No Matter What It Takes

Nona stared at the empty place where Thorny had been a second ago, unable to register the words her companions were saying.

With an emotionless expression, Nona stood up mechanically. She grabbed her Dwarf Axe and started to hit their cubic prison with all her strength.

“Nona…” Adish approached Nona cautiously as she continued with her unrelenting strikes. “It’s no use. You cannot break your way through a Forcecage with physical hits–”

The cage broke in a thousand translucent pieces with the next hit Nona delivered.

“H-How is that even possible?!” Conrad blurted out, looking as shocked as anyone else while Nona started walking towards Ylaria. “Oh powerful Yenom, I’m so sick of you, group of freaks. Soldiers, atta–!”

Conrad’s words ended abruptly when finding Lorian right next to him and a dagger at his throat.

“I would behave if I were you,” the elf warned in a calm tone that contrasted with his threatening eyes. “Because if you don’t, I’ll tie you up and leave you with that mage alone.”

Nona had reached Ylaria by then. She stopped in front of the archmage, with her axe gripped tightly in her hands.

“Bring him back,” she snarled, but Ylaria merely snorted.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

Nona smashed the axe right next to Ylaria, close enough to make the archmage’s eyebrows shoot upward, surprised but not afraid.

“Bring…him…back,” Nona repeated, her tone trembling with anger, but Ylaria simply smirked.

“I don’t know how to do that, girl. But even if I knew,” Ylaria tilted her head while licking her lower lip in a slow, provoking way, “I would certainly refuse. Because that desperation really looks good on you–”

Nona violently pulled up the doll from the rope binding Ylaria captive. The elf’s eyes opened wide in terror as her smirk quickly vanished.

“Bring him back,” Nona grabbed the rag doll’s head with one hand and her legs with the other, “or I’ll rip this thing in two.”

“Don’t you dare…” Ylaria threatened, trashing against her bonds, but Nona remained unmoved. She started to slowly stretch the doll, and the first tearing sound made Ylaria start to shout. “Leave her, leave her, leave her. LEAVE MY DAUGHTER ALONE!”

“Nona.” Suddenly Vesper was next to her, placing a gentle hand on the top of the doll, although Nona had stopped the moment she heard Ylaria’s last anguished words. “She isn’t lying. She doesn’t know how to bring Thorny back.”

Nona stopped looking at Vesper and focused on Ylaria. The elf wore a distressed expression looking at that doll, as if it was the most important thing in her life.

After a few seconds, Nona carefully put the doll on the ground in front of the archmage, who exhaled a deep sigh of relief.

In the meantime, Adish made the most of Lorian having Conrad at daggerpoint to petrify him. It didn’t take them long to convince Conrad’s men who kept standing that staying in the North Continent wasn’t a wise idea. Also, the fact that they had just witnessed how Nona destroyed a supposedly unbreakable magic prison dissuaded them from fighting further.

Adish also cast a Petrify spell on Ylaria as a precaution, though the woman seemed to have become mute after recovering her doll. Around ten minutes later, the men of the Black Orchid had abandoned the camp carrying their petrified bosses.

“About the imp, are you completely sure that that idiot is not pranking you–?”

“I can’t feel him.” Nona interrupted Adish. “Since the Goddess bound us together, I have always been able to feel him, even when he was invisible. But now that connection is…gone.” Nona gulped again, shaking her head in confusion. “And if that archmage didn’t do anything to him, then I don’t know what–”

“I think I know.” Everyone turned to look at Vesper, who continued talking with a soft, saddened tone. “I think it may be related to the extra requirements to fulfill your Wish.”

It took Nona a few seconds to understand the implication of Vesper’s words.

And when she did, her eyes opened wide in stupor.

“B-But Thorny didn’t leave my side.” Nona’s heart started racing. “When we broke the rule of the team members, Horace was just hurt as punishment!”

“Yes, but you told us that the Goddess had a grudge against Thorny from the start,” Adish’s tone was both sad and angry. “So it seems like She took the first chance she could to impose a harsher punishment.”

Nona stared at Vesper and Adish in disbelief before talking in a whisper.

“Are you telling me that Thorny died just because he got a bit further away to save us?” She sank to the ground. “This is my fault. This is all my fault.”

“No, Nona, of course it’s not.” Vesper rapidly said, crouching next to her.

