The following morning, we draped the brown hooded robes over our armour and shoved our weapons deep into our travel packs, joining the grand congregation north. As we left, there were only about twenty or so of us, though a few hours into walking, we had caught up with the rest and quickly began to pass them. It was impossible to count, but there were perhaps several hundred people.
A day passed before we reached the border. On the second day of travel, near midday, as we caught up with the main group once more, we slowed and broke away from Josephine's group and rather walked alongside the larger main group of pilgrims.
Hours later, we approached the border. There were guards and wagons on either side of the path, standing and watching as we silently marched through. As we passed by, I looked around at the guards, the one I would have recognised, Levi, was nowhere in sight.
More time passed as the days blurred together. Every day was the same: east, sleep walk. Everyone on the journey was quiet; nobody spoke to each other, not a word. It was eerie and strange. After some time, Balim came into view.
We camped near it as the faint glow of its light flickered dimly in the distance. As people lay on the grass sleeping, I snuck over to Nigel and tapped him on the shoulder. He got up and followed me further away from anyone else, but even still, we kept our voices to a whisper.
"Why don't we just spend more time at Balim, let the pilgrims go on, and we can make our own way later?"
"Hmmm, it's true that we got past the border without arousing any suspicion at all. I don't see the harm in it. Is there anything there you might want to research?"
"It might be worth going there to document some stuff. Your sudden sword skills for one."
Nigel perked up as if getting an idea. "That's not a bad idea, actually. All the books they had about sins also seemed like information we already knew, so contributing to the library might be a good idea."
"It also might be worth researching a little about the empire, I know almost nothing about it aside from what my mother told me."
"Good idea, actually, it may have changed drastically since the war. I say we drift behind and then ditch the robes."
We nodded, and Nigel started to sneak back to his bed. Stopping and turning back to me briefly. "Are you going back to bed?"
"Need to piss."
"Ah", he continued to walk back to his bed, and I was left alone. I was curious about Nigel's theory about his ability being likened to magic. Wrath said it ambiguously, so anything is really possible. But the fact that he said that the two of us are alike, what did that mean in truth? Does that mean he's resistant to the sins' possession? Or does magic still exist, but it's so subtle it goes under a different name altogether now? I was curious and wanted answers, but I was afraid I might never find them. Even with all the knowledge in the world just on the horizon, there was still so much more to learn.
The next morning, we slept in to rejoin Josephine's group. Though as the group started to catch up to the main herd, Nigel and I began to slow down. We had already placed ourselves at the back of the group intentionally, and by the time the pilgrims walked around Balim and out of sight, we stopped, removed our robes, put them in our packs and knocked on the grand door to Balim.
Opening the door was a librarian, the same brown robe with the rope around the waist, the same shaven head, but the face was different to the last one who greeted us, this one was older and more wrinkled with a creaky and decrepit voice.
"Yes? What brings you young men to Balim?"
"We wish to study and to contribute to the library with newfound knowledge and ideas. Also, we were here some months ago during wartime, but since the war ended, we have come again to continue our research."
"My, how fine spoke you are. You've already met with Rahǩãn once before?"
"We have."
"Well, I would take visitors to see him, but I don't know where he is. Either way, you are welcome to stay for a time, especially if you are contributing to our collection. Do you know your way?"
"Yes, we know our way around. At least to the areas we intend to go."
"Good, forgive me, young men, but my old bones find walking the length of the halls tiresome. Please, go on without me."
We entered the grand hall that stretched a whole village. Marvelling once more at the height and scale of this wonder. As we walked down the hall, I asked Nigel if he remembered the name of the guide we had last time we were here. He said he did not.
As we walked into the east wing, we spotted a familiar figure sitting at a table in the middle of a massive circular chamber. A certain muscular, giant woman with blond hair.
"Kona?"
Her head bolted up, turning directly to us with wide eyes. A large smile emerged as her face lit up. She suddenly leapt from her seat, causing it to topple and clatter loudly against the ground as she ran towards me with open arms.
She scooped me up off my feet in a tight hug, a bit too tight as I felt like something could snap. She spun around as she held me, smiling and laughing. Finally, I was put on my feet, but everything was spinning, and I nearly fell.
