Shadows in Aldelthorne

“So, Renji, when do you want to fight next?” Illya stood at his side, content with how things were, but there was something that gnawed at the back of Renji’s mind, even as he stared at the holy symbol in his hands. A single lotus flower was etched on the pendant, surrounded by a depiction of a beast’s fangs. Tiamat’s holy symbol. Renji wondered if it was to depict beauty hidden behind danger, or if the danger itself was meant to be beautiful. Were there a priest of Tiamat around, he might have had an answer, but alas this holy symbol was one that had been lying in the treasury, kindly given to him by King Roland minutes ago.

“That reminds me,” Renji turned to Illya and her father, ready to finally get down to business. “This has been an extraordinary day for me, it’s a lot to process, but you said I was summoned to guide and teach Princess Illya, right?” Illyandaril’s smile was quick to fade. She had forgotten how this outworlder was supposed to be her new babysitter, and it boiled her blood immediately. After all the day’s events, even she had forgotten the very reason he was brought here. “Back home, I was just a cook—I was good, but not a professional, just working in a standard kitchen. I don’t know what it is you want me to teach her.” Renji pleaded with the king openly, not berating or even angry; he was just desperate to know. What did he expect him to do, when even he didn’t know what was expected of him?

“I suspect, my boy, you’re already well and truly on the way to achieving what you were called here to do. Illya, I know you may hate me for this, as I am sure you may come to, Renji, but I beg thee heed thus: open your hearts and minds to each other. Speak, spend time together, learn about one another’s perspectives.” Holding both of them before him by their shoulders, the King was surprisingly gentle despite just how big he was. “Renji, I ask that you accompany her where you can. Among your other duties, you are to protect her. Do you understand?” A quick nod from Renji was all he needed to be assured. Smiling widely, the king stepped back.

“We have much to do tomorrow. The Dark Lord will not wait, so we need to get you ready to leave as soon as possible, but I am quite sure the day's events have taken their toll upon you. I shall assign a servant to you to tend to you. Ask her for whatever you need, food, drink, clothes, et cetera. We shall get you equipped and learn of our world, Renji. Illya, I shall have you join him. Just as you are to understand things from his perspective, he too must learn yours. You two are partners for the quest ahead. Now, go on, rest. I shall send word for you both tomorrow when it is time.”

Far later in that evening, Renji lay upon a bed far bigger and more lavish than any he had known. The servant assigned to him seemed pleasant enough, a young maid by the name of Mariel. She had soft black hair that did little to hide her fluffy, canine ears. When Renji had treated her kindly and thanked her, he didn’t fail to notice the light wag of her tail. Given the type of noble she was likely used to, the ones who’d look down their noses to her, if they looked at her at all, not to mention Illya, proper manners must have been something that she had rarely come across.

Renji held the holy symbol of Tiamat close to his chest, but he didn’t hear her voice. He pondered as to why she never told him what her blessing granted him. After all, he was sure it wasn’t just the ability to absorb raw aether into his body. Ever since meeting her in such a way as to make Renji believe it was all a sweet reverie, he felt that he had become fundamentally different. He saw things differently, tasted things differently, even his sense of hearing and smell detected things differently than before. Perhaps his body had merely adjusted to the air of this new world, but Renji couldn’t help but shake the feeling there was something more he simply wasn’t getting yet.

Suddenly, his eyes snapped open. Every instinct inside him screamed at him to run. Heeding the impending sense of danger, Renji shot out of bed and searched for an exit. The door was obvious, but what if the threat was coming from there, same with the single window? “Renji!” Mariel called his name from the door, her voice in a panic. “We have to go! I have to get you out of—” Her voice was suddenly cut off by a thud. Something struck her, knocking her unconscious. His first instinct was to go help her, but his body pulled away, like a puppet on strings, towards the window. It was like his body was acting autonomously, but as he reached the window, he saw a face on the other side. A six-limbed object burst through the window, clamping around Renji’s arms as his assailant followed, gagging him with some kind of bandana. The door behind him opened, and he saw Mariel’s limp body being carried by larger people, all wearing cloaks. Renji fought against his restraints, but his resistance only earned him a beating, one that eventually caused him to black out. Without his arms, he couldn’t hope to fight against one man, let alone several.