“Yes, it is,” Nona insisted, her breathing coming out faster now. “If I had ignored that elf’s fake call of help, none of this would have happened.”

“Nona, there are several culprits of what happened to Thorny,” Adish said, bending a little to place a hand on her shoulder. “But you are not among them.”

“Yes, I am,” Nona insisted again, her entire chest hurting because of the guilt. “Thorny tried to warn me, but I was too stupid to listen, and–”

“You are not stupid,” Lorian’s unexpected gentle words made Nona shut up instantly. The elf crouched next, and surprised Nona by briefly caressing her cheek in the place where that little scar had already faded. “You are just too kind in a world that does not always deserve it.”

Nona was unable to control her tears anymore.

So for the next few minutes, she simply let it all out, until exhaustion finally reached her and she fell asleep, still in the embrace of her companions.

* * *

If circumstances were different, Nona would have been amazed by how different elven communities were from human ones, after they managed to reach their destination three days later.

Lorian’s clan - called The Evergreen - was more similar to a druid settlement than a classical human village, both the houses and buildings had an elegance, majesty and respect for nature that human constructions often lacked.

But Nona barely paid attention to any of that, neither to the curious looks that she and her entire group were attracting. She had been unusually quiet during the past days, merely answering when the others asked.

So the group felt quite relieved when she was the one initiating a conversation with Lorian.

“Do you think the Elder could take a look at that artifact now?” Just a few weeks had passed since they got it thanks to Enia’s thieves, but Nona felt as if an eternity had passed since then.

“Of course,” Lorian said. “I’m sure wise Orelgard will be extremely interested in examining it.”

* * *

“Mmm,” Orelgard adjusted his half moon glasses and tugged at his long, white beard once again, “mmmm…!”

Adish and Vesper traded glances. They had been in Orelgard’s modest but elegant tree-house for the past fifteen minutes, and during that time, the man hadn’t said a word aside from those occasional hummings.

“So, can you fix it or not?” Adish impatiently said, gaining an upbraiding look from Lorian.

“Mmm? Oh, yes, of course. I was just admiring the architecture of this relic for a bit.” Orelgard removed his glasses and left them hanging around his neck. “I hope you are not in a rush though, because repairing it would take six months at least.”

“Six months?” everyone exclaimed.

“At least,” Orelgard repeated, apologetically.

“And is there not any other way to find The Dawn Rift?” Nona insisted, but Orelgard shook his head no.

“I’m afraid Dimensional Rifts can appear anywhere. Even if you tried searching for it without a magic tracker, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.”

“And what about using another magic tracker?” Vesper suggested.

“Ordinary ones do not work. You were quite lucky finding an Anomaly Detector even if it’s in a deteriorated state. As far as I know, nowadays there are just a few in the entire world.”

Nona’s shoulders sank when her hope of finally granting that Wish to come back soon to her family vanished.

“It goes without saying, but you and Vesper can stay in The Evergreen all the time you need,” Lorian said, then addressing Adish. “You too mage. But just if you pay for the accommodation.”

“HAH?!” This time, Nona couldn’t prevent a small smile after hearing Adish’s outraged shout, which caused Adish to also smile. “OK, I’ll forgive you, elf, because our leader has finally smiled.”

Nona gulped when realizing that everyone looked rather relieved, feeling a mini-lump forming on her throat. Orelgard observed the reactions in silence before talking again with a gentle tone.

“If I may ask, the rumors we got was that the Wish Bearer was travelling with a particularly strange fairy.”

Even if Nona’s heart hurt a bit, she couldn’t prevent a chuckle.

“Thorny would be so mad for being called a fairy.” She was rather proud of herself when she was able to keep talking without crying. “We were travelling with an imp. But he’s no longer with us.”

Orelgard’s bushy eyebrows raised.

“An imp? Are you sure about that?”

Nona blinked, confused. “Well, yes, pretty sure. Why?”

“Because they are by no means common. Unlike other similar, earthly creatures like fairies, their origin is unclear to this day. The most extended theory is that they are creatures that an evil god created long ago to tempt us to sin, but since they are incredibly weird creatures, we cannot be sure.”

“That’s the general knowledge I also had. And now that you bring up the topic, Orelgard,” Lorian commented with curiosity, “do you happen to know if imps are able to see people’s stats and affinity? Or break through Forcecages perhaps?”

