Sara
Apart from a chorus of That’s Terribles and Poor Alberts, not many people had much to say about Seth Midas‘ flight from Palon, at least not to Alexis’ face. It wasn’t until the two women split up that Sara began to hear some of the disturbing rumors.
“Probably went the same way as his nutter of a mother,” one woman said unkindly.
Another had later said. “It was bound to happen. The name Midas used to mean something, but now all that follows it is tragedy.”
“I saw him dashing through the street like a madman. Seems his mother’s madness is genetic.”
“I tried to say hello, but he just ran past me so very rudely! He was like a feral dog!”
Nothing Sara had heard was even remotely helpful, but they painted a very tragic picture of the Chaotic family. Their mother, who hadn‘t been seen in the village recently, seemed to terrify her fellow villagers and none of them had anything positive to say about her children either. On top of that, he had recently experienced a trauma in which a partner had died in front of him. Sara had little trouble imagining that a life like this could plausibly lead to a deep-seated rage. Perhaps Ragos sees this as an asset. He’s going to keep me very busy.
She had returned to the Midas house in a dejected husk to find that Alexis had suffered similar results. Finding Seth was up to Clint now. Seeing nothing better to do, they had taken a seat together on the sofa in the living room and begun to wait.
“He ran out of the village in a frenzy,” Alexis grumbled. “Nobody followed him. Nobody saw which way he went.”
“Who could watch a hysterical man rush into the wild without taking any interest?” Sara said in a disgusted snarl.
“Ugh! I know, right?”
If there was an upshot to Sara’s situation, it was that she had gotten acquainted with Alexis. There was some tension at first, ever since Sara had shown up to Dr. Clark’s with Clint. But in his absence, they had begun to bond. Sara could sense an adamant spirit in Alexis that represented the best aspects of Chaotic culture. She was tenacious, as seen in their search for clues, and focused. If either of the Midas siblings had rebelled when they were younger, it most certainly hadn’t been her. She was a model of personal discipline who liked to run marathons and play Blitzroll when she wasn’t working at the clinic.
Sara had found it impossible not to like her and, eventually, she had won her over as well. Now they were already chatting like old friends; sharing the indignation of the villagers’ lack of intervention with the object of their concern. But it wasn’t long before their conversation had grown more serious.
“So, the prophecy that Clint talked about… you think it’s true?” Alexis asked after the two had stop talking for a bit.
Sara nodded awkwardly. “It’s not as clear a message as Serenity’s words to me, but it mostly fits together.”
“Wow. It’s just so hard to wrap my head around,” Alexis said, staring into the indigo plush rug that occupied the room. “First my boyfriend… now my little brother… are you sure Seth is involved with this?”
Sara shrugged. “I can’t say, as I’ve never met him. All I can be sure of is that I was meant to find my future comrades in this village. Clint seems to be certain, though.”
By late afternoon, it had become clear that Clint was unlikely to return by dusk, so Sara had said goodbye to her new friend and returned solemnly to the inn. She had intended to meditate before dinner, but as she entered her room, she found an envelope lying neatly at the center of the room’s desk. She hastily opened it to see that she had received a message from Clint:
“I followed Seth’s trail as far as it went, but he just vanished somewhere north of the village. I have reason to believe he’ll turn up later, but something else came up back at the Grand Temple in Seres. The head priest there is my uncle, so I think I should talk to him. I’m in the city now, but I don’t know what this is about yet. I do think it’s about our journey, though, so I’m hoping to learn something useful. I’ll write again in time for tomorrow’s early post. Have a good night.”
Wondering why this post had been addressed to her and not Alexis, Sara replaced the letter and began her meditation. She did not speak directly with Serenity again, but was visited with a strange notion that one of the chosen that she sought was somewhere nearby. When she emerged from her trance, she began to wonder if they had been wrong about Seth. But thinking was soon hindered by hunger and the acolyte remembered that she hadn’t eaten all day. Dinner couldn’t wait much longer.
She had just returned to the inn’s common room for her meal when she saw another lodger tucked into a table in the corner. She had vibrant purple hair that Sara had to guess was arranged in a Galean style. She had never seen such color in another human being’s hair and she instantly decided that she liked the look. Sara took a seat at the adjacent table and smiled at the younger girl, who had been attacking her meal of greasy bird meat in silence. Feeling Sara’s presence, she looked sideways at her.
“What?” She grumbled defensively in a thick western accent that stretched her vowels and rolled her consonants. “Ees my eating too loud for you?”
