Sparing further, and more personal, details, we were at it for more than half the night. At the end of it all, Meliss lay on my bare chest as I watched her head rising and falling gently in time with my breathing.
"You weren't bad for a first timer," she said playfully, turning her head to look into my eyes. "How was it for you?" she asked quietly. "Best I think I'll ever have," I replied honestly. She chuckled at my reply, but it faded more quickly than I'd thought it would.
"Thoma," she began. "What is it?" I asked calmly. "I don't want to lose you," she said softly as I stroked her black hair that had more than a few strands strewn across my shoulder.
"I know this fight that's coming is something that can't be avoided, but if there were a way…" she trailed off. I sealed her lips with mine. "There's nothing more to be done," I began softly. "We're on a mission to get yours and Leona's home back, and that's exactly what we're going to do," I continued.
Tears began to well up in her eyes, as she tucked her face into my chest.
"But I don't want you to die. I don't know how you fight, or how well the others around you will protect you, but I'm scared I'm going to lose you. I finally find a person that's not a complete menace to the female gender, and he immediately has to go to war? I… I'm scared, Thoma. I'm terrified that even if the rest of the synners succeed, that you won't be there at the finish line," she said, tears streaming down her face.
I know she's scared, but what am I supposed to say? I'm not immortal, and, to be honest, I'm probably more scared than she is, I thought, weighing her words heavily on my heart.
"I won't die, or at the very least I'll do my best to take as many of those bastards with me on the way out," I said softly. Meliss' small hand moved to the side of my face. "Can you promise me that?" she asked, gazing into my eyes.
I looked into hers, and pondered her question for a moment. "There is no way to know when either of us will die," I began. "All we can do is pray the gods don't let that happen sooner than it's supposed to," he said. "Then I'll pray to the gods to spare us both, and not have us suffer such a fate," she nodded her head with determination.
"I know I'm your first, and that makes this a little more difficult for you to comprehend certain things regarding relationships. You have to understand that even though I've been with other people, forced upon or not, you're the first one I've truly cared for," she said, moving her head back down onto my chest.
I'd never thought I'd hear those words come out of someone's mouth, so to say that I was shocked would be a blatant disservice to how I felt in that moment.
"It's true that it's a little difficult for me to understand what you're going through, but I promise that I will do my best to not let you down, or uh… you know, become past tense," I said jokingly, trying to make the situation seem a little less heavy. "I know it's in your nature to make jokes in dark times, but for fuck's sake…" she managed a chuckle.
"Hey, you laughed a little. Mission complete!" I said with a bright smile. "G'night, Thoma," she whispered, smiling a little as she said it. "Good night, Meliss," I replied, kissing the top of her forehead as she snuggled up more closely to me. She was soon fast asleep, as our little adventure had drawn more out of her than it did from him.
I won't let that happen to either of us, I thought.
Naturally, my mind began to race as it went over all of the possibilities.
I've decided that Fate was a cold-hearted bitch, that only took advantage of mere mortals for her own personal enjoyment. I promise I'll come back to you, Meliss, even if the gods themselves do not forgive my methods of getting there, I mentally asserted.
After coming to terms with that, I slept, going back onto the plains, where he could train, and be free from all mortal worries.
Dawn came, and Meliss had barely moved from her previous position the whole night. I was just waking up, though, only now realizing what had happened the previous evening. I gingerly tried to take my numbed arm out from under her head, but failed miserably as she woke up with my movement.
"Is there something wrong?" she asked. "Nothing could possibly be wrong in this situation," I replied. "It's just that I always wake at, or before dawn - old habits. Well, that and my arm doesn't feel like it belongs to me anymore," I said in jest. "Ah, right," she said softly, lifting her head just enough for me to get my arm out from underneath her.
"The Master may be looking for me," I began. "Leona knows you're with me. If anything, she can tell him where you are," she said, her voice was raspy and sleepy.
