Chapter 8:

Determination

Project Aion vol. 1


Weeks had passed since the collapse of the chapel. Eranor, Kaltmund and Raione were pulled from the rubble by the heroes sent to handle Guthrum. They had arrived at the city as the fierce battle in the basement began. But when they searched for Borjan, he was gone and so the mysterious woman. The three young heroes were taken to the nearest hospital, while they began to investigate the cause of the collapse. In the weeks that have passed, Guthrum has been brought to justice, reconstruction of the chapel is underway and the truth about Borjan came to light. While all this occurred, Eranor remained in a coma. He saw visions of a massive white tower. When he looked to his side, all he could see was a battlefield. The ground was covered in bodies and only the occasional shadows still fought. When he looked forward again the distant tower was right in front of him. Two massive iron doors leaned over him as he slowly made his way to them. He was drawn to them and as he outstretched his hand. His eyes went open.

He stared at a white roof that was brightly lit by the light falling in from the nearby window. His body was stiff and his mind still groggy. He clenched the bedsheets and his knuckles cracked hard. He groaned as he forced himself to sit upright. The bright light stung his eyes, but it did not stop him from inspecting his environment. With squinted eyes, he made out the room. He was in a medical ward and there were rows upon rows of beds. In the left corner of the room were three other dividers.

“Must be other patients,” he mumbled to himself as he concluded he must have been taken to the hospital after the fight. Then as the thought crossed his mind, another popped in.

“Raione,” he said frantically as his head turned to inspect the other beds.

“You finally woke up,” said Raione as she got up from the chair at his bedside. She rubbed her eyes and clearly wore the face of someone who recently just woke up from a nap.

“Rai, thank the Gods you’re alright. What happened, where are we and where’s Kal?” he asked as he attempted to get out of bed. His legs were just as stiff as the rest of his body.

“Take it easy their Eranor. You’ve been out cold for more than two weeks,” she said and came to help him to his feet. “Don’t push yourself too hard, get the body use to moving again first,” she said as she stabilised him.

“Thanks again Rai,” he said and clearly struggled not to collapse. He was lightheaded and his legs felt weak. “But please tell me. Where’s Kal?” he asked.

“He’s in bad shape Eranor. I’ll take you to him in a little while. Sit back down and get used to being awake. I don’t think it can be good for you to suddenly be jumping up after being out for two weeks,” she said and forced him to sit on the bed. Eranor wanted to rebuke but he understood the wisdom behind her words.

“What do you mean Kal’s in bad shape, what happened?” he asked again. Raione frowned and contemplated if she wanted to tell him of everything. She looked at him and saw the expression he wore. She let out a big sigh and sat down on the chair and interlocked her hands.

“Kal realised as that woman grabbed him, it would all be over if he didn’t do something. So, as he fainted, he solidified that spear of his as if it were going to be thrown, but instead, it detonated when it struck the floor. The explosion toppled the basement in on itself and well. Kal’s entire right side of his body had immediate frostbite on it, from the explosion you see. The doctors did what they could and saved most of his body, but the right arm. He can’t use it anymore, the nerve endings, the muscles, everything. It’s all dead,” she said and paused to bite her tongue, “He hasn’t been the same, he doesn’t talk to anyone but me and when he does. It’s bleak Eranor. He lost a lot of his will and resolve,” she explained morbidly. Eranor stared in shock as she couldn’t look him in the eyes as she told him. She kept fiddling with her hands and that’s when he saw it. Laceration marks all over her arm and midriff.

“By the Gods, Raione. Are you okay?” he asked and softly touched her scaring.

“Yeah, the collapse did a number on me but nothing as serious as with Kaltmund,” she said and placed her hand over his and went silent. It clearly hurt her by simply touching it, but she didn’t allow herself to show any pain.

“Take me to him, please,” he finally said to break the silence. She looked at him with sorrowful eyes.

“I think he’d like to see you as well,” she said and forced a smile.

The two of them made their way down the hallway slowly. A few nurses came rushing in to assist but Raione assured them that Eranor was more than capable to walk the stretch of the hallway to Kaltmund’s bed. His bed was at the very edge of the ward, he requested it to be moved there so that he could be next to the window. When they pulled back the curtains he was starring longingly out of the window. The black mark of frostbite covered his entire right arm. Some streaks travelled up underneath his shirt and up to his neck. His eyes held little light left in them.

“Kal, it’s me,” he said. With those words’ life returned to the mage’s dreary expression. He couldn’t possibly have turned his head quicker. When he saw Eranor in front of him he couldn’t help the tears building up.

“Eranor, I’ve missed you so much,” he said wanted to grab him and pull him closer. But his right arm remained still. The overwhelming emotions he felt were replaced with despair.

