Picking Up Pieces

I woke up the next morning feeling surprisingly rested. Whether from the exhaustion or from the crying, it had been a better sleep than almost any other night I’d spent in this world. That was a low bar, of course, but it was still preferable to the usual. I got dressed and left my room, taking a moment to check on Andra. She was still asleep, but she looked healthier. There was more color in her cheeks; there was no sign of the others, though.

Eventually, I wandered out into the morning light and to the village square, where I came upon a peculiar scene featuring my missing mage. Klein and his party appeared to be pleading with Estelar about something, while Estelar stood stoically, his usual kind-but-firm demeanor in place. A few curious villagers had gathered to watch the situation play out. As I drew closer, I could hear the first prince’s proxy, and it was clear he were trying to convince the elf to join their party.

I wrinkled my nose in disgust. The audacity of this proxy knew no bounds. It was strange just how desperately Klein was behaving, though, as if Estelar held the keys to eternal youth in his hands.

“Could you please not so blatantly attempt to poach our mage first thing in the morning?” I said as I walked up. I tried not to sound as annoyed as I felt. I nodded to Estelar, who nodded back with a slight smile. For a moment, I had a tingle of fear that he would actually consider leaving us, but then I turned back to Klein.

The proxy looked like hell. His hair and clothes were disheveled, and he swung toward me with wild eyes that made him look genuinely unstable. I took a step back, but Klein was undeterred, reaching for me frantically.

“No, listen,” Klein said pleadingly. “You don’t understand how valuable this man is! He can cure my hangovers. Even the worst ones! No mage prolific enough to wield such magic has ever bothered with such trifling things!”

I wasn’t sure I was hearing him right. But as I looked more closely, I noticed that he didn’t look as sick as he probably should have after the sheer volume of drinking the night before. His eyes weren’t bloodshot, his skin wasn’t sallow, he didn’t seem bothered by the bright sunlight or loud noises of the square - in fact, he looked relatively healthy. I glanced at Estelar, who had a vaguely satisfied look on his face.

I looked back at Klein. He seemed genuinely admiring of Estelar’s efforts to remove the consequences of his overindulgence. Still, what he was saying was insulting by any measure. Trifling things? He didn’t seem to think it was all that trifling right now.

“Can’t you just have your mage learn what Estelar knows?” I replied. “If it’s such a trifling thing, then I’m such you could figure it out somewhere between riding your draconic remnant and swooping in to get drunk in villages.”

“No no no. You don't understand,” Klein ignored my insult, his voice insistent. “To learn and become proficient in such a thing takes an incredible amount of effort. With health magic - each ailment, each illness, all must be handled with a different kind of method. My mages told me that most magic users focus on more important spells, higher level things, stuff like that. And when they do learn healing, it’s for more serious cases or for general stuff, nothing this specific. No one takes the time to learn how to do this. No one.”

Klein’s chin dropped to his chest as he took a deep breath. Then he looked at me intensely, his face earnest.

“Ever since I came to this world, all I’ve wanted was a mage who could do just this.” He sighed solemnly. “Although it was technically possible for them all to learn how, none bothered to help me. In fact, every mage I asked told me off for trying to waste their time.”

I stared back at the proxy, nonplussed. What on earth could I say in response to this? It didn’t matter, in the end; Klein swung back towards Estelar, clasping his hands on the mage’s shoulders.

“You, my good sir, are my hero.” Klein spoke with such emotion that I thought he might weep. Idly, I wondered whether he’d encountered any real challenge during this competition. I assumed not. Everything had likely come very easy to him, except for the ramifications of getting hammered.

Estelar calmly and gently pushed Klein’s hands aside and backed away.

“I appreciate your commendation of my efforts, truly, but I cannot go along with you now.” He bowed slightly. “I have duties elsewhere.”

Klein’s expression soured. He started to speak again, but then he fell silent, looking a bit like a disappointed child.

