Well, I thought I'd half-ass the ending, but it looks like I three-fourths-assed it instead! Things like that happen when an update that was supposed to take a week takes one and a half month. I just couldn't get back into writing, and X-Com Files is just too much fun. There might be an epilogue as a real ending, bu that's for later.
Modpack-wise, I've been working on that. Some of the latest mods are not in yet, but that's not a problem.
We'll have corn, glass weapons, drow panties again, usable mushroom pikes...
I'll upload whenever I feel up to making a thread in the modding subforum.
For the sequel to this... I haven't even started working on the stuff I'd have to do.
I was half-joking about deep ones becoming an X-Com reference, but I've grown to like this idea. The only problem is, even with this many creatures in the modpack, there are still no lobstermen.
With glass and gem weapons, I'll have to make reactions for glass and gem weapons playable entities will be using. Doing that for drows was a lot of work, I tell you.
One more idea: before starting a new fort, I'll do some short adventures with the sequel-modified modpack. LCM Adventures, if you will. Truth be told, I've been reading Dungeon Meshi, and I really wanna play as an adventurer whose main motivation is eating monsters. I've got sme more ideas, so it won't be only abrian cousine.
SQ and Scourge were standing by the door to one of Cavernhall's rooms, making final preparation before SQ's talk with the grand matriarch.
"Okay, I see you're nervous like never before, and you haven't even figured out how to get the conversation going. If that's not enough, I kinda feel like I'm gonna send you to your death, even though mistress Yetine won't hurt you... physically. If she breaks you even more than you already are, I probably won't be able to take it." Scourge summarized the situation.
"You're shaking even more than I do." SQ noticed. "It's weird, usually I'm the one expecting the worst, making excuses, stalling for time. This time I know I can do it, and I'm gonna go in there right now and..."
"W-woah there! We're not done!" Scourge looked at SQ from the tips of her ears to the soles of her boots. "Your hair is messy, you may want to get it fixed... Maybe we should practice keeping your ears up like we did a century ago... You should wear something more elegant, something with long sleeves, and also you should ditch this horrible vest... S-stand straight; if... if you're tired we could... Are you... are you gonna wear th-those w-workboots when meeting the... Oh come here!" Before the overseer could protest, she found herself with Scourge's arms wrapped tightly around her neck.
"Akh! L-let me go! I can't breathe!"
Scourge loosened the hug, but only very slightly. "It's just... We've been through so much together - From the day I let you hide in my room, through those first weeks I was struggling to communicate with you, working together in the menagerie, to quitting our jobs and leaving Murknightmare. Not to mention those five years we spent here. I don't know what I'll do If I lose you now."
SQ didn't understand her friend's concern at all: "You know that if things go bad I can just walk away, right? Aren't you a little... overdramatic? And negative? And... I'm going in, see you in like twenty minutes." The overseer managed to free herself from Scourge's embrace and knocked on the door before she could be stopped.
---
Nuwetha was never a kind of person to pursue power and prestige, mostly because of responsibilities that great power carried. Talking with unpleasant people about things she knew nothing about was one of those responsibilities. Whether she liked it or not, someone had to discuss new throne room design with the house administrator, and she couldn't imagine Yetine doing that.
"Her Majesty will be delighted knowing that we can grant her every wish when it comes to furnishing. I've got a list of all materials availabe, so if you allow me..." Fred announced with pride and something else, vaguely unpleasant, in his voice.
"Listen, male, I really need to go and find her, so cut all this nonsense and show me the plans you said you drew."
"O-of course! Where have I put it..." Fred disappeared under his desk for a moment, then reemerged with nothing. He stood up, opened a few drawers, his personal chest, even looked under the bed.
Nuwetha glanced at the administrator suspiciously. There was no way that man wasn't planning something, especially since... "Your back pocket. The plans are in your back pocket."
"Oh, thank you, mistress! Now let's see..." Fred unfolded the sheet of paper and revealed a very rough sketch of a square. "I know it seems very, very simple, but considering the location, we have a lot of space for additions. Let's say we want to put a bedroom here. Here we have a bedroom!" The administrator quickly scribbled another square adjecent to the first one. "Dining room? Here. Tomb? We can fit it here no problem! Private washroom..."
"Listen, you bug-ridden creep, I have no idea what you're planning, but..." The threat was interrupted by the sound of a key turning in a keyhole. "Hey what's this sound?"
"Some joker stole my keys a few weeks ago and keeps locking me in my room for hours. I reported that already, but here we are." Fred sounded so dejected saying that that Nuwetha was ready to believe that despite not trusting him at all. "At least we have some time to talk about the throne room furnishing..."
"I heard you were tangled in some big scandal back in the day?" Nuwetha changed the topic.
"N-no I wasn't!"
Schmendrick pulled out the key from the keyhole. One job finished, one more to do.