“Don’t you worry about that,” said Eranor and took the black hand and folded it around him as the two lifelong friends embraced each other.

“It’s so good to hear your voice again. I feared you would never wake up,” he admitted as he squeezed with his left arm.

“Same here, no stop getting so emotional. Rai’s not going to be able to keep her tears back,” he said and chuckled as he still hugged him.

“And she’s an ugly crier,” he added with a chuckle. Raione stood at the edge of the bed with a broad smile on her face. She didn’t mind the quips; she was just happy to see the two of them together. When the two of them finally let go of each other, Eranor and Raione sat down next to Kaltmund.

“So, I suspect Raione already told you everything,” Kaltmund asked as he composed himself again.

“Not everything. I haven’t told him about Borjan yet,” she confirmed before turning to Eranor who had a confused look on his face.

“What of him?” he inquired.

“He got away and so did the woman that ambushed Kal. The heroes who rescued us searched everywhere and couldn’t find them anywhere. They took care of Guthrum and searched his camp for the two them as well,” began Raione.

“They didn’t find them there either. But there is some good news in all this,” continued Kaltmund.

“What?” asked Eranor.

“Well, that little brat and his gang were rounded up and told everyone what Borjan was doing. They found some damning evidence in his quarters. He’s a wanted man now and all the orders have been alerted. He won’t be getting away from his punishment,” said Raione.

“Heroes, the ones sent to stop Guthrum? They arrived and save us?” asked Eranor.

“Yes, they were very kind and took the funding for rebuilding the chapel on themselves,” said Kaltmund and rubbed his black arm.

“Speaking of money. I sold everything we possibly could to pay off most of our bills, but I had to take the rest on credit,” she said. Eranor frowned as he looked at her.

“How much was the debt?” he asked.

“Don’t you worry about that; I’ve been doing smaller jobs lately to start paying it off. See it a returning the favour for you two saving my life a while back,” she said, and a faint smile appeared on her face.

“Well, you’ll no longer be doing jobs alone. I’ll be there by your side every step of the way. We’ll both be,” he declared and stood up from his chair. The reaction, however, was not what he expected. Raione turned her head away from him and Kaltmund clenched his fist. “What’s the matter you guys?” he asked.

“I’m done Eranor. My injuries are too severe. I would only be a hindrance, I’m going home in a few days,” he confessed and squeezed his arm.

“What? No, you can’t give up. Remember when we were little. You and I would play in the garden and tell stories. We said we would make it and become heroes together. Then Rai showed up and we knew we were going to do it. We were going to be the first,” he pleaded before silenced by Kaltmund raising his hand.

“Please, Eranor. Don’t make it harder than it has to be. Without my arm, I can barely cast magic. I would be near useless in a fight. But don’t let that stop you two,” he began before Eranor grabbed him by his shirt.

“Listen here Kal. We are not giving up on you, so you don’t give up on us. We are going to figure out how to get you back into tip-top shape,” he shouted and turned to face Raione, “aren’t we?”

“I don’t know Eranor. I would love to but what can we do what doctors can’t?” she asked, already defeated.

“Doctors treat people. We’re going to solve the problem because that’s what heroes do. But if you don’t want to come then I’ll do it all by myself,” He declared and aimed to storm off.

“Wait,” interjected Raione. Kaltmund looked shocked and Eranor stopped dead in his tracks. “You’re right. We can’t leave Kal like this. I’m coming with you.”

“You two please listen to me,” begged Kaltmund.

“No, we won’t. We’re going to get you your arm back one way or another,” stated Eranor and off the two of them went.

Eranor stopped dead in his tracks when he took his first outside of the ward. His eyes squinted and his hand was raised. The sun shone right in his eyes. Raione came out from behind.

“Took your time getting dressed,” she said and made her way to him.

“Sorry, I’m not nearly in good enough shape to be doing this really,” he admitted, and his hand went to his side.

“Then why are you doing this, you could have sent me looking for whatever you’ve got in mind,” she said as the two of them made their way into the city.

“Because I can still use my arm and Kal can’t. I won’t let him give up on his dream just because our bodies and pride got wounded,” he said with his hand permanently holding his side. “Besides I’m not really certain what I’m looking for myself but I’m going to find something.”

“I hope we find something then,” she said before pausing, “Because I’ve tried everything to get his arm healed.”

“How so,” he asked as they entered the less busy streets.

“I could pay for all my treatment, but I took on a lot of debt for extra treatment for Kal’s arm. All that did was that it wasn’t necessary to amputate his arm,” she said and frowned at Eranor.

“Thanks for that Rai, really. If they had to take off his arm, he would’ve killed himself,” he said and shuffled along with the crowd.

“Do you have any idea where we’re going?” she enquired with a slightly raised voice.

