-Callen-

  With the culprit out of the picture, our role in busting the mad scientist was complete. Baron Meccas clearly had the rest of the matter well in hand with documents marking the traitors who had collaborated with Gramit. We gave him a brief report regarding everything that we suspected or had learned while fighting Gramit. Thankfully the baron seemed invested in properly handling the aftermath of the raid. His employment of the fox/human maid was clear enough in showing his stance towards hybrid humans. It wasn’t a question I thought would come up often, but in this case I suppose we are lucky the baron seems more accepting than both Callia and I would expect from someone who lives on a frontier fighting monsters that these children are now partially changed into.

  He was, however, just as unsociable as ever, using few words, but instead of leaving the cleanup to his soldiers, he personally led the efforts in resettling the victims. However, while that process was ongoing, he drafted a short letter and gifted it to us with instructions to provide it to the royal court, and he gave his butler instructions to have us generously rewarded.

  To be completely honest, neither I nor any of our companions had anything in particular we wanted. We had plenty of money looted from the ruins of Eldraine city; in terms of knowledge, our connection with the earthkin community meant that we completely overshadowed the locals. The only thing I could think of was a chance to understand what kind of weapon the baron’s sword was. It was completely unlike any weapon I have ever seen. While I didn’t plan on learning swordsmanship, studying the weapon would be too long of a detour to justify.

  Honestly, this city reminded me a lot of our hometown, but unlike us, they didn’t have a royal mandated garrison to replenish their knights. It was pure grit and determination that held this city against the horrors of the woods. Talking it over with the others, we eventually decided to ask for any documents they were willing to share about the origin of the lord's sword. Sadly we learned it was considered an artifact recovered by the Meccas’s ancestors; all they had to offer was a small notebook made by another who had tried researching the blade. Still, it was good enough for us, and with everything resolved, we packed up to set out once more. Hopefully this time without a crazy earthkin abduction ring targeting us.

  Once more we set out from the gate, but just as we began, a large shadow cast down on me. Right in front of me, Lord Meccas stood stoically. In his hand he held his blade, and he slowly turned it to the side, offering me its hilt. I instinctively grabbed hold of it as he spoke.

  “My blade will return to me when I call upon it. For now you may take it, but do not be surprised when it leaves.” With that, the man jumped, clearing the entire wall and landing inside the city itself. I never thought that a powerful lord would be this socially awkward, but that maid had nailed his personality down almost perfectly. I wished them well as I looked at the new toy in my hands.

  Looking up close, it became even more apparent that the blade was like looking at the night sky. I moved the blade and noticed that the positioning of the stars in the blade would change depending on the angle I looked at it from. Sadly it wasn’t time for further studying since we were on the road again. Callia took off into the trees, watching the path ahead, and the guards got into defensive positions as we marched off into the woods.

  The next journey to the neighboring town lasted even longer than our trip to Meccas the same distance, but instead of 4 days it lasted 6. Without Lexia, clearing the monsters on the path was much slower, and the whole journey we had to keep a wary eye out for any sign of Lexia. I don’t know if it was better or worse that we had no idea what or where she was. Still, we had to live with that fact as the sound of rushing water preceded our arrival to the next town.

  Getting into the town only took a short inspection, as was standard practice. Once inside we made our way over to the great river. The sight of it vaguely reminded me of the ocean, but the moving water and the barely visible shore on the horizon stood out. Instead of travelling by land from here, it would be much faster to ride a boat down the river. Sadly, most of the town’s ships made regular visits to other towns downstream, leaving only an old, worn ship that looked like it might sink at any moment.

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  At least the captain seemed reliable in the fact that he looked old and experienced, and he even offered free passage in exchange for a new leg to replace the one he had lost. Considering he was also missing a hand, I felt it was a generous or maybe just desperate deal. The only other reason he might not have asked for a hand instead of a leg that I could think of was the fact that he took great pride in being known as ‘One-Armed Larry,’ the oldest riverman in Tallia. Still, the deal was made, and I got to work making the man a leg.

