Action

After roughly two weeks of travel, I made it back to the capital city of Ject. I stood before the large stone walls and empty gates again. Berthon looked the same as I remembered from last time. But this time it didn’t leave me confused and strained.

The approach in the last few days put it in my mind once more. It wasn’t as though I was trying to forget it. The city left its mark on me in a way that I didn’t expect. And standing back at it once more felt a little like completing the journey. This wasn’t where it started, but this was something important. A moment that I thought about at times.

Did I make the right choice when I left? Was inaction the correct answer? I couldn’t give an answer to the Head Priest at the time. Tears and silence was my only recourse. And looking back to it now I regret that I couldn’t do anything. But at the same time, I know that there was nothing I could do. That version of me didn’t know.

I marched into the capital pushing through the sleepwalking crowds. It’s a wonder that people could function in this state. Whatever she used on them was effective, frighteningly so. But this wasn’t living. That much was the truth that I knew even back then.

The massive temple grounds laid out before me, unchanged as before. I presumed that she went back to being in the mindless state like everyone else pretending this was the best course until we all died. I guess that was the commitment of her convictions. She made the choice and would live with the same as everyone else that she subjected them to.

It had been months, but I remembered roughly where the Head Priest’s office was. I pushed up the door half expecting to see her staring at me with judgment in her eyes. But no, just the glazed over look, the same as everyone else.

I walked up to the desk looking down at her. “You challenged me to solve this if I thought you were wrong. Very well, you don’t get to take the easy way out. You have to face yourselves.” Nothing came from her. I didn’t say it with the hope that she would answer me or even applaud me. No, I expected her to exile me for my actions, but this had to happen.

This was the statement of my conviction. I will meet you head on today.

I began searching around the office for clues to what she did. The reality as I reminded myself, even if I figured it out today, it’d be days or longer until it cleared her system again. So today wouldn’t be when I’d face my regret. But it would begin, at least.

What she did had been the object of my curiosity for a while, more so as I started to get in range of the city. The basics I had already answered long ago. It came from the army. It was obvious, she poisoned the drinking water or in this case the river that ran through Brethon. Everyone used it for their daily lives. And she took advantage of that.

There were two things I didn’t know, but mostly just one that I needed. Less important was the location that she poisoned the river. I searched a desert for a lost city, looking up river for something tainting should be simple. The bigger question was what did she use and would it be obvious or not. The how or why of it mattered less since I knew it was something that was curable. I just had to find what she used.

My assumption was that unless she had an unusual background or hobby in poisons, this was something researched. And researched, the evidence would hopefully be present in her office. I sort of half expected it to be a taunt left out in the open.

It wasn’t that simple. She didn’t just leave me a letter baiting me or anything. So I just pulled apart her office. She was completely out of it, what would she care about what I did. And I could put it back before she even realized. I had days to wait it out.

However, hours of searching through piles of books and everything around the office left me with no further answers. There was still quite a lot of the office to read through and search. Rather annoying task she left me with. But I would rise to her challenge. I promise you that, Head Priest.

I had to get back out of the city to the farm house I used before. That hurt my time that I had in the Priest’s office. I didn’t have the advantage of the whole day to search. Safe was best. Even if I only got a few hours.

It took me four days to thoroughly go through the entirety of the office. “Nothing. If it’s something that she read, then she had to put it back in the library. And I could spend years with no clue. There is the option to just search the river and give this up and hope I can find it.”

Crossing my arms, I scan the room again to see if there was anything I forgot. I went through the shelves and tables, even the top of the desk. I had to work around the woman, but she didn’t complain that much.

Top of the desk, I thought. There was more to the desk. I didn’t really look around it that much since she was in the way. I did forcibly remove her before, so moving her wouldn’t be that much of an issue.

Walking around to the back side of the desk, there were drawers on both sides that I hadn’t searched. It was a long shot, but I haven’t searched them yet. I dragged her chair away so that I didn’t have to think about her hitting me or getting in my way. They were mostly out of it, but still went through motions of their lives.

Most of the drawers didn’t have anything interesting in them. Papers and files on matters completely unrelated to my concern. However, in my luck or idiocy, I found what I was looking for. Probably should have started here first, but didn’t think it would be that obvious.

Looking over the letter, it outlined her entire plan in thorough detail. It seemed that she researched an answer for the dilemma that she faced for a while. For her this was a logical answer to an illogical situation. I could appreciate now what she went through, but it was still the wrong answer.

Still if she wanted to stay the course, why did she just leave it in her desk like this? Sure, it wasn’t just on the desk for anyone to see, but it wasn’t hidden. I did find it, even if it was slower than necessary.

I looked back at her in the chair off to the side. It almost felt like she was asking someone to find a better answer. Like she wanted to be proven wrong. Was that it? Did she want someone to tell that this didn’t have to be the answer? Did she actually hate doing this? Was she too weak to come up with another course? Is that what it was?

The cause was at least a simple one. It was a rather isolated, but not uncommon herb that she found. Apparently, it had a tendency to grow higher up in the mountains nearby stagnant water. So it never really affected anything other than the wildlife. But the bold yellow and pink of its blossoms usually kept smart animals away.

Some curious hunter discovered it and wrote down everything that they learned. With it transplanted by the river, it wouldn’t have really looked any different from any other wildflower. But it was up stream with its roots already wildly clawed into the earth. It took a lot to tear all of it out and do some selective burning for good measure, but I think I got it all.

All I had to do was wait now.

One day into three, into a week. It took longer than I wanted at almost ten days, but everyone was finally starting to look sharper and alive again. In the time that I had, I posted around the city for people to come to the temple grounds.

It was a late morning that I was stared at by a massive mob of eyes confused and curious. All wanting answers. It was time that I woke them up and gave them what they needed. “Announcement! I called everyone here today. I’m Speaker Eshikra and I have something important to tell you!”