“Not really,” he said and turned his head towards her wearing a dumb grin.

“Unbelievable. Let me take lead, I’ve learned a little bit of the layout while doing the occasional odd job,” she said and stomped her way in front of Eranor and took lead. “You shouldn’t always be so gung-ho about taking action,” she criticised.

“Now that’s ironic coming from you Rai. I’ve never seen you hesitate to take action once in all our time together,” he said with a chuckle.

“I know and I’ve learnt from my mistakes. Getting almost killed twice tends to do that to a person,” she said and took a sharp left.

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that,” he said and followed her, “How are you feeling. Really, I mean?”

“Pretty terrible, the first few days we were nothing but me coughing up blood. Apparently, I took some extensive internal damage. The doctors in fact called it a miracle that I survived my wounds. After a little over a week, I could finally stand up. I decided I needed to get into fighting shape again,” she said before taking the right fork in the road.

“Didn’t the doctors try to stop you?” he asked from behind.

“They did, but they couldn’t really stop me. In the night I would exercise and do rehab, while in the day I would go out into the town with a nurse just to get out of that damn ward. About three days ago they realised they couldn’t keep me any longer and checked me out. I’ve been doing odd jobs to pay off the debt ever since,” she said as they came to a stop in a familiar courtyard.

“That was reckless of you Rai. You needed your rest,” he began to preach before realising what he was saying, “but I am thankful that you are here with me now. I wouldn’t be able to do this without you.”

“Don’t mention it. Now let’s go get that damn armour piece you ordered,” she said and made her way to the stairs.

“I thought I recognised this place but wait. Shouldn’t Kal be our number one priority?” he asked and followed.

“Yes, but if we get this, we might be able to talk to the smith about a possible solution. I mean at least it’s a decent start and besides, you look like hell,” she said and started to climb the stairs.

“What do you mean? I look like a million quarts compared to you. I’ve seen fewer scratch marks on a cat pole,” he jibbed and struggled up the stairs behind her.

“Brave words from someone who seems to be struggling with stairs,” she said and stopped at the top of the stairs. She folded her arms and waited for him.

“I know, disgraceful really. But my left leg, I’m really struggling to get it off the ground,” he complained as he made his way up.

“By the Gods you’re pathetic,” she sighed before making her way to him and helping him up the stairs. “You know, in the state, you are now. How are you going to make it out of this city let alone join an order?” she asked mockingly but with a hint of earnest.

“Don’t you worry about that, I’ll be back to normal in no time,” he said patted her on the side of her face.

“What the,” she growled and swatted away his hand. “I’m trying to help you, and this is what you decide to do?” she asked.

“Come on Rai, I was just messing with you,” he said with a grimace.

“Oh, I see,” she said and helped him to the top of the stairs. “Just messing with me,” she repeated and pressed her thumb into his hip. He cried out in pain and fell against the wall.

“Not funny Rai,” he whined.

“From where I’m standing that was pretty funny,” she retorted with her wolfish grin.

“Okay fine, we’re even. No, let’s get going,” he said and forced himself from the wall.

The two of them finally made it to the top of the tower. With one arm slung over Rai and the other holding his side, they appeared at the weapon smith’s shop.

“Hello and welcome to Nidhogg Guild Smithy,” greeted the blacksmith while turning around. When he saw the sorry state of the two of them, he paused. “What happened?” he asked and rushed to help Eranor.

“Nothing but a scratch good man,” exclaimed Eranor as he was passed from Raione to the blacksmith.

“You? Well, I was planning on charging you extra for not picking up your delivery, but it seems you’ve got a good reason,” he said and set him down on a chair.

“Mighty kind of you master blacksmith,” he said.

“I take it you’re here for your item?” he asked.

The blacksmith went down on his haunches and rummaged behind the counter for a while. Raione sat down on the other chair and inspected her wounds, pressing them to gauge in how much pain they were in. The blacksmith finally popped up and laid out the cloak. It was almost unrecognisable from the raw ingredient he gave him. The only fur that remained was on the shoulders and the hood. The hood was the head of the beast, while the rest of the cloak was a thick light grey. An intricate pattern ran down the length of the coat. It was embroidered into it with what seemed to be black string, as to only be able to be seen up close.

“This is magnificent master smith,” exclaimed Eranor as he felt the texture of the cloak.

“Why thank you master Eranor, you know I’ve made some armour in my lifetime, but this is by far my most creative piece. You see I tried to keep it stealthy and light but also thick enough to add a little protection,” he explained as he gestured wildly at all the small alterations he made.

“Eranor, this is a wonderful item, you won’t look like some rogue adventurer anymore,” she said as she stroked the soft fur.

