeing with the Elvish jewels as well as their royal scepter!"

Annie, having held herself back for so long, let loose one last question.

"What did he do with them?"

Charon shrugged, not knowing the answer himself.

"No clue, fill in the blank yourself. He probably gave them to the Emperor."

Liam gave him a few thundering claps, his massive hands smacking together with force.

At some point, the giant had begun to lie down, having had too much trouble sitting and laughing without falling back.

"Now that is a story! You’ve been beat, princess, we are keeping this one ’round just for the laughs!"

Charon smiled, happy to be providing something that others enjoyed.

Then a third voice rang out around the campfire.

"Does he still breathe and grow?"

All heads snapped to Red, who was uncharacteristically focused on Charon, her piercing blue eyes looking into his own.

He chuckled nervously, slightly confused.

"Who?"

"The Murmuring Mime, Thief of the Jewels, Enchanting Clown."

He grew still.

’How does she know those last two? I didn’t say them during the story...’

The answer was obvious; she had heard his thoughts.

’Shit! So she can hear them all! She knows everything, then!’

Rubbing his wrists, he gave her a weak smile.

"Yes, as far as I know. No stories have been made about him in years, though. Some claim he committed a crime against the Empire and was exiled; others say he has been assigned an incredibly dangerous mission. No one knows for sure."

She nodded, her expression unchanging, but there was a disappointment in her eyes, as if that wasn’t what she had been wanting to hear.

Charon stared at her awkwardly for a moment, unsure of what had just happened.

He was saved by a sudden fit of coughing near Liam, the giant jumping to his feet and grabbing his waraxe before looking down and smiling widely.

Liam knelt and grabbed Emerius’ shoulder, somewhat gently helping him sit up.

The blonde swordsman wheezed into his fist a few times before opening his eyes, finally noticing them gathered around the fire. His gaze went from Red, to Annie, then Charon, and finally Liam, his eyebrows rising as he saw the giant was holding him upright.

"I... will assume we won, then?"