Estelar pursed his lips, and when he spoke again, it was clear that he was trying to let the proxy down easy. “Perhaps, once this is all over, I could lend you aid along my travels.”

“Whatever,” Klein huffed. “I’m sure once I win the competition, I’ll have my pick of mages who know these skills, and even better ones.” He turned away pointedly and gestured to his party, who had been standing at a respectful distance waiting for orders.

The entire group walked off. A few of them paused to grab most of the remaining barrels of alcohol that were still stacked nearby, but then they made their way out of the village. I stood beside Estelar as we watched the first prince’s party take flight in the distance and make their way back to the clouded mass that still hugged the mountain peak. Within moments, the mass unwrapped itself from the mountain, pointed itself in a new direction and flew off, disappearing over the horizon.

Good riddance, I thought. The entire encounter with Klein left me feeling uneasy. His demeanor, his greed, his disdain for the people of this world - he was cruel in ways that I didn’t want to experience further. Deep down, I suspected we would be enemies if we ever met again. The best I could hope for was that such a meeting wouldn’t end in bloodshed.

Estelar cleared his throat, breaking through my thoughts. I mustered a smile and suggested we go back to the house. He gladly acquiesced.

“So why do you know how to cure hangovers?” I asked Estelar as we walked back to our temporary home. “What made you learn that specific skill? Did you have a crazy youth or something?”

I jabbed him lightly in the side with my elbow. He seemed like such a straightlaced fellow, but there was always the chance he could surprise me. I might hear some fantastical stories of a party wizard tearing his way through the kingdom.

“A crazy youth? Certainly not. I’m sorry to say that I’ve always been this boring.” Estelar softly chuckled, but when I frowned at his self-deprecation, he shook his head and patted my arm. “Anyway, I learned this magic to help weary travelers and people I met in my journeys.”

“What all can you cure? Is it a long list of ailments?” I asked. I was only slightly interested, but I enjoyed listening to Estelar speak.

“Well…,” he pondered for a moment. “I can’t cure everything, but I can cure all of the illnesses and injuries that I have seen in my life.”

I stopped walking for a second, processing what he’d just said. 

“But… isn’t that super impressive? That sounds like a ridiculous amount of work. You learned to fix every little the thing you’ve encountered?” I felt a huge surge of respect for the walking panacea beside me. Which was impressive since my respect for him had already been extremely high.

“That has been a major purpose of my journeys, after all.” He was still walking beside me in the bright sunshine, but his eyes refocused on the middle distance as though he was looking internally, slipping into his own memories. His already quiet voice became softer still. “I wanted to see the world, but everywhere I went, I was exposed to more suffering. It was hard to enjoy being in a new place if that place brought new pain, new illnesses. I made it a point to not leave the places I visited until I could deal with it all.”

“So everywhere you went, you learned,” I said. “You learned what the local health issues were and you learned how to cure them before you moved on.” That sounded almost saintlike. I half expected to see a halo around his fair head.

Estelar waved a hand. “It wasn’t that difficult. It just takes time to learn new things. And once you know them, you know them forever.” He smiled a bit ruefully. I imagined his head was chock full of cures, treatments and solutions for more health problems than I could count.

I smiled. “You’re a good person, Estelar.”

He ducked his head as if embarrassed, but his lips twitched. It was abundantly clear that he didn’t do anything for praise or glory; he was just a decent person who had made it his job to make the world a better place everywhere he went for most of his life. He probably didn’t think he’d done much, but I knew he had.

He’d also inspired me. Estelar’s altruism was one of the few lights I’d found in this dark world, and I vowed to myself to never let it so much as flicker, let alone dim.

As we entered the house, we both unconsciously made our way to where Andra was sleeping. To our surprise, as we peered through the door, we found her sitting up in bed.

I felt a burst of relief that she was awake at last. I pushed the door open happily and walked in, calling her name in almost a sing-song voice. But when she turned to me, I saw her face frozen in a shellshocked expression, and my words died on my lips.

