The Tears of Kas̆dael

As Erin approached Jasper’s tent, he couldn’t quite dispel the ball of tension that sat in the pit of his stomach. The last few days had been some of the best he’d had since being trapped in this godforsaken land. Not only did he finally have access to his magic, but being able to use it to restore a damaged village rather than being expected to kill someone with it had felt truly rewarding. Just think what we could do with magic if there was no war. The soldier’s face flashed through his mind unbidden and he quickly forced the image away, not willing to dwell on it.

Unfortunately, Erin had a feeling that whatever Jasper wanted from him was probably not going to be more charity work.He still wasn’t quite sure what he felt about his fellow earthling.On the one hand, it was great to have someone else from back home, but, on the other, the gulf between their situation here - noble vs commoner and commander vs scout - had prevented their paths from crossing that often.

It wasn’t that Jasper acted stuck up. If anything it was the opposite - the dude had always been friendly and casual in his interactions with him, but Erin wasn’t free to respond in the same way. Although Jasper wouldn't have been offended, the rest of society had certain expectations of how someone of his stature was supposed to interact with a noble of the Royal House and if he failed to observe them, Erin knew his commanders would have no qualms about punishing him once Jasper was out of sight.

That wasn’t the only divide between them though.Maybe it was just because Jasper had been here longer, and the frequent brutality of the world had forced him to adapt, or maybe it was because Erin, aside from his brief stint in the S̆addu’â prison, had mostly been sheltered in the capital and hadn’t been forced to do much fighting, but the two had very different approaches to violence.

Jasper was quick to kill and, if it bothered him, he hid it well. Erin, on the other hand…the scout shook his head vigorously, trying to dislodge the visage of the soldier that had filled his mind once again. I’ll do what I have to, he promised himself. It was a promise he intended to keep, but that didn’t shield him from the guilt.

Reaching the edge of the tent, he called out. “Reporting for duty as commanded, Lord Yas̆peh.” He hated how cringy it sounded, but several of his squad were within earshot and he didn’t dare drop the formality.

“Ah!” A head stuck out of the tent flap, followed by an arm a second later that dragged him in. “Come on in. No need to be so formal,” Jasper bid him.

Erin smiled politely, but he knew the man was wrong. Scanning the tent, he was honestly surprised at how simply it was furnished; there was none of the luxurious furs or opulent furniture he’d expected, with the only real luxury being the cozy cot which was admittedly a step above his bedroll on the ground.

Jasper wasn’t alone in the room. Despite himself, Erin’s pulse quickened as he saw the elf sitting at the small table. She seemed absorbed in the map spread across its top, absentmindedly brushing away a lock of her luscious, blonde hair that fell across her eyes, but she glanced up when Jasper spoke to her, offering the two of them a small smile, before returning her attention to the map.

Erin stared a moment too long and a guilty blush spread across his cheeks when he finally pulled his gaze away. It wasn’t that he had a thing for her - sure, she was pretty but, in all honesty, the vivacious brunette that also hung around Jasper was more his type - but it was still hard not to stare. She was a goddamned elf, after all, complete with pointy ears and a small pair of deer-like antlers that were, admittedly, kind of cute. Unlike Jasper, he'd been summoned directly into the province, so he'd barely gotten to see anyone other than Djinn.

Fortunately, neither Jasper nor the elf noticed his faux pas, as the man waved him over to the table. “Come on, grab a seat.”

Free from outside observers, Erin opted for a more casual greeting this time. “So what’s up? Any more houses to build?”

“Nope.” The man pointed at the map. “We’re headed into the city to investigate some leads on those fires.”

That got Erin’s attention. Their camp had been fortunately spared the worst of it, but he’d seen the devastation left behind, not to mention the hundreds of dead left in its wake. The soldiers around camp seemed to call them ‘saboteurs,’ but Erin had a different word he’d use. Terrorists. He leaned forward eagerly. “You mean you’re trying to catch these guys?”