“This is exactly what I asked for and more. I shall wear this with great pride. Thank you again,” he said and gave a small bow in his chair.

“Don’t thank me yet, you’ve got to try it on. I guessed the length it should be as I had hoped to fit it to your taste once you decided to collect it,” he clarified and took the cloak off the table. He walked around the counter and stood behind Eranor. The cloak was then positioned and dressed. Eranor winced as he stood up from the chair.

“How do I look Rai?” he asked and attempted to strike a heroic pose.

“It fits you perfectly,” she said and nodded while leaning from side to side to get a complete view.

“I think so too, it seems I’ve outdone myself yet again,” the blacksmith praised himself.

“You have indeed and earned every last quart,” Eranor congratulated.

“And I added our shop's symbol on the inside of the coat so that I can get some marketing out of this as well,” he said with a chuckle and revealed that on the right inner side of the cloak it was marked.

“You have earned that right master smith,” he said and nodded. He was satisfied with the product but the then thought of the true reason they stepped out reappeared. Raione however never seemed to forget and immediately stepped forward.

“Master smith, do you know of any possible way to make a non-functional arm functional again?” she asked blatantly. The smith was caught off guard and shot her a strange look.

“What do you mean?” he inquired.

“Let me explain,” began Eranor and turned to the blacksmith, “our friend received quite extensive damage to his right arm. In fact, he can’t move it at all, and we were hoping that you could somehow help us. Anything would be appreciated,” he continued and bowed his head once more.

“Well now, that is something. What sort of damage did your friend sustain?” he asked and scratched the back of his head.

“His entire right arm is dead due to frostbite. They managed to keep it from falling off, but he can’t use it in any way,” added Raione.

“I’m sorry to hear that, but I’m afraid I’ve got nothing I could make to fix that. Perhaps you should ask a skilled mage? They’ve always got some fancy manipulation tricks that they think of. Perhaps one of them can think of a way that your friend can manipulate his arm?” he suggested and continued to scratch his head. But while Raione looked defeated, Eranor had an idea.

“Master smith, do you think you can craft us another piece of armour or know someone who can?” he asked in a serious tone.

“I could but what is it that you want?” he asked and contorted his face while stopping his scratching.

“A sleeve. One that could be fit onto someone’s arm. Then be pinned into it, it needs to be manoeuvrable yet tough to tare. Then in this sleeve, we need bendable tubes that can hold liquid, and that must be extremely hard to crush,” he explained with growing excitement.

“Eranor, what are you planning?” she asked.

“Quite Rai, well master smith. Can you or do you know someone who can?” he reiterated his question.

“Well, that sounds like a specialist item, I would need help from a mage and an armourer to make this happen. But if you are willing to take on the debt then I could organise it for you,” he said hesitantly. Eranor grew a wide smile on his face and seemed to forget all about his injuries.

“Excellent, whatever the cost put it on my tag. This will mean the world to him. Rai, we need to get back to Kal right now,” he exclaimed and stormed for the stairs.

He was about halfway down when the excitement could no longer suppress the limits of his body. His left leg suddenly gave in and he crashed into the wall of the herbalist shop. He grunted and tensed up as he tried to hold in his scream of pain. The entirety of his body pulsed with each beat of his heart.

“Eranor you madman, calm down. You are in no shape to be pushing your body in this way,” scolded Raione as she made her way down the stairs. “Now tell me what plan you’ve come up with?” she demanded as she came up behind him.

“It would be pointless to tell it twice, so please bear with me. When we get back to Kal I’ll tell you both,” he said while panting and holding his side.

“No, tell me now Eranor,” she ordered and squared herself with him. He looked at her through half-closed eyes and bit down on his jaw.

“Fine,” he said and took a deep breath. He forced himself from the wall and steadied himself on his two feet. “If we cover his entire right arm with a sleeve. All the way from his fingertips till in his shoulder, it would be safe from further harm. Then on the inside will be these tubes filled with water running along the sleeve. He can then manipulate the water. By doing this, his arm will move with it. Then he can use it as normal again even if he can’t physically use it,” he explained. Raione stood stunned for a few seconds and simply stared at him.

“Eranor, that might actually work, but does Kal have that much control over water?” she asked.

“He does but I don’t know how long he can control it, that’s why I want to get back as soon as possible. When I tell him of this plan, he’s going to need to train every single day to become a master at controlling water,” he responded immediately.

“I see,” she said before Eranor put his hand on her shoulder.

“I realised with the fight against Borjan, we need to get stronger. That means when we get back, we will start our training immediately. Every single day we will work on becoming stronger than what we were before. Then when we head out for Belhaven, we will be ready to become heroes,” he said as he let go of his side. He made his back straight and chest broad. A large smile spread across his face and determination in his eyes. They would become heroes no matter what.