Estelar rushed to her side, but Andra didn’t acknowledge him. “So much pain…,” she muttered to the room. Her eyes stared blankly from her pale face. “Why would they do such a thing to a sacred being…?”

I went to the bed and sat on the edge of it, gently taking her hand as Estelar conducted a very basic examination. She didn’t seem to notice either of us at first, but then she turned her head toward me. Her expression was still clouded, but her eyes focused as she looked searchingly at my face.

“Why?” She asked. She sounded helpless, even desperate. “How?”

I gently put my other hand over hers, enveloping her small palm with both of mine.

“I’m sorry,” I said quietly. I couldn’t think of anything else to say in response. She kept staring, looking near panicked, but she didn’t speak again.

I felt helpless. Even if I had known what she was talking about, which I didn’t, I doubted I would have known what to do to help her. I hoped my presence alone would be enough to ease her pain even a little. There was no way to know if I’d made a dent.

Estelar pronounced her in good physical health; it was her mind that was struggling, but he was heartened by the progress she’d already made. He was fairly confident she’d continue to improve.

Andra stayed in bed for most of the day. She stayed awake but remained barely responsive, so the remaining party members took turns staying by her side. When it wasn’t our turn to sit with Andra, we worked on helping the village recover from its ordeal. Estelar worked his agricultural magic, Pira rigged devices to help with water and farming, and I contributed what strength I had to rebuilding damaged structures. We made decent progress despite being down in numbers.

As the sun set at the end of the long day, we all regrouped in the house, gathering in Andra’s room. She looked better; her movements seemed less stiff and she made eye contact with each of us. She also finally spoke coherently, revealing the cause of her stupor.

“The draconic remnant is a godly being to my people,” she began shakily. “For as long as my tribe’s history has been recorded, the draconic remnants have been there, present in various ways. Their influence calms the weather, provides bountiful meals, and watches over us all.”

She paused, taking a deep breath before continuing.

“Many have tried to harm or enslave them in the past. After all, they are incredibly powerful. All have failed.” She stared at her hands, visibly processing her feelings and choosing her words carefully. “They are incredibly intelligent and empathetic, and they’re able to repel all kinds of magic. They can hide in the clouds they carry alongside them. They have magic unlike anything else in this world. You can see why some have tried to get control of one. Killing a draconic remnant is nearly impossible. Capturing one, is… is...”

“The height of folly…,” I finished quietly, knowing that folly had been rewarded for Klein. I had thought perhaps the draconic remnant had been working with the hero party of its own accord, but Andra’s words disabused me of that notion.

Andra nodded as she drew a shuddering breath. “That, and also it shouldn’t happen. It has never happened before.”

“So how did it happen?” Pira asked. “How did that party take control of a draconic remnant and bend it to their will?”

“I don’t know. It was in so much pain,” Andra murmured, wrapping her arms around her knees. “I could feel it. I felt it hurting. It was like the deepest, darkest pain wrapping around my entire soul. I don’t know what cruelty they’ve used against the draconic remnant, but however they’re managing to control it, it’s horrific and disgusting.”

Her fists clenched as her face darkened. I could see her fear, her pain, begin to boil into anger as she shared what she had felt.

“We must stop them,” she said, her voice strong for the first time since she’d become incapacitated. She stared at me with grim determination. “We have to stop them and free the draconic remnant at all costs.”

I nodded without hesitation. She was absolutely right. Even if I had lacked all empathy for this living creature that was in so much pain, stopping the first prince’s hero party and removing their trump card by setting the draconic remnant free would benefit us in the competition. Plus I liked the thought of punishing Klein in as many ways as possible, even more so now that I knew just how cruel he was. All that remained now was to figure out how to free the beast from its captors.

As tempting as it was to continue the conversation and start figuring out a strategy, it was growing late, and everyone was tired. Reluctantly, Andra agreed to table the discussion until the following day, curling up on her pillow to rest a bit more. The party parted ways, each of us seeking our bed.

