Eraidus on the Horizon

"Wow, you weren't kidding." I stand on the eastern edge of the city. The rocky cliffs of Eraidus are in clear view.
The reason I'm here is to test the cube's functionality. As part of our plan, we have Ms. Tsa waiting inside a cafe near the port. Sera's mom, meanwhile, is outdoors, distant enough to be out of sight. Sera will be waiting here, right at the docks.
Like this, we can triangulate our range of observation. At the same time, we'll be testing line of sight and physical separation. That's why Ms. Tsa is inside a building while the other two are outside.

When His memories were spread, it affected the whole planet in an instant. The range was infinite, and neither walls nor sight mattered to its effectiveness... But it's clear that the power we have access to is not the same that He had access to. Using stories as the basis of our knowledge is a terrible way to start.
In our practical tests so far, the range has never gone beyond the walls of the room I was in.

With a short "seeya" to Sera, I step into a little wooden boat that tourists can rent out. You're supposed to sail it down a river that cuts through the city, but instead, I'm sailing out to sea. I'm just glad the weather's so nice today.

The city grows distant, ever so slightly, but not so far as to lose a clear view of Sera. Now the important part can begin.
Question: How do we test the cube's power without impacting innocent citizens or drawing attention to ourselves?
The answer is... it'll all happen in the blink of an eye. I place the cube down, I rest a single finger on its surface, and I hold a memory at the surface of my mind. Just in case this goes wrong, I want to choose a memory that doesn't indicate anything, so I'll think back to when I explored a forest as a lonely kid.
I look over to the city - its open streets full of people unaware.

"I wish I could show them..."

As soon as those words leave my mouth, I remove my finger from the cube. Did it work!?
Sera is waving. She must've felt a flash of something if she's reacting like that. I guess we're done...
But before I begin to head back, a curious thought comes to mind...
Maybe the words are important. If I, right now, wished to show the world something... would these visions span the entire planet?
I shake the thought away. Now's not the time to mess around; we've done what we planned to do, let's just head back.

◇ ◇ ◇

The group has reconvened by the time I return to the docks. It seems they all knew to return, which means...
"I saw it!" Sera exclaims. "It looked like when you blink, but I know that I didn't."
"It was a flash of black." Her mother follows up.
It even reached people I couldn't see. So then... I turn to Ms. Tsa.
"Didn't see a flash, but..." She shakes her head. "People outside... they stopped."
"Huh?" I couldn't see that from where I was. Everyone looked normal. I could only tell it had worked because Sera signalled to me.
"I didn't notice a pause..." Sera thinks to herself, then continues. "I didn't the other times, either."
"Even when Arya used it, you didn't notice?" How is that even possible?
"I saw the vision", she clarifies, "but it didn't feel like any time had passed. I only knew because you told me."
Weird, but... When it was used on me, I did manage to walk all the way across a room in what felt like the blink of an eye, so she might be right.
"Hmm... It doesn't work through walls, and it messes with people's perception of time?" Those are the results of our test. The indoors vs. outdoors thing feels strange, I'm not sure how to make sense of it, but someone smarter might understand it.

"We might be misunderstanding things by rushing to conclusions, so let's write down our observations and discuss this back at the village."

The notebook I just bought has found an immediate use. I take a moment to write all of this down.
"Well, that was refreshingly easy. What's next?" My attention turns to Sera's mother. "What's the situation with your husband like? Are we okay to meet with him?"

"I know which building he's in, so let's break in and grab him!"
"...was that the plan?"

She's raring to go. Ms. Tsa looks uncharacteristically excited as well. I didn't realise half of the party had such questionable morals...
Wait, is it actually bad to steal back someone who was coerced into leaving? I'm not sure where this sits in my moral code, so...

"Sure, let's do it."

I'll figure out how I feel about it later.

◇ ◇ ◇

Where two walls meet, a small barracks houses guards. Across from it, a collection of single-story buildings stand. Inside one of them, we hope to find Sera's dad.
It's a bit disappointing that, before we could even snoop around, the guards took notice.