Not a minute passed before there was a knock on the door. "I've got to go," I said with a light-hearted shrug. "I know," she replied, frowning slightly. I was out of the bed in a flash - putting on my jerkin and boots as quickly as my sleepy limbs would allow.
There was another knock on the door. "Coming," I replied, getting my last boot on. As soon as it was on, I rushed over to her side, and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "One for good luck," I said. She pulled my head close, and kissed my lips. "Two's always better," she winked. "Go. You'll be late!" she smiled.
I rushed over to the door and undid the bolts, only to find my brother standing there with a smile from ear to ear.
"Someone popped their cherry," he said cheerfully. "Shut up, she might hear you," I replied. I couldn't hide the fact that I also had a smile from ear to ear, and probably the strong scent of whatever happened the previous night. "Hope she broke you in well enough," Bernar said, patting me on the shoulder.
"That's none of your business," I replied defensively. "Whoa, touchy, are we?" Bernar said, the grin still showing on his face. "I just don't want her to hear you," I said quietly. "Oh, right," my brother said, moving away from the door.
"The Master wants to see us," he began. "Not sure what he wants, but if he's only summoned the two of us, it must be serious," he continued. "Let's go, then," I replied. I closed the door behind me, getting one final look at Meliss, who was still in bed. I smiled, but felt that leaving her in that state might make me out to be an asshole in her eyes.
Wish I could stay there forever, I thought as he closed the wooden door, following my brother over to Pyle's house.
The Master was there waiting for us, along with Pyle, Thorsen and Garett, who sat in the same positions as they had the previous day. "Please, sit," the Master gestured.
"As I was telling the others, we must move sooner than we thought," Pyle began. "Friends of mine from the country have sent me ravens saying that the large force of monsters has been making their way to Coltend, destroying every town along the way. I have already notified the ones who have volunteered to help us, and we ought to be off within the next hour or so," he said.
"How many do we have," Bernar asked. "Counting the ones we've come with: A little over five-hundred," the Master said grimly. "So it's a suicide mission," Bernar said sardonically. "Not exactly," the Master replied. Leona walked in from a hidden corner of the room, holding a scroll in her hand. "Leona has laid out the plans of the city for us - drawn from memory," the Master said.
Bernar and I looked at each other in astonishment.
"Being that the army of Coltend would take far too long to send word to, assemble, and march to the castle, that option is one we do not have at the moment. However, that's not to say that all hope is lost, as deep beneath the city lies a network of sewers," Leona began.
"Coltend was originally an elven city, and a large portion of the city has been built upon the remains," she said, placing the map on the table, spreading it out as far as the parchment would reach.
"I know that place," Anwill began. "Legend tells us elves that it was the home of the Arwydus - the Formidable Ones in our native tongue," he said. He looked at the map carefully, recognizing a lot of the same stylistic architecture from his homeland.
"I believe there is a passage there that leads to one of the few Portal Stones," Leona said. "If we can muster enough mana, which I have nearly no doubt we will be able to do, we may yet be able to summon reinforcements from Caegwen," she said.
The others looked at her in surprise. "Your majesty," Garett began. "It would take an immense amount of mana to even open the portal, and so far as I know, we have but one full-mage among us," he said. Anwill looked over the diagrams of the inner workings of the underground passages. "I can draw an immense amount of mana, but to be able to hold it open, I would need someone to aid me in the Ethereal," he said.
"How would that even be possible?" Garett asked. "You humans have only but a glimpse of what you can do in the other realms," Anwill began. "If one of you were to volunteer to help me until all of the reinforcements were through, I will more than gladly show you how it can be done," he said.
Each one in the room looked at each other, wondering who would be the first to raise their hand. "Roburn might be able to help you with that," the Master said. "Roburn? That self-centered glick-herder?" Garett asked.
"Yes," the Master replied. "He may appear to be self-centered, but he is a formidable all-caster," he continued. "Seems as though we have little choice on the matter," Garett said. "I will begin his training at once, while the rest of you conjure up the plan," Anwill said, excusing himself from the room.
