Old Queens and Old Men

--Gatix--

The elder fell to his knees when we emerged. His wheezing made me think of a deflating balloon, which a healthy human should not mimic. “You okay?”

He clicked his tongue twice without looking up but managed a nod strong enough for me to know it wasn't a fluke. “Wa....waht...”

“Water? I don't-”

“Agent, I am detecting water close by.”

“I'll get some.” Taking him by the shoulder, I delicately turned the elder around and laid him against a rock. “Stay there, and keep on breathing.”

Satisfied with the nod I received, I ran toward Nev's indicator. Several plants were new compared to the forest before, and I couldn't remember a stream from the last time. Daylight shone through the canopy, so wherever we emerged, it was a significant distance from the Bazaar.

The thicket made traversing slower than expected, but I arrived at Nev's stream a minute later. That left the question of how to get the water to the elder, with the end result being to empty the jar of trisortium inside the bag and scoop up some water. I hoped trisortium wasn't poisonous: neither Boss nor Dax mentioned anything about that.

“Here ya go.” The elder's wheeze had died down upon my return, but he wasn't breathing normally yet.

“Th... thanks.” He gave a last swallow as he lowered the jar, licking his lips once afterward.

“You going to make it?”

A newly-formed light forming behind me was betrayed by a change in the shadows, a white-pillar appearing in view as I unclipped Scythe and spun around. A solitary parasol emerged before the pillar disappeared, one whose clothing was significantly more singed than before.

“How rude.” The parasol tilted its head.

“Depends on who's inside.”

“You don't recognize the face of your savior?”

“I only recognize a talking umbrella.”

Two scaled hands emerged from within the folds to remove the goggles and push back the hood to unveil a grin on a familiar face. “How about now? Though I might ask you to explain what an `umbrella' is.”

“Slang in my world for “annoying lady”.” I put Scythe away. “Never figured you had a taste for the dramatic.”

“Should have seen me in the fight against Horot.” She deigned a glance in my direction as she walked past me to bend in front of the old man “It's been some time.”

“Indeed it has... old queen.” The wheeze had lessened, but I could still hear the lyrics coming from his lungs.

“I see age hasn't been kind to you.”

The elder gave a pained smile. “Others... my age... would have died in the Bazaar.”

“I remember you splitting a mountain in anger.”

“I remember you laying waste... to a legion of skin-walkers, yet here we are.”

“I've had some time to think.”

“Age brings wisdom.” The elder gave a smile which turned into a series of coughs. “I see you found yourself some company.”

Her head turned sideways by just the tiniest amount. “Betrayal has a habit of uniting unlikely allies.”

“Though... I suspect not all allies are created equal.” His eyes briefly flashed to mine. “Am I counted among that rare group?”

“You weren't alive, last I heard. I can't form alliances with the dead, now can I?”

“I see.” He bowed his head. “I thank you.”

“What will you do now?”

“My days are limited, old queen. I was already courting the light's embrace when young Gatix appeared, and the teleport might have taken more than I could provide. Perhaps... perhaps this forest will be the place I call my everlasting home.”

“There is poetry in that, all things considered.”

The elder only gave a smile at that. “You were always more romantic... than you gave yourself credit for.”

“Foolish the man who points that out.”

“Foolish the woman to be threatened by a dead man.”

“You were always too witty for your own good.” Ms. Queen bowed her head as she let a chuckle escape. “If this is to be your resting place, then tell me. Do you have any regrets?”

“In a life such as mine? Many. But none... that I would want to change.” He wheezed again. “I've lived my life to the best of my ability. A wish for change would be a fool's thought.”

“I see.” I couldn't see Ms. Queen's expression as she straightened herself. “Your daughter lives in Urugesh if I remember?”

“Yes.”

“Then here.” Ms. Queen formed a white light between her fingers that transformed into a small leather bag a few seconds later. From the inside, she pulled out a black stone similar to the one the alchemist had used. She placed the crystal in the old man's hand. “May you live out the rest of your days in peace.”

She turned around before he could respond, but the wrinkled hand closed around the crystal. The streak of a tear did not escape my eyes. “Come, Gatix.” She gently took hold of my elbow as she walked past, neither of us saying a word as I fell in step beside her.

I didn't know where the elder had teleported us. Nev would probably be analyzing the map as we walked, but it was significantly denser than the previous woods I enjoyed. Tree trunks dotted the landscape as far as the eye could see, and each step loosed a crunch as dried leaves were crushed beneath my feet. The reddish sky above us was barely more than a maze of lines between the tree branches, with only a fraction of the light illuminating the ground. It was about as jarring a difference as you could get from the sandstorm-drenched desert, save for landing in a tundra. The choir of insect noises coloring my audio was more musical than the sand brushing against my armor.

It was certainly fitting of a final resting place.

“I won't ask,” I commented after we had walked a fair distance.

In the relative darkness of the forest, both of us must have seen the white flash casting shadows, but neither of us said a word. No words needed to be said.