"What are you doing here!?" A boisterous voice calls. Heavy metal armor, a large shield, but no weapon. "Get out of here, now!"
The people in the barracks are on high alert. They can't have known we were coming... right?
"Sorry, we're looking for someone." I greet them with a smile. "We think they live around here, so-"
"Leave now! That's your final warning!" The guard raises his voice and slams his shield down. BOOM, the sound bounces through me. How much strength does this guy have!?
Nearby doors begin to crack open, whispers of "what's going on?" drifting through them. A few bystanders watch through the windows. We've garnered a lot of attention somehow...

"Now now, there's no need for all this."

A suave voice cuts through the tension. The guard immediately pulls back, and from the barracks, a dark-haired individual steps out. Ms. Tsa falls to one knee, Sera and her mom quickly follow. I do too.
There's ample distance between us. The guard is on edge, making sure no one gets too close to the composed individual he's protecting.

"There's nothing wrong with a bit of exploration now, is there?"
"No, sir."
"Why don't we let them be on their merry way, and- ...Oh my. What do we have here?"

He takes special notice of our dark-haired companion. Does he recognise Ms. Tsa?
Before those words can continue, a loud interruption echoes through the street.

"Please!" It's Sera. "My dad! I think he was brought here!"
"Hmm?" The strange man seems taken aback at first, but he remains silent as if waiting for Sera to explain herself.
"We were in Shum, and the men were taken to fight, but-" bravely, she looks him right in the eye. "He's not from Shum! He's a merchant! Give him back!"
Her polite tone disappeared somewhere during all that, emotion taking her over. Her courage, unexpectedly, garners some respect from the man.

"Very well. I wouldn't be much of a king if I didn't respect my country's guests." It's a reveal that surprises no one but me. This must be Vio. "What's your father's name?"
"He's-"
CLANK!

Metal hits metal.
Before I could even register what was happening, the guard from before had lifted his shield to defend Vio. To my left, Ms. Tsa clashes with a second. To my right, Sera's mother stands, ready to fight.
"Sera-!" I reach out and pull Sera back towards me. I may not be able to fight, but it'll be easier for our friends to defend us if we're both together.
A mother rushes over to protect her daughter.

With a crunch, one of the assassins is driven into brick by a charging shieldbearer. "You chose the wrong place to fight, filthy Eraidens!"
From the barracks, a stream of well-prepared soldiers charge out. I don't have time to count them, but for the measly three assassins still standing, it should be more than enough-

"Mom!"

One of the assassins outmanoeuvred our closest defender, slipping past her. He leaps over us and aims straight for the king, but Sera's mom is having none of it. She breaks into a sprint, yet once again, the assassin is one step ahead of her. In a spin, he throws something back at her and continues his charge towards the king.
Something sharp, something metal, races straight towards her face. Out of pure instinct, I try to grab the strange device from my pocket, but there's no time to respond.
No time for me. No time for her. And yet, someone was ready to react.

CLANK!
Once again, metal hits metal.
One of the onlooking citizens— a portly fellow clothed in fabric and feather—dove into the weapon's flight path. He falls to the dusty floor with a thud.

"Darling!?" She gasps in surprise. She didn't expect to reunite with her husband like this.
"What's... going on...?" He gasps out of exhaustion. He didn't expect to reunite today at all.
"Why would you do that!?" She kneels down and begins checking him for injuries. "Where's the blade? Are you hurt?"
Unable to find anything, she begins burrowing through his pompous outfit's many layers. She lifts up his shirt; beneath it: chainmail.
They had saved one another.

To my left, two assassins lay on the floor, bleeding out. Back-to-back with one of the guards, Ms. Tsa looks down at the attackers in disgust, her blade red.
The assassin who had charged past us now struggles in a chokehold before the king.
"As expected, more assassins." He begins to walk leisurely back to the barracks. "Kill them, reinforce the coast."
The soldiers salute and obey. I quickly turn away, pulling Sera with me, before we could be made witness to another gruesome scene: first a stab, then a splatter, then a groan, and finally, another body falls to the ground.

"Now, you lot! Get out of here, for your own sake!"

Whatever peace I thought this city had, maybe it was just a facade.