The road was less dustier than he remembered. Last time it felt like with every spin of the carriage wheels they were on, more and more dust clouds formed choking the air for those who followed the outside. Except that was normal having that for a brief period before the shift to the current solstice there was hardly any rain across the land. Fields were nearing their limits and so we're the people's stomachs. One would expect them to starve bounded by the lack of food but to the Culinary Fade restaurant this was a golden opportunity.
The wheels of the carriage spun across the damp wet soil and as they moved forward they left a line onto where they had been. Then the carriage that was behind it would follow its wheels sinking deeper into the earth.
Sen's eyes traced this. He was in the last carriage of the convoy and his attention had slowly shifted to the linear path carved out by the other carriages. He could tell when but before he even realized it, that line was he was thinking about.
That was he seemed to be doing to the two guild members seated besides him in the carriage. They had been assigned to him and instructed to make sure that he arrived to the guild safely. Through out the trip from the forest it was quiet. They didn't talk nor even look at one another. They had navigated their way out of the forest and Sen, Liora and Dym each were set out to different carriages. Once in the carriage, Sen positioned himself near one of the windows of the carriage and was silent since.
The other two also sat quietly to the side wondering what he found so interesting about the path they were on. They didn't care to ask but were still perplexed by his distant eyes.
…
The words that Elren had parted him with still lingered in his mind.
" Why are you even here? Why did you come on this venture with these guild people when you yourself aren't even one of them? "
Why was he even here. Why was he even in that carriage to begin with.
He had thought about this for long. A few answers came up. But no matter his answer there was always a counter.
" It's because of the vouch…"
" You could have easily repaid the vouch another way, why this way exactly. I could have said no."
" It's because I want to help them and prevent what happened from happening again. "
" You could have left the guild to handle it. "
" Its because it's the right thing to do…"
" Right thing to do, huh?... But was it though? "
The interplay of his two voices raged on. One trying to rationalize his steps the other overly critiquing them. The game continued neither sides wanting to lose until some else hit him.
It was a memory. The same memory he had back when he was being hauled to Elren. The memory of his obscured shadow crouching in the corner of the bakery debris as the final moments of Mr and Mrs Ludge came to pass.
The memory brewed a question.
" Why I'm I hiding? "
And the question brewed many more.
" Why am I even here in this shattered place. Why is there so much smoke? What is this smell in the air? And why do I look like a shadow? "
Back in the carriage, unlike his mind, his body was still. His eyes hadn't moved path they were on. The damp moist soil had changed to a has well-maintained road, paved with cobblestones. It had grown noisy outside thanks to the multitude of people all congregated hoping for the chance to get into the lustrous gates of Laptove.
As the giant and mesmerizing northern gates of Laptove came into view one last question echoed trying not to be drowned out by the increasing bustle in the charged atmosphere.
" Why did I even come back to Laptove? "
…
" Do you think he'll survive? "
" … I don't know. The ooze that was injected into his body is unlike anything I've ever seen before. "
" Mmh, he's not gonna be happy. "
" Yeah we did all that we could. Now all left is up to him. "
" You did all you could. Also it's not your fault that he is in this state. "
" If that's all please allow me to take my leave Sir Lothor. "
Lothor sighed as the healer left the room. A smell of freshly prepared medicine was still in the air. His breath was short and heavy and thanks to the herb smell in the air each time stung that the last. He drew closer to the medic bed, supporting himself on its edges. His left eye blinked rapidly as though it was twitching in irritation. He slowly slid his eye patch back over to cover his flaring left eye.
" It still takes too much to use that power. " he thought looking at the unconscious man sleeping on the medic bed.
" You really had to push me to this point, didn't you senior? "
He man sleeping on the bed groaned.
Lothor's eyes widened.
" Looks like you can hear me… Just make sure not to die before you explain yourself. "
Lothor pushed himself of the bed edge he was holding on. His eyes were still fixed on the man sleeping on the bed. He wasn't wearing a shirt. The entirety of his chest was wrapped in with white bandages with a little red spot sticking out like a blemish in the pure contrast. The rest of his body was under the white sheets of the medic house . Based on the slight shifts as he groaned Lothor could tell that the rest of his body was in pain.
" I'll be heading back now. " he said leaving the room.
The medic house was a part of the many buildings that were in the Octa guild compound. But non like the others it was more spacious and maintained with its white walls maintained since their setting. Its compound was neatly kept with its small meadow flourishing with different colored flowers . At the top was the crest for Legion Logos. It was made of the same glass material as the one on the guild. And in its reflection the hedges of the meadow bloomed into the crest.
Lothor stood in warm light of the reflection from the crest. He shielded his eye with hand as he walked towards the main guild building. Outside the guild building a column of carriages were just arriving. Its wheels were slightly mud but the mud was slowly drying up.
" Looks like they've arrived. " Lothor thought.
The doors of the carriages opened. As they came out, the two newest guild members looks had changed. They were not the same children he had sent of with Dym. Dym himself wasn't doing that great either.
Sen who he had previously taken for an absent-minded person, seemed lost in thought. Even as he dropped down from the carriage, there was no that previous vigor he had associated him with. He slacked as he made his way up the front stairs not even looking to the side.
Liora's hadn't changed that much. She was still walked as though she was restrained in a small cubed space, every step measured. But something else had shifted. There was new look on her face. Something he had never thought she would passively show publicly. The guilt in her eyes was more than evident to him as she strode behind Sen.
" Looks like things have only just started to get livelier around here. " Lothor said as he walked towards the main guild building.