---
SQ slowly entered the room where Yetine Shadycarries was resting. It was dark and humid, and there were woodlice and silverfish scuttling around on the floor. These rooms were never used by anyone, so that wasn't a surprise, but it felt like a badgerdog burrow, and no one in their right mind would crawl into a wild badgerdog's burrow.
The first impression of the room became irrelevant once the overseer finally looked up. Yetine sat cross-legged on the bed, staring at the intruder with her eyes open way too wide. SQ suddenly started doubting if she had made a right choice to come there, but that thought disappeared as soon as it appeared. She had to do this.
"M-mistress? I really hope I'm not bothering you."
Yetine's breathing suddenly became heavier, but after a while it came back to normal. She discretely waved her fingers to light up the room with faerie fire, and shuddered as if woken up from a trance of some description. For a moment both women looked at each other anxiously, none of them ready to say a word.
"I'm... Imsosorry!" The grand matriarch whimpered rather pitifully after a long while of gathering courage.
"It's partially my fault too. I'm not very good at holding conversations..."
"That's not... I'm sorry... earlier." The matriarch felt frustrated that she couldn't articulate what she wanted to say. If SQ was looking at her, she would have noticed that Yetine was digging her nails into her other hand. "I cast... spell... I'm... Ugh! An alkh... alce... I'M A SORCERESS! I can make people depressed, and I sometimes lose control over my power!" Yetine shouted. That only made her even more angry at herself.
SQ, startled and confused, was considering a tactical retreat, however she realized that if the matriarch had wanted to use her magic against her, she would have done it a second ago. "I really hope you don't mind, but Nuwetha told me everything about your... gift."
"A 'gift'... D-don't call it that!"
"Huh? Why? I imagine it must be great not having to sleep, never being sick or tired..." In SQ's mind it was a good way to lighten the mood, even though it obviously wasn't. The overseer even forced herself to look the grand matriarch in the eyes for a literal second before she couldn't take it anymore. Suddenly a short-lasting yet intense sensation of hopelessness washed over her. It was a clear sign to reconsider her approach.
---
Scourge went back down to the dining hall, where all soldiers of Dungeonevened were gathered together. That was a surprising sight to be sure; how ZM5 managed to gather everyone there was quite a mystery, but a one that Scourge could easily solve.
"Hey, Five, you got everyone here? Like, everyone?"
"Well, I can be quite convincing, if you know what I mean." The rogue's nonchalant grin wasn't as bright as usual, but it still managed to get the message across. "I never imagined I could talk so many people into a full-blown revolution, but..."
"Shut up, creep. Even Biretha here could have convinced me at that point." Freshcannon butted in, combing her hair vigorously. "This is an unfinished business, and I'd even fight the Spider Queen herself if she stood on my way to finish it. I got way too many lashes from the high priestess back in the day because I couldn't identify that one damn spell. I'll learn the truth whatever it takes."
"Mistress Freshcannon, I don't think you should be saying those things before even hearing out the whole truth." Imic suggested to the priestess, but after seeing her menacing stare he looked down. "A-anyway... I'm here to protect miss SQ, and by extension everybody willing to fight for this cause. I just hope miss Schmendrick manages to keep the royal guard away for long enough so we can actually know if there's a reason to fight."
"I am tempted to go there in this moment and avenge my previous mistress." Asin admitted. "But as Imic-ithera said, hurting Yetine-evala would be a great dishonor if she is indeed innocent."
"I said that?"
Scourge's panic became more and more apparent as she started to realize the scale of the transpiring events. She quickly grabbed ZM5 by the arm and dragged him away to the side.
"Five, this is not how I imagined it going! Can we somehow turn it around?"
Unlike Scourge, ZM5 was fully aware of the consequences of his actions. His friend's doubt annoyed him, but only because it was slowly spreading to him. "How exactly did you imagine it going? We'll have to fight legendary warriors who accompanied the grand matriarch, and in the end kill her too. I'm not sure what will happen next but..."
"Nothing will happen next! You may get killed, SQ will definitely die in there... You haven't even said your goodbyes to her, have you?"
"I... I haven't."
"And you never told her how you really feel!" Scourge's distress finally reached its peak. It was hard to tell if she was more angry, scared or sad, because all those emotions were brewing violently inside her.
"She knows, you explained it all to us the day after we first... you know." ZM5 wasn't sure of that himself, but thinking that made him feel a little better.
"Argh! Half the things I say are bullshit! You know how she is - if you don't say it directly to her face, she'll never know! Hell, you could happily marry her and have like a million kids, but she still wouldn't be sure you love her! She's denser than a block of lead, for gods' sake! You blew your only chance, Five. I hope you're as miserable as I am!"
"I am now, thanks a lot."
---
SQ was completely out of ideas on what to do, which wasn't surprising considering she was clueless from the beginning. The realization that Yetine used her magic against her, however, deeply disturbed her to the point of considering running away. No, she had to push forwards, just more carefuly.
"Mistress, who is Nuwetha to you really? A relative? A friend?"
Yetine's angry pout remained on her face, but the aura of negativity around her somehow seemed less intense. The matriarch hesitated, but finally answered: "Neither."
