The Forsaken Hero

I barely had time to tighten my grip around Luke’s neck before Jessia reached out and laid a hand on each of our shoulders. I felt a surge of unfamiliar mana deep within her soul, and a thick cloud of darkness erupted from her shadow, rising to swallow us whole. Adaptive Resistance instinctively surged within me, and I hesitated a moment before reluctantly suppressing it, allowing the Apostle to activate her ability.

The darkness was cold and uncomfortable, scratching like raw wool against my skin. It felt eerily similar to the power that festered in Haven, and seemed to provoke a reaction from it. I shivered as the darkness within my soul stirred, and I drew closer to Luke, instinctively trying to siphon some of his body heat and ward off the bitter chill. He shifted, surprised, likely attributing my clinging to him to nervousness, but still held me closer.

When the shadows finally retreated, we stood on an empty city street. A pale, enchanted orb illuminated a row of cottages with small, barren gardens, their roofs covered in thin tiles. The road was wide and cobbled, though flatter and smoother than most.

The reason for this became apparent as I spotted countless scrapes and scratches across the stones, leading to piles of snow in the alleys. Clearly, they still used mundane means to clear the streets, which made sense considering the amount of mana it would take to melt an entire city’s worth of snow.

”What was that?” I asked, staring at Jessia with wide eyes. My voice was a strained whisper, most of my concentration focused on battling Haven. Even though her power had faded, it had acted like an invitation to the realm, and it had yet to settle down.

She tossed her hair with a dramatic flourish, though for once, I felt her pride was genuine. ”You’re not the only one with neat tricks, you know.”

”A little warning would have been nice,” Luke said, a hint of reproach in his voice. ”It was her first time.”

I flinched as he shifted his grip, gently brushing a stray lock of hair from my face. He must have seen the panic in my eyes and wanted to comfort me, though he couldn’t have understood why. Perhaps he just thought the teleportation had disoriented me.

Jessia stuck her tongue out at him, a playful change to the tension that had gripped them both since witnessing the power of the forts. ”It’s not like you said anything either, and I know for a fact you saw it coming.”

He opened his mouth, but quickly closed it again. Had I not been struggling with Haven, I might have even cracked a smile.

Still, her ability was certainly surprising, but it wasn’t the first time I’d experienced something similar. I’d already grown used to the strange sensation of teleportation through traveling to Haven. However, my worry deepened as I realized Haven wasn’t going to calm down. Jessia’s shadows had masked the brief moment I’d nearly lost control, but if I didn’t do something soon, I might not be able to hold it back the next time something agitated me. The darkness pulsed within me, a constant threat, and I felt a growing sense of urgency. I needed to find a way to regain control, and soon.

After gathering our bearings, we crept through the city, moving from shadow to shadow. Once again, Jessia demonstrated her skills, expertly guiding us to avoid nearly a dozen armed patrols. Each patrol was led by a fifth-level captain, consisting of ten second and third-level soldiers.

I couldn’t discern any pattern to the streets we took or the buildings we observed, but Luke and Jessia’s expressions grew grimmer with each location we passed. Occasionally, I would sense a powerful soul within a building, or a sizeable magical formation, but none of them seemed more formidable than the defenses of Bluegate Keep. From what I could see, there had to be less than seven thousand soldiers stationed here, and they were scattered around the forts, meaning their numbers would lack any sort of density. The Last Light Company and I had carved a path of destruction through far stronger fortifications and armies, leaving me unable to understand their reaction.

”Another inquisitor?” Jessia muttered as we passed a small, well-maintained church.

My eyes widened slightly, and I turned to gaze at the building. Sure enough, I felt a strong presence emanating within. I couldn’t help but give Jessia a reevaluating look. Her senses must be incredible if she had managed to sense that before me.

But it raised an odd question. Why was such a powerful individual hiding in a small church? Were there so many powerful individuals there wasn’t enough room for him in more accommodating lodgings, or was it part of some larger scheme? Not for the first time, I wished Bethiv was here. He always seemed to know everything that was going on, having been one of the best commanders and tacticians in Enusia before defecting to free his kingdom.

Before long, our path took us to the walls, and we passed just beneath one of the towers housing the mana cannons. I noted with some interest that a crystal floating just above the turret was similar to the ones that housed defensive enchantments over entire cities.

”What is it?” I asked curiously.

Luke jumped at my voice, hand reaching for his dagger, before he realized it was me who broke the silence. He tried to downplay his reaction, shifting his hand to adjust his belt as though that had been his intention all along.

”I’m not entirely sure, but it seems powerful. I imagine it protects them from large-scale destruction spells or something similar,” he said, voice unsteady.

I nodded, able to see that much just from looking at it. The enchantments lacked the sheer power of the citywide variants and were only seventh level, but if there were a crystal on each tower, it would make destroying the mana cannons within that much more challenging.

After seeing the walls, they both seemed more subdued, and as we began to make our way to the center of the city, my curiosity grew. But before I could ask anything, Jessia suddenly pulled us into an alley. The following silence was stifling, filled only by the sound of approaching boots.

The guards passed by us, agitated and on edge. The leader’s helmet turned slightly to look into the alley as he passed, and I shivered, feeling his gaze on me. He held up his hand, stopping the company, as his other fell to his sword.

”Damn it,” Luke whispered, though not loud enough for the guards to hear.

”Identify yourselves!” the guard barked. ”Come out slowly, or we won’t hesitate to act.”

My eyes flitted to a mage in the back, a staff clutched tightly in his hand. He muttered a small chant and a ball of light sprang up above the alley mouth, causing me to blink as my eyes adjusted. A shiver crept over my body as the light fell on me, its warmth starkly contrasting the chill of Jessia’s shadows. It was Sun Magic, and even though Adaptive Resistance easily suppressed any direct effects, my newfound sensitivity to it left me feeling disoriented. That, combined with the constant battle with Haven, caused me to stumble.

Luke quickly caught me, his arm a steadying presence around my shoulders. I put a hand to my head, groaning softly, and the guards tightened their grip on their weapons.

”Forgive us, sirs,” Jessia said, her voice trembling with feigned fear. ”My sister’s taken ill, and we’re trying to get her to a healer. They’ve all been closed because of the curfew, so we’re trying to find one somewhere.”

The guards relaxed slightly, and I couldn’t help but glance at her in admiration. She was a natural, her performance so convincing that even I was tempted to believe her. It made me wonder just what part of Jessia was the real one, and which were just characters taken on at her whim.

”Then what are you skulking about in an alley for?” the guard demanded.

She clasped her hands together, leaning into the light so they could get a better look at her face. ”It’s faster this way. The blocks here are too wide, and we wanted to save as much time as possible. Please, we have to get going.”

The guards hesitated, and the leader exchanged a glance with the mage. The man shook his head subtly, and they all relaxed.

”Perry, Tom, go with them,” the guard said, waving toward us. ”See them to the guard house. We’ve got a few Life Mages who can patch up a simple illness.”

I felt Luke stiffen beside me, his grip tightening on my shoulder. Jessia, however, broke out into a warm smile and dropped into a low, grateful curtsey, leaning over enough to give them a good view of her cleavage.

”Thank you, sirs,” she gushed, her voice overflowing with relief. ”I don’t know what we’d do without you!”

The guards’ eyes focused on her or, more specifically, the dark line squished between her breasts.

”Only doing our duty,” the guard captain said, licking his lips, before quickly turning to the two soldiers. ”Perry, Tom, catch up to us later. I trust you know the route?”

The two snapped quick salutes. ”Sir!”