Orelgard blinked a few times, adjusted his glasses, and looked at Nona. “Would you mind telling me more about that imp that was your companion?”

Against all odds, talking about Thorny was easier than Nona had thought. Without noticing, she spent an entire hour talking about him.

“Ok, I think I’ve heard enough,” Orelgard said. “Well, I’ve reached two conclusions about that imp, and the first one is that I hardly doubt he is dead.”

“WHAT?!” everyone shouted, shocked at such a revelation in such a conversational tone.

“But how can you be so sure of that?!” Nona exclaimed, not wanting to raise her hopes, but being unable not to.

“Because this world has multiple concealed layers, just like The Dawn Rift you are searching for. And the way you’ve described his death sounds more like he was sent to one of them.”

“Ok, and how can we bring him back?” Nona rapidly asked.

“Oh, there are certainly ways to summon a creature from another dimension. But the cost of doing such rituals is quite high.”

“Well, we have money. And we can always do jobs to gather more.”

Orelgard laughed at Nona’s eagerness.

“I’m not talking about money, Wish Bearer, but about incredibly rare materials that by no means are easy to find.”

“We still have armpit hair of a flying monkey,” Adish’s ironic comment earned him a jab in his ribs from Vesper, but surprisingly, Olergard looked at them impressed.

“Oho, that would certainly help, indeed. But there are weirder ones that just can be found in the South Continent for example.” Orelgadl raised his hand when seeing Nona about to speak again. “And even if you managed to gather them, there’s nothing we can do unless you know that imp’s real name.”

“Wait, ‘Thorny’ is not Thorny’s name?” Vesper asked with surprise. Nona shook her head no.

“No, that’s the name I’ve been calling him since I met him, but I don’t know his real one.” She smiled with embarrassment. “He never trusted me enough to tell me.”

“Tsk, typical Thorny,” Adish said with resignation, even if there was the ghost of a smile on his face.

“And regarding my second conclusion–"

Everyone listened to Orelgard.

Then silence reigned.

And then, everyone shouted in shock.

“B-But that’s impossible!” Vesper exclaimed.

“I refuse to believe that!” Adish snapped, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Shit, he was insufferable enough already, so I refuse to believe it!”

“You can deny it all you want, mage, but that would explain quite a few things about his abilities,” Lorian said with a rather satisfied tone, apparently pleased to see Adish in such a distressed state.

“And it would also explain the last thing he said to me…” Nona said, her heart racing as the pieces of a puzzle she didn’t know even existed fitted together. “I think I know Thorny’s real name”

“Then keep it,” Orelgard said. “Names are powerful. So for the time being, it’s better if you keep it safe with you.”

Nona smiled and nodded, hope shining back in her eyes.

“So, I guess we have a plan now: we need to collect both the materials for the Anomaly Detector, and the materials for Thorny’s ritual!”

“I must warn that gathering the items for such a ritual will be even harder, and infinitely more dangerous,” Orelgard insisted, but Nona’s determination didn’t falter. It just got stronger.

“I know. But no matter what it takes, I’m going to bring Thorny back.” She looked at the members of her group alternatively. “Although I’d understand if you preferred to stop right here and–”

Adish, Vesper and Lorian softly smacked the back of Nona’s head one after the other.

“Tsk, after all this time you don’t get it?” Nona’s eyes opened wide when Adish went as far as draping his arm over her shoulders. “You are not getting rid of us.”

“Exactly.” Vesper said. “Besides, who knows how many new creatures I will be able to document in the Southern Continent.”

“In my case, I will help from here,” Lorian said, clicking his tongue. “My parents for sure won’t allow me to travel after having ran away, entrusting my responsibilities of future leader to my sister–”

“Wait, you have a sister?!” Nona asked.

“And you ran away?!” Vesper added.

“And you are the future leader of the clan?!” Adish snapped, bringing a hand to his mouth. “Oh jeez, and are you planning to tell your parents that you and Zand–”

“Say another word, mage, and you are dead.”

This time, Nona joined Vesper’s laughs as Lorian and Adish got engrossed in their discussion.

Once Vesper decided it was time to intervene, Nona placed a hand on her chest, the place Thorny had hugged right before leaving.

“Don’t worry, Thorny. We are definitely bringing you back.”