Chapter 31: Aftermath

The Wings found the three lying on their backs in a desolate, barren clearing, struggling to catch their breaths. Their wounds had long since closed, their appearances singed with soot and ash, but they were still alive.

“You guys all good?” Lyza asked, prodding Roselwyn with a foot.

“Of course we are,” Roselwyn replied.

“And where were you guys during all of that?” Wyn asked.

“Hey, we had our hands full with two of their clones,” Feregus replied. “Not so easy an opponent you can just run past and ignore.”

Lu Lulach covered her roots over the two. Their wounds closed, as though they were never even there. Even still, they didn’t have the energy to stand. Feregus hoisted Roselwyn to her feet, leaning her against his shoulder, while Magus hoisted Wyn onto his back.

“So…” Theodore began to ask. “Where’s the big bad wolf? You're alive, which means they're gone? What happened?”

“I haven’t got a clue,” Roselwyn sighed, before pointing a finger at Magus. “Ask him.”

The four turned to Magus with expectant eyes, so he began to regale them with the tale of their epic battle.

“They’re sealed away in here,” He said, knocking on the black cloth. They blinked, waiting for more. Magus didn’t say anything else.

“That’s it? That’s all we get?” Lu Lulach asked.

Magus shrugged. “That’s what happened.”

Wyn rolled her eyes. “That’s all that happened,” She muttered in a mocking, dead pan tone. “This is why you leave the talking to me.” And so, as they walked back to the Guild, Wyn began retelling their journey. From the day they met not even two weeks ago, to their first encounter with Tireyien, to their final confrontation. Every few sentences, Theodore interrupted with some question, none of which they had an answer for. Lyza and Feregus merely nodded along, as if listening to some fanciful tale sung by a bard. Lu Lulach, meanwhile, never stopped shooting Magus dirty looks.

“I knew he was trouble!” She said in a huff. “We should’ve just left him to the wolf.” She quickly quieted down when Wyn bonked her on the head with her pommel.

The seven of them sat around a table over dinner. Despite the very late hour, many adventurers awoke to catch a glimpse of the Wings, victorious over the most dreadful monster the Guild had ever seen. Of course, none dared to actually approach, content to merely gaze upon them.

“So…” Theodore began to say. “Even though Tireyien’s gone, that Grim Diubh still got away? Sure we shouldn't deal with that? It’s the whole reason we’re out here, after all.”

“After all that,” Lyza replied. “I doubt it wants anything to do with people anymore. If Tireyien is to be believed, it’s not like it just took over its body. The two should’ve been working together, meaning it was wide awake for the utter thrashing we gave it.”

“You mean the thrashing my sister and I gave it.” Wyn interrupted. “You guys were off fighting petals or whatever.”

“Hey!” Lu Lulach retorted. “My florets are as strong as the original body, you know! It’s not some cake walk!”

“Yea, except they incinerate super easily.” She replied, sticking out her tongue. “Shouldn’t have been that big a deal.” She blew a raspberry at Lu Lulach.

“Right, right, our bad.” Theodore laughed. “Well, it worked out in the end, didn’t it?”

“Will we still get paid for this, though? I mean, technically, the wolf is still alive.” Lyza said, fiddling with sierejog legs.

“Now, now.” Feregus said. “It’s not about the money! So long as the Guild and its adventurers are safe, that’s all that matters!” He swirled a glass of fancy champagne, squeezing in lime juice before taking small sips.

“Hmph. Only a noble born into wealth could say that.” Lyza huffed.

“Come now, Lyza. Are you meaning to say your salary isn’t enough? Why, I’m sure if you’d asked, the captain would be more than happy to—”

“Not happening,” Roselwyn interrupted. “Besides, there’s no reward for slaying the Grim Diubh. We’re not commissioned adventurers, we are soldiers here to perform our duties. If you want to become a mere monster hunter, you’re more than welcome to resign.”

“Hmph,” was all Lyza had to say in retort.

“It’s probably a good idea to remove the Grim Diubh,” Feregus said, after pondering for a bit. “It’s still a dangerous monster. And it’s not good to leave a job unfinished.”

“Well, you’re free to do so if you want,” Theodore said. “I’m done with monster hunting for a good while, thank you very much.”

Feregus stood up from the table, walking behind Theodore. With one arm, he scooped him up, walking out the door.

“We’ll be off, then! See you later!”

Theodore flailed like a hooked fish, cursing Feregus’ name, but there was nothing he could do to free himself from the man’s grasp.

Eventually, Wyn retired to her room, and after Roselwyn finally got their room sorted, Roselwyn retired as well. Lyza and Lu Lulach stayed behind, following Magus as they headed into the party hall, although Lyza first went to retrieve the large case she had left behind earlier that night.

“You don’t want to sleep?” He asked.

“I’m a spirit, I don’t need sleep,” Lu Lulach shot back. “What else is there to do here?”

“Nice.” Magus replied. “Same. The ‘don’t need sleep’ part, at least.” He raised his hand.

“What are you doing?” Lu Lulach raised an eyebrow.

“The adventurers call this a high five. A gesture of celebration.” Lu Lulach only rolled her eyes, ignoring him.

“It’s been too long since I’ve had some good night life,” Lyza said. “The capital’s so boring once the sun goes down. Nobles have no sense of what’s actually fun.”

“Then would you care for a game of poker?”

“What’s that?” Lu Lulach asked.

“Nah, I’ve got a better idea.” Lyza, meanwhile, unlatched her case, revealing a strange device. It was an instrument, similar to a lute, except its body was much bulkier with strings of metal, the size of her torso to her head.

“Interested?” Lyza asked. “It’s a custom made lute from the country of MuoShi. Not sure if I’m pronouncing that right. Look, all you’ve got to do is inject a little mana, and then..” She plucked at a string, and a strange, reverberating sound hummed through its body. “Using their specialized mana conduits, it stores and reverberates sounds to make them even louder. Gives it this nice low hum, too. Pretty awesome, right?” With a wave, she pushed through the crowd to the center stage. A short conversation, and an arm pulled her up to the stage with the other performers. After a moment to take in the sound, she started strumming, seamlessly meshing with those already on stage. The cheering grew louder, as if the dancers were sent into some kind of feeding frenzy. The music echoed throughout the entire room as though it were a massive cavern, drowning out even the cheers from those dancing and singing.

“Hmph,” Lu Lulach huffed. “Lyza’s always wasting her money on something or other.”

“What do you do with your money, then?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“That's why I asked.”

“Oh.” Lu Lulach rubbed the back of her neck. “It’s a… secret.”

“Why?”

“Why do I have to tell you anything? It doesn’t matter, just show me this poker or whatever, come on.”

And so, that night passed by just like any other night. Hand after hand, leading only to another gold coin lost to the table, with more spent on beer. Magus had long since learnt to take losing on the chin. It didn’t matter if he didn’t win. Except this time, Magus wasn’t the only loser at the table.

“This game sucks!”