Road to Leonia

Jabez and the others had to move quickly. With Serena’s warning still fresh in their minds, a miasma of worry followed them every step of the way. Thankfully the enemy had provided an ample supply of riding guroks to choose from, so at least they didn’t have to walk. Iris, too small to ride one on her own, sat behind Jabez and clung to his back. When they weren’t galloping across the plains, Jabez and Iris were sparring. Tuuli tended to the guroks and Sullivan studied his tomes while this went on.

“Come at me with everything you’ve got! Hold nothing back!” said Jabez.

The pair trained with sticks at first to prevent injury. With a touch of Tuuli’s magic, the sticks became as tough and heavy as real weapons would be, so even if they wouldn’t make you bleed, it still hurt like hell if you were struck with one. At first, Jabez tried taking things slow with Iris. He had never seen her fight, after all. But as he soon found out, Iris had gained far more than an extra pair of eyes.

“Got you!”

Iris managed to knock Jabez’s stick out of his hands, sending it flying into the nearby brush. But it was too soon for celebrating. They continued to fight, even with Jabez disarmed, and after he managed to dodge the incoming stabs, he picked Iris up and slammed her into the ground.

“Jabez!” snapped Tuuli. “Isn’t that a bit much?!”

“That didn’t hurt, actually,” said Iris. “The chitin may only be visible on my arms and legs, but my whole body feels tougher.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” said Jabez. “Even if we have good healers on stand-by, I wouldn’t want to see you in pain.”

“That’s very kind of you, but...” Iris kicked Jabez from the ground, sweeping his legs out from under him. “The fight doesn’t stop until someone gives up!” Flipped over and looking at the world upside down, Jabez saw Iris come back into view. The girl pointed her stick at his face, saying, “Do you yield?”

“Not on your life!” Jabez rolled away, ducking into the bushes and tossing a handful of berries to the ground behind him. When Iris tried to go after him, the berries squished beneath her and caused her to slip. By the time she regained her balance, Jabez had retrieved his stick and came in swinging, knocking her to the ground. “Always think on your feet. The quicker you can find an advantage in your environment, the better.”

“I know that... I’m still getting used to these eyes, though.”

“What’s it like seeing through four eyes, anyway?” asked Sullivan.

“It’s... A bit blurry, actually.” Iris sat up, crossing her legs. “I don’t see things as clearly as I once did, but nothing changes when I’m moving at full speed. But colors are really vibrant. And... Warm? Everything is brighter, even in the darkest shadows.”

“That certainly makes sense. It reminds me of how my own kind see things. We catkin are nocturnal in nature, though our eyes are more focused on adjusting to light than yours. When it’s bright, our pupils shrink into a thin oval shape, but when it’s dark, our pupils expand, becoming more circular.”

“Sounds pretty handy,” said Jabez. He then looked to Iris, asking, “What happens if you close one set of eyes?”

“Details come back, but colors dull,” said Iris. “It’s like how I used to see the world.”

“So you have the best of both worlds.” Jabez then held his sparring stick at the ready. “Again?”

“Yeah!”

Even though Jabez had spoken harshly in the beginning, he was just as curious about Iris as he was anxious. Fears of her not being able to hold her own in a fight dwindled. As a magical half-jurou, she learned she could spawn webbing or fling balls of poison like they were spells. When the group needed to hunt for food, she caught prey in a net. When they had to fight riders patrolling the roads, she struck them with poison. If she was fast enough, she could even take down her foes before they had the chance to fight back.

It seems I’m the one that has to catch up with the others, thought Jabez.

During the journey, Jabez found time to read from the manual Gamugin gave him. He did his best to hide it from the group, as worry about his friends learning he was an outsider still weighed on his mind. With everything going on, the last thing the others needed was even more on their plates to think about. So, when Tuuli took up the role of sparring partner for Iris, Jabez skimmed the manual, learning what he could.

Most of the information was simple, practical tips. The kind of thing that was meant to help someone survive in the wilderness of an unfamiliar world. It was perfectly useful information... Were his circumstances different. But what caught his attention in the manual was an entry on shapeshifting.

“Sometimes the best way to blend in is by doing it literally! Your soul will naturally shift your host body to look like how you did in your previous life, but you can change your form at will with enough practice! Try to imagine putting on a costume, only the costume is a new face!”

The entry was... Troubling, to say the least. On one hand, it meant that he might not need the disguise circlets anymore. In fact, since Sullivan had once told him it was possible to see through illusions, such a trick was even better in some respects. But... If any outsider could shapeshift, that meant Hito could too. He could disguise himself as an ally at any time and Jabez would never know, just like how he tricked the Hidden Grove before.

There’s no guarantee he isn’t always shapeshifted, thought Jabez. The way he spoke when we first met still troubles me. Just who is Hito, anyway?

Jabez continued thumbing through the manual, and he found another curious entry entitled “Defense Against Shapeshifters.”

“Sometimes the people around us aren’t who they appear to be! If you’re certain you’ve encountered a shapeshifter, hold out your dominant hand and gesture with your index and pinky finger – like devil horns! Imagine the reverse of changing your appearance when you do this. Like... Ripping off someone’s mask. That will really get the shapeshifter’s attention!”

That’s it! thought Jabez. If I expose Hito for who he really is, the Ramthians might turn on him. Then again, they might already know and don’t care what he really looks like. But somehow... I think this might come in handy anyway.

“Hey Jabez, we’re almost ready to go,” said Tuuli, parting the bushes.

“Aye!!” Jabez shut the book and stuffed it in his shirt.

“Is... Something wrong? Were you writing in a journal?”

“Yes! I was just trying to... Collect my thoughts.”