"Shinya! What are you doing here?"
"We could ask you the same question. You're meant to be in Quima."
"Nigel? What… What happened to your eye?"
"Never mind that, why are you here?"
"Ah, well… ya see. I waited in Quima for a bit, but then you never came. So I decided to come back to find you. Also, I heard the war ended, so I thought you might not end up crossing the desert at all."
My head was still spinning slightly, but I noticed Kona's frame had narrowed slightly, and her head turned away. I recognised her body language right away and leaned forward to hug her. "I missed you, too."
I glanced up at her as her face flushed slightly red as she put her arm around me loosely. It was obvious she really came back because she missed me; she just couldn't bring herself to say that.
The three of us sat at the table in the middle of the room, explaining to Kona what had happened and why we were here. We explained that while fighting Goran, Nigel lost an eye, and I almost died, a fact that surprised even Nigel when I said it aloud. I explained that Nigel really took command and managed to do some insane things, such as essentially taking over the whole region by himself. Kona laughed and remarked that it sounded like the fearsome captain she knew who would get the job done no matter what. I explained to her about Nigel's unique swordplay, which he had suddenly developed, and about our myriad of theories as to why. Though Nigel himself seemed disinterested, brushing it off as natural talent, he had had these instincts as long as he could remember.
Kona told us she was researching ancient history. Mainly focused around the church itself, the wall of the seven saints, and magic. Specifically, what documents they had regarding the Godi family axe, since that was an item she had first-hand experience with.
We spent the rest of the day absorbed in books, reading about magic, the sins and the saints, though everything I found, even material I had not read before, seemed like retreading the same ground as the last time I was here.
Nigel went off with a librarian and added more writing to the library about what we had learnt about the saints, the marked children and everything. I only later learnt that he also told them I was possessed by Wrath and included every detail that should be kept secret. Though the librarians are natural and impartial, they do not care who someone is, only what knowledge they can share.
As Nigel was away, I noticed Kona scooching closer and closer to me as we each read. Until the point where our arms were pressed up against each other. I moved slightly away and leaned my head against her side as I continued to read. Glancing up from my book briefly, I noticed her smile, which was enough for me.
With little new knowledge actually available to us, we decided not to stay long. Over dinner in the communal hall, Nigel told me about the talk to the librarians about Wrath, and they were surprisingly okay with the whole thing. In fact, they wanted to ask me questions about it to record in a book. I was obviously annoyed and upset at first, but I knew this was a safe place and the information I could give wouldn't be a risk to me personally as long as they omitted my name.
Much like last time, we were each assigned our own room. As I lay in bed, feeling frustrated that I couldn't understand the things I truly had questions about, there was a predictable knock at the door.
It was Kona, of course, I knew it would be her before we even finished dinner, by the way she was glancing at me every five seconds. As soon as she entered the room and closed the door behind her, she grabbed my shoulders and pulled me into a deep, longing kiss. She missed me and was showing it.
I felt my body get hotter as did hers, and both of our desires for each other grew like wildfire. Before I knew it, we had removed each other's clothing and were lying in the bed with me on top of her with our lips still locked.
As I pulled back from the intense kiss to catch my breath, I found myself hovering over her naked body, panting softly. As I looked down at her waist, hips, her abs and her breasts, admiring each aspect of her, I felt a sharp coldness on my back, like a drop of water fell from the ceiling, causing me to recoil and arch my back.
I looked up to the ceiling and saw stalactites of dim brown rock above my head, with cold water dripping down from above. As I looked back down towards Kona, I noticed a faint chill in the air, like I was there again, in that cave. I looked down for a moment and saw her beneath me, her naked body without its head.
I leaned to the side over the bed as I vomited on the floor, as any arousal I did have was left instantly at the memory of that place.
Kona sat up quickly, asking if I was okay as she tried her best to comfort me. The vomiting stopped quickly, but I felt my throat burning, my heart racing, and tears welling up in my eyes. That night, I fell asleep crying in her arms. I don't understand why. I think I was simply scared.