The next Step

“Damn. I need the focus,” Nono mumbles.

“Tell me why.”

Nono rolls her eyes, but answers anyway. “They’re artifacts made personally by the demon lord. If someone unsanctioned tries to use them, he’ll know. It’ll demand immediate action. There will be demons coming to take back this land, but any small intrusion we did can be written off to chance. It’s not a priority. Getting your hands on the focus is.”

I know instinctively that she isn’t telling me the full story, but it is enough to make it urgent. I cross the distance quickly, just as they pull the battered body from the rubble. It’s not a pretty sight, but I can’t dawdle. No one stops the Hero of Light when he starts examining the body. Authority can come in handy sometimes. Then I spot it: In between crushed fingers is a small, round object. It looks like a pocket watch, with a lid to open it. There’s no way to take it in secret, with so many people watching. So I raise it up and appraise it.

[Magic Focus]
Type: Godly Artifact
Attributes: Dark, Earth
Durability: 20/500
Age: 12 years

Huh.

“What is it?” Karina asks.

“Some sort of magic amulet. But it has demon magic hidden inside.”

“We need someone to cleanse it,” one of the soldiers says.

“Uh, right. I’m going to ask Poru-in to try once he returns. I should hold on to it, since I can’t be affected by the dark magic.”

Agreeing murmurs all around… but I feel it’s much less confidence in me—rather relief about not having to touch the thing. They’re happy to let me continue the search of Din’s body too. Unfortunately there’s nothing more of note. A bent glasses frame and a book in one pocket of his coat, a bundle of dried fruit in the other. The book is a romance novel.

Ugh.

Couldn’t it have been a collection of curses?

I make eye contact with Nono, who nods her head in approval. I’m still not happy about working with the enemy, but when our goals are aligned, it can’t be helped.

Even though he’s much smaller and gaunt than Poru, Din reminds me of him. Maybe that’s because I haven’t seen any other dark elves before. Would Poru have ended up in a similar situation if he hadn’t left his home?

“We should bury him,” I say.

“He’s not worth a burial!”

“He attacked us without mercy!”

“He is a demon lord worshipper!”

The voices around me are getting louder. I get it. But I’ve always held myself to a certain standard, when I worked in HR… and I won’t compromise here either. In my eyes, once you start treating people differently because of their backgrounds, you’ve made a step into the wrong direction. I tried to treat everyone equally in the business world. I will try it here.

“I don’t know who he was. I don’t know why he did this. All I know is that I will always treat the dead with dignity. If you won’t bury him, I will do it myself.”

The silence is heavy. Suddenly, there’s a hand on my shoulder. I look up to see Poru, tears running down his face.

“Thank you,” he whispers.

We watch as Nono bends down and picks up the broken body, not heeding the filth spreading across her clothes. Karina picks up the novel, then follows Nono as she carries Din’s body all the way to Erya’s church. Buried here, he may receive forgiveness. He may not. His grave is marked by a simple stone without engravings, as no one here officially knows his name. With the novel in his arms, Din is positioned to sleep forever.

The atmosphere is solemn, but also tense. Not everyone respects my decision. I don’t expect them to.

After Poru has gone though the prayer, speaking the last few words in his native language, I find Safrim waiting for us at the entrance to the graveyard. The whole group comes together, standing in silence.

“We’ve drafted the final plan to move forward with the army. Even if cutting some corners, we cannot neglect the safety of the soldiers during rest. The army will take at least three weeks to reach Char. If they meet us halfway, less,” Safrim explains. “People are willing to push past their boundaries to make this rare chance a success. But we also need to station some troops along the way to protect, or at least observe, the reclaimed lands.”

I nod. What else can I do? It sounds reasonable, and they know both land and people better than me. I had enough bosses, who pushed their ideas on the team though authority, despite being cautioned otherwise, and losing money, projects and in the worst cases good workers because of it. I won’t be that person. But I can still manage my own team.

“Char’s army—the Hero of Fire should know we’re advancing. We need to plan this together.”

“We’ve already sent messenger spirits, but haven’t received any replies. They’re likely not surviving the flight though the miasma,” one of the battle mages explains.

“We need to at least let them know of our strategy,” I say.

“What’s your idea?” Karina asks.

“We do the same thing as we did with Granlal. An army is suspicious, but a small group can sneak by mostly undetected. Their attention will be on the frontlines. If we can deliver the plans to Char’s commander, we will have an advantage. Erya’s Holy Warriors will move out in advance.”

“A sound plan,” Nono agrees immediately, which is weirdly the one thing that makes me doubt it the most.

“I will follow you. You’ll need my luck now more than ever,” Karina adds and Gale meows in tandem.

Poru just nods and smiles at me.

And Safrim… Safrim shakes his head. Then… he laughs? “I knew you would suggest something along these lines. I already told the others. That’s why I declined a commanding post in the army for now.”

“That predictable?” I ask.

“In a good way,” Safrim quickly reassures me.