“Been working on it for a while,” Jasper explained. “We think the mage who built those bombs is hiding in the noble district. And, since I’m a noble, we’ve been asked to take a look around.”

“Cool, but…” Erin frowned. “What do you need me for? Unlike you, I don’t got no silver spoon here.”

The elf furrowed her brow. “Silver spoon? Why would we care what sort of spoon you have?”

“Just ignore it, Ihra - it’s one of those nonsense things from our world,” Jasper cut in. “And you’re right, you’re not a noble, but you are a mage. I thought it would be good to have a little backup just in case things went south. Are you up for it?”

“You aren’t just going to order me to come?” Erin asked.

Jasper shook his head. “No. I know technically I could force you, but that's not how I want our relationship to go. Plus, I know you’re still a bit…uncomfortable with the whole killing thing. If you’re willing to come along, I’d appreciate the help; if not, you're free to rejoin your troop - no hard feelings.”

Erin pondered the offer for a second, grateful to have been given the choice. Jasper was certainly right about one thing; he wasn’t keen on the idea of killing, not in the slightest, but Erin also remembered the piles of charred corpses the last attack had left. He didn't want to see that happen again. Ever. And maybe, if I help stop these guys, it can atone a little bit for what I did to poor Dannu.

“I’m in.”

“You sure?” Jasper seemed almost surprised by the answer, but Erin nodded his head resolutely.

“Yeah, what’s that saying about allowing evil to prosper? If you’ve got a way to stop these terrorists, I want to help.”

“Even if it means killing,” Jasper asked pointedly.

“I'd rather not,” he admitted candidly, "but if I have to, I will."

He could tell Jasper wasn’t entirely convinced of his resolve, but the man didn’t press him further. “Alright, then, let’s get going. Gūla set up a meeting for us with a captain in the city guard, so we'll start there.”

It was the first time Erin hadn’t visited the city, but he wasn’t particularly impressed by what he saw. Compared to the capital, Nūr-S̆ams̆a was a sprawling, dull dump. Okay, maybe that was a bit too harsh, especially for a kid who’d grown up in the bad part of Baltimore, but the city definitely lacked the monumental architecture and finely kept streets that S̆addānu had led him to assume were commonplace. It wasn’t quite as bad as the stereotypes about medieval life - the only dung in the streets was a bit of horse droppings, which really, were more grass than anything else, and if there was a stench, it was thoroughly masked by the breeze blowing off Lake Yarḫab, but Nūr-S̆ams̆a was still nothing to write home about.

Following the map the elf had been examining, Jasper quickly led the three of them away from the busy streets of the business district toward the northern quarter of the town. A second wall awaited them there; smaller than the great wall that protected the city, this wall’s primary purpose seemed to be to divide the noble district from the rest of the city, although the regular towers set every 100 feet suggested it served a double purpose as the last line of defense. He wondered idly why they even had walls. He knew, of course, that the empire was embroiled in a desperate conflict, but there didn't seem to be any threat to cities here. Maybe it's just tradition.

A pair of stern guards watched over the gates that led to the noble district, clad in matching suits of lamellar pair whose plates gleamed in the light of the morning sun. They weren't there to bar the way, though; surprisingly, the gates were propped wide open and though the guards jotted down every visitor who passed by on a sheet of paper, he didn’t see them detain anyone.

Still, Erin would have preferred to waltz right past them without a word, but Jasper immediately detoured toward them.

“Excuse me,” he hailed them. “I”m Lord Yas̆peh. I believe Captain S̆ams̆ātnu is expecting me?”

“Quiet!” The guard on the left shot a hasty glance around the small pavilion before replying and only relaxed once he'd verified no one was near them. “Sorry, my lord, but don’t speak so loud. Captain S̆ams̆ātnu will see you, but he doesn’t want anyone to know about his…arrangement.”