I looked over the map. "I think the real question here, for someone who has little or no knowledge of the last few hundred years, is: Why Coltend of all places?" I asked. The others looked at each other, and nodded. "It is where the Plant resides here on the continent," Pyle replied.
I swallowed the information like a dry tuft of fur. "Right, I get that, but monsters don't randomly team up to go somewhere," I said. "There must be someone leading them who knows it's there," he concluded. "The Masked One," Pyle replied.
I displayed a look of confusion and utter bewilderment to everyone in the room
"Who the fuck is The Masked One?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
They sure had a lot of creativity with that name, I thought, not bothering to voice my sarcastic comment aloud.
"A long time ago, and far to the north of here, a dark power began to rise in a place called Valdis. Thorsen and I are the only two here who have seen his power first hand," Pyle began.
"He was the one who attacked Grundvollr, slaying all in his path, and stealing our precious books of knowledge, as I'm sure you know every synner school has a copy of them. We initially thought it was simply a random act of violence against the synners, though only later discovered his true purpose. Thorsen and I traced him back to Valdis - a dark citadel that more than obviously was infused with mana from the Underworld. King Mads kept the failure of Grundvollr hidden from the rest of the world, and expelled us from our own country, striking the attack from our country's history as well," he explained.
I pondered what I'd just heard for a moment. "If he knows that the source is there and is bringing an army along with him to get it, why didn't he do this before?" I asked. "He wasn't strong enough to take on an entire city, until now," Pyle answered.
Seems like we're in some deep shit, Thoma thought.
"Alright, suppose we manage to make it to the Portal Stone and activate it, what then?" Bernar asked. "There are various openings placed around the city that would allow us to get in, hopefully without being noticed," Leona pointed at a few points on the map.
"Once inside, a small group will create a distraction outside the walls, while another will head directly towards the palace to thwart any attempt to open the passage to the source. The rest of us will keep the beasts at bay," the Master said.
"So much death," Anwill said quietly. "If we must die to protect the rest of the Continent - and possibly the world - from such a fate, then it is a sacrifice I know all of us here are more than willing to make," the Master said. "However, with a proper battle plan, I believe we will suffer minimal losses," he continued.
"Even the best battle plans go to shit after the first sword is drawn," Anwill said. "I know that, which is why we shall devise a secondary plan should the battle not go our way" the Master replied.
"So, shall we begin?" he asked. The others, myself included, nodded in agreement and we began making preparations accordingly. A few hours of planning went by, and some food was brought in by Leona.
She knows how to cook, too? I thought, smiling as she brought my brother and I some food.
She sat next to my brother, nearly shoulder to shoulder, and continued their intermittent input on the plans being formed. A few more hours had passed, and the plan was finally coming together, and all that was really left was the execution thereof.
"All in favor, then?" the Master asked. "Aye," we replied in unison. "Very well, then. We'll ride just before dawn tomorrow. Anwill, find Roburn and teach him what you need to," the Master said. "Get some rest, gentlemen. We're going to need it," he said.
Each one went to their respective lodgings, while I returned to Meliss, who had cleaned the entire house before I arrived.
"You didn't have to do all of that, you know. But still, thank you," I said warmly with a bashful smile on my face. "You're welcome, but I was bored," she replied with a curt shrug. I walked over to her, pulling her in close by the small of her back and kissed her. "We're heading off to Coltend tomorrow at dawn," I said, my tone growing a little heavier than I had intended. Meliss nodded, understanding what I meant.
"Will you ride with me again?" I asked, moving a few, loose strands of hair behind her small ear as my eyes darted to each of her own. "'Til the horse cannae carry us," she replied with a smile, undoing the clasps that held my jerkin shut.
I could've sworn I heard Bernar chuckle from just behind our door, though it sounded like he moved on towards Leona's room.