“Just don’t be long, okay?” Tuuli’s expression relaxed.

“Of course, of course.”

Once the elf was gone, Jabez looked for the last page he was on, stuck a leaf between the pages as a bookmarker, then slipped the manual into its proper pouch. They would reach Leonia soon, so Jabez thanked his lucky stars he finally found something useful in the manual. But would it be enough?

I’ll just have to think on my feet, same as always. I hope the others are doing okay. Demetra... Wait for me.

---

Demetra sat on the ground, her wrists and neck locked in a yoke. Chains and shackles around her waist and ankles ensured that she could never move far from the wall facing her cell door. Outside, she could hear the moans and groans of other prisoners. Some of them, she suspected, had been here so long they had lost their minds.

All that fighting and I end up back in a dungeon. Somehow, this feels worse than under the arena. This is a place where people are thrown away and forgotten.

The prison cell was pitch black, and the only shred of light to be seen was in the corridors beyond. The flicker of torch lights made shadows dance like cackling demons, mocking her circumstances. Then a distant door opened, and the prisoners went quiet. The sound of boots against stone echoed throughout the dungeon. Someone was approaching...

“Demetra, Demetra!” said Reijo’s voice. “I’ve come to free you!”

“Be gone from my sight, shapeshifter. The rats make better company than you.”

“Aww, don’t be like that...” The face of Reijo twisted in an unnatural smile, then the man massaged his face, returning it to its normal shape. “And here I brought someone who has been dying to see you!” said Hito.

“Someone wants to see me? Who? You don’t mean...”

“It’s been a long time,” said a woman’s voice. “Hasn’t it, dear sister?”

That voice was like venom in her heart. Demetra shot up, nearly tearing the chains from the walls as she rushed towards the door. But despite her rage, her bindings held firm, and she was left gritting her teeth like a rabid dog.

Behind the barred window of the prison cell door, Demetra watched as Hito stepped aside. A towering figure approached, unlocking the cell and ducking under the door frame to enter. The tall and regal woman wore a fur-lined white and red gown with long flowing sleeves and gold jewelry accenting her proud and prominent figure. Her eyes were red like a blood moon, and her light pink hair had been braided to be shaped like horns growing above her flowing locks. Her skin was milky white and unnaturally smooth, making her seem more like a moving statue of marble than a person. But this was only to hide her battle scars and muscles.

“Queen Claricia, to what do I owe the profound displeasure of your presence?” asked Demetra.

“I just wanted to visit you while I had the chance,” the queen smiled. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen you, after all. What’s it been... Twenty? Thirty years?”

“If you wanted to see me, you should have visited the arena where you damned me and the rest of our tribe to!!”

“Still mad about that? I’ll have you know that I put you all there as an act of mercy. Even if the life of a savage was not for me, I knew you and the rest of our sisters would hate to die outside of battle. So, what better place to spend the rest of your days than within a ring of blood and sand? Or would you rather be someone’s maid?” Claricia grinned, her prominent fangs on display. “Though I’m not sure such elegant clothes would suit your physique.”

“If all you wanted to do was taunt me, I’d rather you do it from behind the door. The stench of your traitorousness poisons the very air.”

Demetra was kicked in the face with enough force to draw blood. She fell back against the wall, and Claricia bent down, grabbing Demetra by her hair and pulling her up.

“Mock me all you want, but I chose the winning side of history. Do you know what it gave me? A feast for every meal, a warm bath and servants to massage my every muscle. My own bed. No longer did I have to lie on the ground beside my sisters and wonder when my next meal would be. You could have had it all too, you know. I’m sure we could have found you some foppish prince or duke to be your husband.”

“And live the life of some powdered man’s bedwarmer? Did you learn nothing from our people? From the sea? You are a bird in a gilded cage while I feel the wind in my hair every day. You speak of your luxuries as if they were prizes, but they mean nothing to me. Especially not when they are at the cost of everyone in chains!”

“Then there’s no reasoning with you,” Claricia let go of Demetra. “You and our battle sisters always spoke of the value of strength and perseverance. To that I say this: if strength is so valuable, then use it to earn your freedom. The other races need only break their chains. If they are too feeble, too dull-witted, or too weak to do so, what life would they live beyond the walls of Ramtha anyway? Is a life of struggle, suffering, and death truly so glamorous?”

“You know nothing, Claricia. The strong should never oppress the weak. We are not such lowly beasts that only the fittest deserve to survive. Strength should be used to help others, not just yourself. If you don’t understand that, then you’re still the same spoiled brat you’ve always been.”

“At least I know what I want,” Claricia shrugged her shoulders. “Speaking of, I have a rather fitting end for you and your comrades in mind. My troublesome daughter is getting married, you see, and she is still delicate like a flower. She shies away from violence or the mistreatment of others, especially if they’re lowly slaves.”

“It’s a miracle such good fruit grew from a sickly tree.”

“I was too busy to raise her, unfortunately. But I’ll make up for that soon. She’s become an adult, so what better way to welcome her into the adult world than to add a public execution to her wedding? Hito has been helping me coordinate the whole thing.”

“You’re going to need a sturdy rope if you want to hang the likes of me.”

“Oh, I would never be so crass as to make it a hanging. But a mass beheading? Now there’s an idea. I’ll toss your heads to the crowd while a river of blood flows down our steps. Now that’s a wedding!” To this, Demetra said nothing. She would no longer entertain her former sister’s sadism. “No more retorts or insults? How droll. Well, there is still much to attend to, so just sit quietly in your cell in the meantime. Be seeing you soon, sister.”

Demetra watched Claricia walk away, then Hito waved goodbye before locking up the prison cell. Left alone in the dark, all Demetra could do was think of the past, her shame, and her guilt.