Jasper bit down on his frown. “Okay, so where he is.”

“He’s waiting in a pub called The Frog and Dancer,” the guard replied.

“And where’s that?”

“Down by the docks.”

This time, Jasper didn’t bother to hide his exasperation. “Damn it. This is turning into a fetch quest. Every bloody time I need to talk to someone, I get sent somewhere else.”

The guard looked uncomfortable. “I’m sorry, my lord-”

“No,” Jasper sighed, “There’s no need to apologize. Just frustrating, that’s all. Come on.” Waving his hand at Ihra and Erin, he turned toward the business district but froze in his tracks as a voice hailed him from across the street.

“Lord Yas̆peh! What are you doing here? Come to take me up on my offer?”

One of the tallest Djinn Erin had seen strolled toward them. The man would have been in the top 1% of NBA players without the horns, but when the majestic spiraling pair of horns that rose from his head were taken into account, he must have been pressing 9 feet. His body matched his height, with a broad frame stacked with muscle, and the confident stride of a warrior. Yet, despite the friendly smile on his face, Erin felt certain he caught a nasty gleam in his eye and he took a step closer to Jasper. “Who the hell is that,” he whispered.

“That, unfortunately, is Lord Nas̆ru, one of the very men we’re here to investigate,” Jasper replied quietly. “Lord Nas̆ru,” he said more loudly, “What a pleasant surprise. But no, I’m afraid I’m not here to do any gambling today. My friend here wanted to look at clothes,” he added, grabbing Ihra’s arm.

“Friend, huh?” Up close, Erin could see the man’s eyes were almost shockingly blue, bright enough that back home he would have assumed they were the result of colored contacts, but he was pretty sure those didn’t exist here. “I thought you were with Gūla. Even after my warning, the gossip around camp is that you two are an item.”

It is? That was news to him, but Jasper shrugged diffidently. “Can’t a man see more than one woman?” he managed to reply.

“Just as long as they don’t see each other,” the man quipped back and the two shared a laugh without a trace of merriment.“Well,” the Djinn added after a moment of awkward silence, “If you change your mind, let me know.I can get you in for a game of piqru.”

“Of course,” Jasper replied. “I’ll have to take you up on that sometime, but for now, this little filly,” he patted Ihra’s hand, “wants to see the stores.”

“Some other time then,” Nas̆ru replied with an easy smile and, with a final nod of his head, ventured into the noble district.

As he disappeared down the street, Jasper sighed. “Well, crap. So much for exploring without being seen. I thought Gūla said he rarely visited the city.”

“This little filly?” Jasper winced as Ihra ripped her hand out of his and shot him an incredulous glare."

“Yeah, sorry about that," he apologized, "but the dude seemed like kind of a pig. Just wanted him off our back, and the only reason that came to mind in the moment was that we were here to look at the shops.”

“I don’t know, man,” Erin cut in. “How could you call her a filly? She’s clearly a deer,” he grinned, pointing at the stubby antlers that peeked out of her golden locks.

The elf rolled her eyes at the bad joke, but the tension drained out of her shoulders. “I suppose you’re right, but what do we do now? Won't he just warn our target?”

“Now?” Jasper hesitated a moment. “I guess now we have to shop. It will look suspicious if we don’t.”

He glanced over at the guards who had pretended not to listen in. “Any chance you guys can reach Captain S̆ams̆ātnu? Maybe he can bump into us while we’re shopping?”

“I’ll try, my lord,” the guard replied. “Do you know where you’re headed?”

Jasper shook his head. “Never been here.”

“Then I’d recommend the tailor on Ellūtu Street - the Thorn-Pricked Finger.”

“That’s an odd name,” Jasper replied.

The guard simply shrugged. “The best place in town. If Lord Nas̆ru is keeping tabs on you, I’m sure he’ll check for you there.”

Jasper turned back to the rest. “Alright, sounds like we’re going shopping then.”