Sara shook her head pleasantly. “No, I was simply admiring your hair. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
The foreign girl rolled her eyes and snorted. “You Restans could never make a bold choice like this. At least you can appreciate those who do, no?”
Sara could tell that the girl’s words were meant to be a haughty, disparaging remark. The people of Galeon were known to criticize Resta’s comparatively repressive culture, but she felt it hard to come down on the side of the people who happily allow anyone to forego clothing in public. Even so, she couldn’t bring herself to feel insulted because the words that the girl spoke had sounded so empty.
She gave the Galean a fake smile and said, “I don’t really know if I’d call your hair bold. I think it’s really cute.”
The girl flinched at the remark, but recovered as she graciously said “Thank you. It is easy to do if you would like to try it yourself sometime.”
Sara smiled politely, trying to ignore the empty vibe that she was feeling in her voice. “I’ll keep that in mind! My name is Sara. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”
The foreigner bowed her head slowly. “I am Amelia Vilkoff. Charmed.”
There it was again. Even with this simple introduction, Sara could not feel any meaning in what Amelia had said. It was as if she hadn’t yet said a single word that was true, perhaps not even her name. Sara watched carefully as the girl returned to devouring her bird. She ripped the meat apart and chewed quickly, but not without some grace. Her approach was methodical and efficient; as if she wasn’t eating to taste her food, but to take in sustenance as quickly as possible. She would have thought the girl had been starving, but she ate patiently and looked altogether healthy.
When Sara had finally gotten her turn to begin eating, she had not been nearly as patient. It was a problem of hers that hunger always felt so unpleasant that she ate desperately to avoid it. Sometimes, when her robes felt tightest, it became clear that her desperation was overkill. She would then traumatize herself further with strict fasting and repeat the cycle indefinitely.
Amelia raised her eyebrows as she turned to watch Sara eat. “The bird is not going anywhere.”
After carefully swallowing, Sara scoffed. “You’re one to talk. At least I don’t treat my plate like a worktable.”
Amelia laughed. “You have a point. But I eat quickly because I cannot stay. I have been here longer than I should have already. I must be home tonight and I have still got a long way to go.”
Sara nodded in recognition. “Freedom’s Reach is two towns away from here. And assuming you live further into Galean territory, you could be traveling for much longer. Are you sure you can make it tonight? Maybe it would be best to wait until morning so you can travel by day.”
The foreigner shook her head gently. “I thank you for your concern, but I cannot wait another day.” She then stood up, her meal reduced to bones.
“I guess I understand. You have somewhere to be, don‘t you?” Sara said, patting Amelia on the hand. “I am pretty familiar with the feeling myself lately. I only hope I don’t end up spending another day here.”
“I am sure that would be hell. There is little to do here, ya?”
The acolyte nodded with a smirk. “Something like that.”
Amelia left a few minutes later with a promise to keep in touch that Sara actually thought had felt sincere. Left alone with her thoughts and her half-eaten dinner, she began to go over her impression of the girl. She had seemed nice, but that was just a façade. Try as she might to imagine what lie underneath her act, however, she was led to nothing, nothing, nothing. As far as the cleric could tell, Amelia was just an emotionless husk who was good at pretending to be otherwise.
That led Sara to a sad thought. If she was right and Amelia was unable to feel, something had to have led her to discard those feelings. She didn’t think it was simply icy logic or discipline that motivated her. If that were the case, she wouldn’t have any reason to believe that she had just made a new friend. As it was, her parting words were the only ones with any real warmth. She seemed to want to feel, but found it difficult.
Still, thinking about her wasn’t really helping her own dilemma. The Avatar of Ragos is missing. What did Clint mean “he’ll turn up later”? Speaking of Clint, he took off for Seres without a word and we don’t even have a clue who Salica chose as her champion. We’re no further along now than we were yesterday! That wasn’t necessarily true, of course. She knew who would be championing Crane and Ragos, after all. Even if they weren’t around, that was still more than she had woken up with that morning. Trying to feel better about her progress, she returned to her room and continued to meditate. This time, she felt nothing but her own steady breathing. Well, let’s just assume no news is good news. I hope this means we’re on the right track.
Upon opening her eyes, she had noticed for the first time that the innkeeper had left a copy of the Restan Star on her nightstand. Thinking that a little news might be nice after all, she glanced at the cover story and gasped at the headline. “Prince Jonathon Assassinated by Scarlet Starlings!”
She instantly regretted not having ignored the paper. She tossed it unceremoniously into the waste bin and went to bed.
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