When his eyes opened again, he found himself on a cobblestone floor with Mariel. She was already awake, and sitting in front of Renji, poised like a dog protecting her own litter. The kidnappers spoke amongst themselves in secrecy. As Renji stirred, Mariel felt his shift and turned to face him. She had also been stricken a few times, it would appear. “Are you okay? I don’t know what they’re planning for us, but stay close to me. I promised the King I’d protect you.” Mariel’s words, while full of conviction, rang hollow. She was scared, and she couldn’t contain her shaking. She was terrified, rightly so. Even with both of his hands free, he didn’t know if he could get them out of this. They had kept Renji gagged, but even without it, he wasn’t sure he could respond well. He could feel a deep swelling from where he was beaten, which made it difficult to form coherent words.

“Well, would you look at that? The Outworlder’s awake.” The biggest amongst them laughed, clearly not human but still humanoid, his cloak covered most of his features, but Renji recalled just how powerful his strikes had been. “So what if he is? Besides, why’d you bring the extra? We were told to only bring the Outworlder alive.” Another voice. Renji wasn’t sure which of them. He tried to sit up, but his entire body flinched with a fierce, overwhelming pain. “Well, her type sells well. Thought we could make a quick profit while we were at it.” The larger one again. Renji’s dizziness and nausea finally began to subside. He could smell salt water clearly now, wherever they were they must be close to the ocean or sea that he saw outside his bedroom window.

His blood boiled at the mention of them selling Mariel. That such concepts existed here at all was enough to sicken and disappoint him on a fundamental level, but that the threat was before him now awoke a fury in him he didn’t know he had. His only regret was that he could not yet act on it. “Ooh, I like that look in his eyes. Boss, mind if we pluck one out? I could crystallize it and make it into a trinket, would sell for a lot while reminding this boy just who’s in charge.” The largest one reached out to Renji’s face. Clawed, thick scales, he couldn’t help but wonder if this man was some sort of lizardman, or perhaps half-dragon, should such beings exist in this world. “Don’t you dare! The boss asked that the Outworlder be brought unspoiled. No lost fingers, eyes, or anything else,” snapped another one, a long beard visible beneath his shadowed hood. “You’re right, though, he looks like he’s up to something. Give him a good kick.”

Renji tried to prepare his body for the impending blow, but it did little good. His body was lifted off the ground and thrown against the wall with one brutal kick. The wind was completely knocked out of Renji, and he struggled to breathe for nearly a minute before a gasp finally filled his lungs again. He couldn’t hear Mariel’s voice as she tried to comfort him. He couldn’t vomit because of the earlier battle, so his body began to convulse in dry heaves. “Oh, gods, not that hard, you could have shattered his ribs! Take off that bloody gag, if he vomits with that on, he’ll drown in his own puke.”

“But Rig, what if he can cast magic? We don’t know what the Outworlder is capable of.” The larger one again, a low growl underlying his voice.

“Shut yer trap, Grendel. If this Outworlder was anything special, we would have seen it by now. Unlucky sods appear to have scooped up a perfectly ordinary guy. There’s nothing we need to worry about.” This time, Renji knew which one it was. A lankier fellow to the left of his view. Beneath the cloak, Renji had noticed the two daggers on his belt.

Despite being able to breathe easier with the gag removed, it did little to change his situation. Renji’s thoughts turned from Tiamat to Nemi, Illya, Balam, and Roland. Would they find him in time? Would they even bother to save him? Was the blessing of Tiamat enough for them to truly commit any effort to saving him, or would they just try again, summon someone else from his world—someone better than him? It wouldn’t be the first time he was abandoned in search of something better, and it was because of this history that he was quick to assume that no help was coming for them. “Mariel. Stay ready. Wait for our chance, we’ll get through this,” he whispered. Mariel’s ears twitched, her eyes wide. Even as beat up as he was, Renji hadn’t given up yet. To Mariel, it was an incredible display of his determination. For Renji, however, it was just a matter of do or die. His eyes were narrowed, and he knew that one way or another he’d have to escape or die trying.

He couldn’t rely on anyone to save him.