After everything that had happened throughout the day, I found myself stuck in another sleepless night. I processed what we’d talked about, tried to put it aside, but the wheels would not stop turning in my brain.

The next few days were strangely peaceful despite the urgency of our plans. Andra needed more time to recover from the mental and emotional strain she’d endured, so she grudgingly stayed in bed as the rest of us worked with the village to help it become self-sufficient once again. She was very vocal about her displeasure with the situation, though. I couldn’t tell if the draconic remnant problem was causing her so much aggravation, or if it was just cabin fever. Probably both.

After a few days, Andra was finally in good enough condition to get back on the road and guide us through the wilderness, so we started making the preparations to leave the village and head to our next destination.

As a group, we sat down one evening to decide on our next steps. We had our directives from the prince, of course, but we also had our own objectives now, and Pira brought even more information to the discussion that could potentially throw a wrench in the works.

“I think we should start making our way back towards the capital,” Pira said, pulling a crystalline device from her pocket as she spoke. “According to the latest news, there’s been a massive rebellion led by vagabonds on the outskirts of the city. Apparently it caused a panic large enough for the leaders to dispatch the mage’s college to deal with the situation, and it’s not resolved yet.”

She motioned over the device in her hands. It lit up, glowing from some unseen force inside. After a moment, it projected a ray of dim light onto the table, and within the light was a wall of text. I squinted; the text was hard to read through the poor quality of the projection, but it was clearly a recap of current affairs, much like a newspaper.

“We should probably go deal with this,” Pira said. “It could become a bigger problem if left unchecked.”

Estelar had looked concerned at the mention of the mage’s college, but now he sat back in thought. “Deviating from the prince’s plans for us worries me,” he admitted. “I wouldn’t say I’m fond of the man, but we do serve under him, and without a clear line of communication, I worry.”

“What about the draconic remnant?” Andra demanded accusingly. “We said we'd work to free it. That’s gotta be our first priority.”

“Is it?” Pira asked gently. “If this uprising gets out of hand, the entire government could be threatened. It looks like something that’s been brewing for a long time, and all this powder keg needed was a match.”

“We can do both things,” Andra said. “Klein will be runnin' that way too, won’t he? He’d be going back to the capital now.”

“We have no way of knowing,” Estelar murmured. “And in the meantime, we still have our prince’s itinerary to deal with.”

“Like I care about that!” Andra scoffed, folding her arms. “I don’t care what any royal tells me to do right now. I know what’s most important.”

I winced a bit at her words, but I understood the sentiment. Andra was on a mission, and to her, it was the most vital thing in the world. To a point, I agreed with her; it didn’t sit well with me for the draconic remnant to be enslaved and in pain. But there were things bigger than us, and it was important to get the whole party to agree on a course of action.

We talked in circles for a few more minutes until a knock forced me to get up. Who could be visiting us at this hour? I opened the door and was met with a familiar, if expressionless, face.

“Prince Elias will be arriving shortly to discuss plans,” The maid said.

I had the immediate and random thought that I was actually fairly surprised to see the maid using a door like a normal person. It was almost incongruous. But then I registered her words, and real shock set in. The prince was coming here?

“He will?” I asked, stunned. “How shortly is shortly?”

“Now.” She stepped aside, making room for the prince who now stood outlined by the doorframe. He looked the same as ever, right down to the unpleasant smile.

I stumbled back a step at the prince’s sudden and unexpected presence. That smile haunted my nightmares. It almost triggered a fight or flight response in me to see it so close now.

He didn’t appear to notice my reaction to him at first, but then I thought I saw his smile shift, becoming almost genuine as he studied me. I may have imagined it, though, because as soon as I saw the flicker of authenticity, it was gone again, replaced by the usual false merriment.

The prince swanned past me into the room. The rest of the party jumped to their feet in shock, each person’s face tinged with fear at the sudden appearance of the man we had just been discussing. He grinned and waved his arms as if delighted to see us.

“Let us continue this meeting!” He announced, taking complete control with his usual ease.