one last _____ for the road

They had a few days to prepare themselves until the deadline arrived for Shining Beacon to respond to the Dockworker’s Union. If they failed (and they would), then all union workers planned to walk off the job and stay off until their demands were listened to. Really, Zane didn’t think it’d be that hard to at least listen, but some people lacked patience for those they considered not worth their time, didn’t they?

Still, Zane couldn’t stop thinking about what Addison said. If she knew something about himself that he didn’t know, he planned to beat it out of her during the strike. But staring down plans and counting supplies failed to stop his racing thoughts. Someone had to notice eventually.

“Is everything okay?”

“Ah!”

Zane jumped. He’d fallen asleep on the floor of their room—not just that, but Lucian was sitting next to him like he’d been waiting for Zane to wake up. Eh, maybe Zane just imagined it, though…

“I’m fine,” Zane said. “Just getting some extra sleep in. We’re pretty much playing the waiting game, right?… Hey, where’s Shay?”

“Outside. He went back to the establishment Effie took us to to talk up the patrons again. I suppose he’s trying to make more friends on Effie’s behalf.” Orie consisted of quite a few people who lived overseas before moving to Auliam, so Shay being from Udrefaust turned less heads, especially since he didn’t care much for religion. It wouldn’t be the same in Belva—Zane made a mental note to look out for Shay once they arrived.

“It’s nice,” Lucian continued. “I’m glad. They seemed to like him better than me—you know, I thought… some of them might’ve recognized me, back then, when we first…

“Hm.”

Zane sat up. “So, you not giving me your last name, you not wanting to stay here. All ‘cause of your history?”

“Um…”

Lucian brought his knees close, like a scared child might. “Yes. You know, it was strange. Spending my entire childhood being told I’m an avatar for a nonexistent god who blessed me with magical talent, only for it all to come crumbling down. Then someone else comes along and tells me—no, that was a false god, but I’m the true avatar of this god! And I… even that must be a lie. Even that—was just… more pain.”

“Hey, hey, deep breaths.” Zane put a hand on Lucian’s shoulder. “I think I get the deal.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Seriously, don’t apologize. I was just curious.” He let go, leaning back to stare at the ceiling. “…Still kinda hoping you might back down on that ‘killing yourself’ thing.”

“It’s not suicide, it’s a needed step—”

“We’ll see. Vitam might change Her mind once I show up.”

“It’s not really Vitam’s choice—it’s the cost of reaching the level of a god.”

“So you’re gonna get god powers?”

Lucian yelped. “No! It’s hard to really know the whole process until we get there. But I was told—”

Huh. “Told?”

“I—I suppose I can tell you…” Lucian looked away. “We’re going to need to meet with them when we arrive in Belva. They were part of the reason I decided to leave the church.”

“And ‘they’ are?”

“Companions. I think. They’ve studied the history of religion on Auliam for years, including its intersection with Xitalism. They’re quite nice. They don’t really live anywhere usually, but they’re waiting in Belva for now because they’re worried I might not make it there.”

Fair worry. Though that piqued Zane’s curiosity. “Is that why you wanted to go to Udrefaust?”

“Yes… They told me they think the murals reveal an unspoken truth to Vitaism. That there’s some kind of… story between Xitalism and Vitaism hiding behind the church’s seal. But they don’t know what it is quite yet—just that there’s something ominous brewing underneath the intertwined tales. I’ve come to learn that the truth is Vitam’s own imprisonment, so I set out to free them after rescuing you. I wanted to learn more from them, but when I realized the depths of Vitam’s suffering, I just—couldn’t sit around and wait.”

“Huh—hey, so you wanted to see the murals for yourself to reach your own conclusion?” Zane couldn’t quite grasp what Lucian thought of these informants of his. Not quite friends, by the sound of it, but it’d be essential to talk to them once the party arrived in Belva. Still, this was a good chance to pick Lucian’s brain a bit and talk about something that didn’t bother the other man.

Lucian shrank back, smiling. “Sorry. I wanted to see the murals for myself. Their second hand accounts were nice, but I felt I’d only come close to grasping the truth through my own travels.”

“Eh. They were nice. But not anything mind blowing information wise.”

They depicted the same story Xitalins gave a million times over—Vitam deemed a false god by the true god Xital—and before that… a complete, indecipherable mess.

The more he thought about it, the more interesting it seemed, in its own way. Maybe the mess signified something Zane couldn’t quite grasp with what he knew now. But maybe one day he’d find the answer. He hoped they both find it.

“I suppose—but it’s something to think about.” Lucian said. “I’ll gladly introduce you to my companions. I think after everything, you all deserve to see them.”

“Yeah.” Zane flicked Lucian’s arm. “Still not gonna let you kill yourself though.”

Lucian laughed him off, patting Zane on the shoulder. “You really are admirable, aren’t you?”

“C’mon, man, I’m being serious.”

“And I’m being serious too! You’re the exact kind of person I needed for this—someone who will do the right thing, no matter what it takes.

“Huh.”

Zane looked at the ceiling. “No matter what.”

Lucian seemed to really admire him. He wasn’t sure how to react in the face of such explicit praise. Some might just call it sugarcoated compliments meant to drive him towards their goal, but he wanted to take them as they were.

The Lucian he learned about, the Lucian he’d known all this time—not rotten, or terrible. A nervous young man looking for a better cause to cling to. And maybe Zane had been foolish to follow him on a whim, but if this road took them somewhere worse, he’d pull them back.

Whatever the truth was.

“I’m glad I met you,” Zane said. “And I know I said it before, but seriously, don’t be so weird about yourself. You’re doing fine.”

Lucian looked away. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“You know, everything on the roof…”

“What counts as the weird stuff?”

Suddenly, Zane lost interest in asking. “Nevermind. Just glad you’re chill now. Let’s focus on the mission.”

The two idled time away planning, blowing steam on random conversations. Eventually Shay returned—

“Hey! I brought some guys over, hope you don’t mind!”

And a group of burly men carrying a keg of beer shoved their way through the door. “Hey! Shay’s Friends! We brought drinks!”

“We brought so many drinks.”

“Wanna get wasted?”

“We’re gonna get so wasted.”

Zane had to drag Lucian into it, but a couple hours later, everything morphed into a haze. Everything Zane worried about: Vitam’s freedom, his memories, the lives of his traveling companions—it all smeared into nothing.

Yet they had no time at all.

No time, and no way to prepare for the fight ahead.