A Gap In Expectations

Nir, Rain and Grandpa are in the secret tunnel that is connected to the nursing home from the underground.

“Let’s get moving”. - Says Grandpa. “I’ll walk… I mean crawl. Moving forward - focus on combat, Rain. You telling Nir what to do - ended up being on point. Choosing to stun him and prioritize incoming targets, not to mention, making Nir move in order to avoid hitting him accidently… I didn’t realize you have so much experience”.

-”I don’t, to be completely honest. I have some experience, but mostly in shooting arrows in general… Not much more experience than that”. - She says.

-”She wouldn’t hit me. I’ve seen her skills up close”. - Nir says with a smile. “She never misses a target”.

Rain smiles too.

-”Why do I pick on a possibility where you almost hit him in the past?” - Grandpa answers sharply, as they keep walking.

-”I did, in fact, almost hit him. He was approaching a target I was aiming at”. - Rain spills the beans. “I managed to hit the target though”.

-”It’s a good thing you trust each other”. - Grandpa says as he is crawling forward. “But if your arrows don’t miss and you still almost got him… It means that once he is blocking your target he could be hit specifically because of that…

I’m saying that you telling him to move away was correct, but I rather we have clarity about why, instead of being overconfident since ‘you always hit your target’. He wasn’t just blocking your vision as you tried to hit the target. He was effectively blocking you in general.

Nir, just like you saw one of them blocked the other from participating earlier. By doing this they no longer had a numbers’ advantage, although technically we were 3 against 2 and you were more than enough to defeat them on your own… But the point is that combat can be dynamic. If you don’t stand in front of Rain she can actually be in danger, and so your position was not incorrect. Trusting her - means you knew you should change your position as she told you - which led to her stunning him, but just like you could switch targets, he could also. If Rain’s arrow didn’t hit him, for example, what do you think he would have done?”

-”He would have gone for Rain, taking the opportunity to get rid of my back line, as he suddenly realized I have one”.

-”That is exactly correct”. - Grandpa validates his answer. “It’s also possible that he would still go for you thinking you are the bigger threat, but regardless which would have been his decision - Rain not missing was crucial, just as much as you altering positions between protecting her and giving her a more appropriate line of vision”.

-”But wouldn’t I already have a much better line of vision in most combat scenarios?” - Rain asks.

-”Realistically, as it would likely be in an open environment - very much so, yes”. - Grandpa confirms. “But we are currently not in another combat scenario. And even if we were… All it takes to break your team work is either someone landing a blow on Nir, or you yourself hitting him if he blocks your target. Remember your target may be often moving. Possibly alongside Nir”.

-”I understand”. - Rain replies. “I just honestly thought you were going to be a bit happier that we won”.

-”I’m very happy, Rain. I just want you two to be able to keep winning even when I’m not around”.

-”Grandpa… You got rid of two of them earlier with just one hand… And blocked their attacks… Not to mention, you seem to have tons of experience in combat…” - Nir says. “Did anyone ever…”

-”Yes”. - Grandpa cuts in the middle of his sentence. “People have come after me in the past once they saw my hearts”.

-”And I assume they are…”

-”All dead”. - Grandpa interrupts him again.

As they keep walking, they reach a staircase looking somewhat out of place, as it leads from what is an underground tunnel - to a curtain, barely blocking the lights from the inside of the building. They have made it to their destination.

They walk up the stairs, seeing how big and fancy the nursing home actually is. The inside of the building looks almost like the castle’s.

Vermond’s office is located near the curtain, possibly for the quickest possible escape. Nir steps into his office to check if he’s there, discovering the room is empty.

Then, they hear a conversation from one of the nearby rooms.

-”And how are your headaches, madam?”

-”Please Vermond, just call me ‘Angel’”.

Nir continues forwards in the hallway, seeing all the doors are closed, besides just one that is open - which may be leading to where the conversation is being held. He moves towards that room, as the voices get louder.

-”You are such an angel…”

-”Oh, I’m too old for such flattery, but my headaches are not as bad lately. So sweet of you to ask… Eh!” - She says and bursts into coughs.

Nir gets to the door and sees Vermond taking care of an old lady as he steps inside, followed by Rain.

-”Oh? And who might the two of you be?” - Vermond asks, staring at them. “You seem much younger than my usual customers”.

Nir and Rain are confused as to why he thinks there are only two of them. They look back instinctively, thinking they are going to see Grandpa - yet, he seems to be missing. They look at each other, not understanding what’s going on. They turn their eyes back to Vermond, without responding.

They feel great pressure.

-”Rain, I can’t see his hearts”. - Nir whispers to her.

“I see”. - Vermond says. “Please allow us to do this someplace else”.

-”We came from the tunnel”. - Nir says.

-”The tunnel… That explains a lot… Let’s go to the tunnel, then. You have my word I won’t run or start anything before we establish what’s what. I certainly wouldn’t want your third companion to catch me off guard”.

Nir and Rain say nothing. They feel they are completely out matched. Nir grabs Rain and takes her out of the room. Vermond exits the room and walks right past them, as they are frozen in place. The old lady in the room is very unsure of what is happening.

He goes beyond the curtain and out of their vision. His steps can be heard for a few more moments. Nir and Rain understand he is not too far from the entrance to the tunnel, yet it’s unlikely that he awaits them for a surprise attack, since his steps are heard less and less.

Nir leads the way beyond the curtain and passes through it, followed by Rain.

Vermond is somewhat distant from them, but is still fairly close enough to be in their vicinity.

“You got a lot of hearts in this tunnel, haven’t you, kid?”

Nir is starting to feel like every time they do or say something, they play right into his hands.

“Don’t you think you are judging me a bit too harshly?” - Says Vermond. “Everyone here loves me for a reason. I do take good care of them”.

Nir and Rain don’t respond.

“You seem to be wearing some weird clothes. Could the two of you be the ones the empress recently summoned? Word of you spread so fast… It’s impossible not to know about you… But your third companion… Who would that be?”

-”It’s the empress”. - Rain replies.

-”Rain, don’t answer him, I think it’s a bad idea”. - Nir tells her.

-”The empress, you say? The empress would have gone for my throat already… But I guess I should be on my toes just to be safe”. - Vermond says. “Thank you for the warning, young lady. You are so young and beautiful… It would be such a shame if something were to happen to you… Will you shoot at me from the back line? Maybe I should handle you first…”

Nir hears that, and marches forward, preparing a strike.

-”Wait! Nir, he is just taunting you!” - Rain yells, but Nir has already committed to a new position.

Vermond stays in place and dodges elegantly at the last moment, as if it was nothing.

Nir starts to attack rapidly, while Vermond dodges every single attack. Nir then focuses and uses a heart, swinging with greater speed and force. In return, Vermond keeps dodging, keeping up with the speed. Nir notices his own attacks return to normal speed, yet the heart is already consumed. He focuses again, consuming another heart, trying to keep him busy.

As Vermond dodges, he seems to focus as well. His eyes are shining in a red shade, as he suddenly kicks with great force into Nir - parrying with his sword, and knocking him back a small distance. Vermond then turns to Rain.

Rain, who has already prepared a stretched arrow - shoots at Vermond and hits.

-”What… Is that?” - Vermond asks, as he is slowed down but is not stunned.

-”Nir! It didn’t stun him!” - Rain yells. “He is immune to my attacks!”