Reborn From the Cosmos

I expected something wild, and maybe a bit sexual, when Talia fetched me to come to bed in the early afternoon. Knowing my wife, it’d be weird to expect anything else. But it was something else. Namely, cuddles.

I think I’ve been underestimating how much of an effect all of this is having on the family. First, Alana clings to me with the strength of a little girl clutching her favorite doll after a nightmare. Then Kierra summons everyone for…cuddles. She just wanted everyone in the same bed for ease of access, stroking and hugging us at her leisure. Kissing faces and shoulders while humming to herself. She lets us up to bathe and to have a meal but otherwise, it’s the bed.

At first, I find the whole thing annoying. Not the part where she isn’t interested in sex, though that was strange, but the sitting still. It’s only been a day since I destroyed a city. It feels like there’s so much to do. So much I should be doing. Lying down with my lovers, doing absolutely nothing, feels…disrespectful. To the lives lost.

Conversations don’t last long before fading away. The four of us shift constantly in a never-ending struggle to find the most comfortable positions. Kierra has to crawl over us to reach her target. Everything about it is awkward or feels as much.

But, as the hours slowly tick by, I stop picking at what’s wrong with the situation and relax into it. I push aside my worries and join Kierra in her petting. Talia, being the good flower that she is, does her best to play her part. And with the three of us doing so much, Alana soon follows.

It’s…nice. Peaceful. I didn’t know how much I needed peace. Before I know it, I fall asleep with my head on Alana’s stomach, one of the many unusual positions we found ourselves in, and wake up feeling refreshed. As if a weight I didn’t know I was carrying has been lifted. The morning feels hopeful, something I haven’t felt in a while. For the past week, every morning has felt like a prelude to something worse, the tension slowly building until tragedy became inevitable. But, as soft rays of sunlight illuminate my slumbering lovers, I feel the opposite. As if we’re on the way to leaving the madness of the March behind us.

Not even Geneva standing at the footstep of my bed, the straightness of her back and her stillness suggesting she could have been there for hours, ruins my good mood. “Morning, pet.”

“Good morning, my summoner. I have fetched.”

-

It’s a little scary how capable Geneva is.

When I sent her to sniff out the treasure of the guilds, I expected it to take at least a few days. Perhaps a few weeks. I mean, it’s supposed to be a super-secret that they’ve managed to keep hidden for generations. That kind of implies that they’re good at hiding it. As capable as she is, Geneva is just one being. I fully expected her to outsmart but again, it should have at least taken days.

Instead, she’s gotten results in one night. Arrayed between breakfast are treasures of immense value. There is a sword made of the same dark metal as Kierra’s looted dagger, a wooden stick with swirling engravings all around it, and a beast skull with a strange orb between its teeth.

Then of course are the affinity stones. Mostly of the fire affinity but there are also a few water and earth stones mixed in. In comparison, the glass vials full of powders seem irrelevant but they were being kept with secret artifacts, I’m sure they’re valuable.

“The guilds really do have a secret stash,” Alana mutters as she picks up one of the stones, admiring it with a scrutinizing gaze.

“I suppose they weren’t just being arrogant when they fought the March,” Yulia muses while stopping Allen from reaching for a stone. “Though is this worth so many lives?”

“According to the pet, this is only a fraction of their treasure.” Kierra grabs the sword and after stepping away from the table, swings it a few times. “A well-made weapon. If it is also enchanted, very valuable indeed. One such storehouse may not be worth risking all of Quest, but seven equal if not larger stashes? I understand.”

I hastily swallow a bite of sausage, not inclined to ignore my food like the others. “I don’t. If they have all these ancient, powerful weapons and the materials to create more, how come only one man with a dagger stepped forward to stop us?” That feels more like he took it without permission.

“There was something that was said that might explain it.” Geneva has looked very pleased with herself since returning. Saints, she looks smug all time. I guess she’s extra smug. “One of the hunters said that the treasure, the Authority as they call it, doesn’t belong to them.”

“Then who in the Abyss does it belong to?”

“That will take more investigation. As well as finding the rest of the Authority. I’m given to believe that they have already moved a significant amount of it out of the city.”

Those pink eyes turn to me with expectation. Cheh. What does she expect me to do? Not tell her to go after the treasures? I wave a fork at her. “Go on.”

“A moment before I continue my quest. There was something else I came across. Someone has died from the sickness.”

I pause. “The sickness that wasn’t supposed to kill anyone?” I ask pointedly.

“I warned you in the beginning that the spell was not entirely under my control. Nature can never be fully contained.”

She did warn me. “What are we looking at?”

“I’m unsure. I discovered one dead but pursued my investigation rather than be distracted.”

One dead? Really? She’s worried about one person?

“A plague starts with one, my summoner.”

“In Dusk, sicknesses are not treated by healers.” Kierra returns the sword to the table. “Things that can be caught, not deformities. They are seen as tests by the Great Spirit. Those that succumb are those who did not dedicate themselves fully to the quest for strength. Is it our place to intervene?”

“This isn’t a test,” Alana says with a sigh. “This is something we did. Whatever comes of it is our responsibility, to some extent. That doesn’t mean we’re obligated to help and I don’t think they need it. The Hall has the best casters in the kingdom, including healers.”

“A plague is serious business, Allie,” Yulia responds with a frown. “It doesn’t start out as a catastrophe. It becomes one because people ignore it before its too late. And this illness is magically enhanced. If it has the ability to kill people, then we need to make sure it doesn’t spread.”

I click my tongue. “I’m not helping them.”

“Lou.” The snow bunny looks at me with upturned eyes. “I know they’re enemies. They…hurt you. But you can’t turn your back on them and the rest of—"

Her words are cut off by a squeak as I slam my fist on the table. “Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do.”

I force myself to calm down when I hear Allen make a sad whimpering noise. “I don’t owe those bastards anything. Like Kierra said, the Grand Hall has some of the best healers in the kingdom and its run by a hero who’d be happy to help. But. If you want to poke around and make sure they’re okay, then fine.” Sneaking another glance at Allen’s watery eyes, I add, “I’ll tag along to make sure the hunters don’t get any ideas. I wanted to ask the people running the camp a few questions anyway.”

“Thank you,” Yulia says in a much softer voice.

I turn back to Geneva. “Go on. And no taking Bell this time.” Someone has to watch the house. If the hunters try another raid, I doubt they’ll be prepared for a virtue. “I don’t suspect you’ll wrap this up in a night so try to check in so long as it doesn’t interfere with your assignment.”

“As you wish.”

“What are you all standing around for?” I ask once the succubus leaves. “Food’s getting cold and we’ve got plans.”

With strange looks between each other, they all find seats. Kierra grabs a chair and drags it right beside my own, once again ignoring the food in front of her, preferring to play with my hair. “What?” I ask around a mouthful, confused by her self-satisfied smile. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” The elf chuckles. “Nothing at all.”