  Once night came, it was apparent why no other ships were waiting in harbor. Throughout the night, various spots in town woke up to children screaming. Turns out some nights ago a ghost came through the town pummeling innocent children, and now many suffered trauma. At random points throughout the night children would wake screaming and flailing, trying to fight off the ghost. While the ghost hadn’t hurt anyone recently, nearly half the town set offerings on a small shrine erected outside the town to try to appease the spirit to let their children sleep. Apparently it had been much worse months ago, but now most people had gotten used to one or two interruptions to their nights. The passing sailors, however, had felt no need to tolerate it, so now only Larry would regularly visit the town.

  Still the townsfolk considered themselves lucky because the ghost had crippled the neighboring town's knight, and a river snail invasion had overrun the town, forcing the survivors to flee south. Larry had brought news that the Duke was too busy prepping for some big project to deal with small issues, and the resettlement of the neighboring town had been put on hold.

  After finishing the new leg, I also prepped emergency patching and water bailing kits for everyone in our group, because I didn't trust the small boat that looked like an upgraded dinghy would be taking us through what appeared to be rapids in various places of the large river.

  We set off to experience the legendary river guarding the realm of the Tallia kingdom. My expectations were low, but Callia and Hew seemed excited. It seemed only Philip properly shared my concern about the ship's condition. Still, with my time finally free, I could finally begin checking out the space sword.

  Lexia’s Bargain

  Inside her head Lexia struggled with the shadow, trying to drive it out but finding herself struggling to make any kind of impact. However, outside her head, a large cat slowly approached. It thought it was being sneaky from the lack of response in retaliation, but in truth both Lexia and the shadow were keenly aware of its existence.

  “Oh no, it looks like you might be in a bit of trouble, Lexia. Maybe now you’ll consider negotiation? Fighting won't get us anywhere.” The shadow’s voice was slick and smooth, unlike the distorted sounds it had made before. Lexia tried to move her portion of the body to threaten the cat, but the shadow just used its leg to throw her onto the ground.

  “If you keep doing this, it will kill both of us! Let me get rid of it!” Lexia’s frustration slipped out as the shadow began laughing back at her.

  “What do you mean, both of us? If this body dies, I will only need to wait for another soul that abandoned its humanity to feed on divine blood. It’s inconvenient and rare, but with someone as skilled as that boy was, it will be inevitable for another host to present itself eventually. Already your worth to me has diminished greatly. However, I still prefer to make a deal. Capitalize on that while I generously offer it.” The shadow let smug satisfaction drip from its voice as it laid out Lexia’s dilemma. Meanwhile, the cat was at first scared but now emboldened as Lexia flopped to the ground of her own accord.

  “What do you want!” Lexia’s desperation begins to slip in. The memories of her early childhood surviving in the forest as she slowly lost sight of who she was began to surface as the shadow showed memories it had stolen.

  “I want a piece of your identity; I already hold so many memories of your life as a monster. All that's left of you is a scared girl. Agree, and I’ll give you back agency. Your body will be yours, and I’ll have a permanent residence here. We can fight all we like later, but you will never be rid of me.” The shadow caressed Lexia lovingly, whispering in her ear. “We don’t even really need to fight. With me you can be so much greater than everyone else. Together you won’t need to be scared or alone anymore. We will be, Lilia, just like I told you when we first met.” The cat was finally done with caution, pouncing towards Lexia, and right as it was about to sink its teeth into her, Lexia finally caved.

  It didn't take words, only silent acceptance in a moment of fear. Her shadow burst up, wrapping around the cat and crushing it to death with a squeeze. At the same time, something in her head shifted dramatically. The shadow was no longer an outsider that could be expelled but a resident, and their name was no longer Lexia.

  “Excellent! I look forward to our partnership. Lilia, now I’ll return our little elf, and let's make our way back home to our dear father.” The shadows behind Lilia bent upward in a cocoon, unraveling and freeing Freema.