"She said..."
"I DON'T CARE! I... can't... h-ha-have... friends... N-not allowed to..."
"Why?"
The matriarch wasn't used to people questioning her words, but the question got her thinking. It would have been so easy to reply with 'because I said so'. But did she really know herself? "Friends... they ... they aren't perfect. When you offer them perfection they refuse and they... they die."
"So that's why... W-wait, what?"
---
Kaos could hardly believe the situation she found herself in. She was sitting in her room with a baby in her arms and a toddler crawling on the floor, while the others were doing something big involving the grand matriarch. She wanted to be a part of something big too.
"It's so unfair! Every time anything even remotely interesting happens, they find some boring work for me to do instead! What's with all those people? Do they not trust me or what?"
"An-tee!" The little girl on the floor babbled, reaching out to the weaponsmith.
"I told you, I'm not your auntie, Rithesa! Eh, whatever, if you're anything like your mom, you're gonna keep calling me that anyway. Ugh, why hadn't they left the two of you with that Athara woman? She has more experience with children than everyone else in Dungeonevened combined! Scourge knows her well enough, doesn't she? How come I, a single woman in my early second twenties, was chosen for the nanny duty? I'm the least qualified for this job!" Kaos grabbed her aether hip flask, and was just about to take a swig from it, but stopped when she saw Rithesa with her little arms still outstretched towards her, with a disgruntled expression on her face. "I guess they know me too well. I wouldn't trust myself either. Now come'ere you little imp."
---
Yetine was too far gone to back down. All she had left was to answer all the questions that the woman standing in front of her was about to ask. When she thought about it, she should have offered SQ a seat, but there was no chairs in the room. What was the right thing to do in such situation?
The matriarch got up slowly, looking at the house overseer carefuly the whole time. Being a tall woman, looking down at much shorter SQ with an admittedly creepy stare, she appeared more intimidating than she intended.
"I know exactly what you're thinking. It's about Ena Shadydevil, isn't it?" She said clearly. She was becoming more comfortable around the overseer, but that wasn't the vibe she was giving off.
"I... What's with... D-do you...?" SQ backed away until the door blocked her way.
"You really think she died? People keep saying she just disappeared, but I don't believe them. She wouldn't have left... everyone she cared about... Everyone who cared about her..." Yetine actually lightened up after recognizing the implication SQ never voiced. As strange as it was, she seemed to have wanted to be accused. "You agree that it's all my fault? That I'm a reprehensible murderer? People say I'm not, BUT I AM!"
"Slow down! You're going too fast, mistress! I came here to get answers, not to get any more confused!" SQ stopped the matriarch before she continued down the road of self-blaming. "Let's start from the beginning, now that you're more... cooperative - Nuwetha told me that you wanted to share your powers with a friend of yours using magic. Now you said she refused your gi... uh, curse. Explain. I...I mean, please explain if you could. From the beginning."
"Fine, I... You first."
"Huh?"
"I want to prepare."
SQ completely understood what Yetine meant, so she began telling her story, or at least what she believed was relevant. "I met Ena when I was seven. She more or less picked me up from the streets and gave me a job that let me live in... I won't say it was comfort, but I never went hungry. She was like a mother to me, or at least what I believe a mother usually is. Then she went missing. After doing some investigating, I found out this wast most likely a suicide, and there's some evidence pointing at your involvement in it. Your turn."
"I... I expected... talk for m-maybe twenty minutes! N-not... ready yet!" Yetine was back to her old mumbling self, which did not bode well for SQ's interrogation. "T-try my best... E-Ena... ta-taking care... my real mother was..."
The overseer sighed loudly. Just when she thought she was making progress, a sudden, yet not completely unexpected setback has appeared. It was the time for extrapolating from incomplete data: "Your mother was assassinated two hundred thirty years ago before you became the grand matriarch. If you used to be like you're now, you definitely needed someone to look after you. Ena, known from taking people like me out of the streets, used her position as the stable mistress and got close to you to take care of you. Is that right?"
"Huh? Y-you got it all."
"So?"
"Gave her... sl-slab, but..." Yetine looked at SQ pleadingly, struggling to say anything more.
"She didn't want to read it. She didn't want to become an alchemancer, so you just gave her your purity and resilience yourself. That's what Nuwetha meant back then." Yetine's nodding confirmed everything SQ had said. The overseer's predictions turned out to be true, but it felt far more unsettling than she expected it would. "Wh-why would you do such a thing? She wasn't sick, she was wealthy, not to mention immortal like every elf. Why would you risk..."
"I knew you wouldn't understand! NOBODY EVER WILL! I needed someone to teach me how to control my power, and there was no one like me in the entire city, maybe even entire world!" A stream of tears was flowing from Yetine's eyes freely. As angry as she was, she didn't seem to focus this anger on the overseer, but rather on herself. "It was... stupid... no point...! I'm a murderer, aren't I?"
SQ felt some of the matriarch's self-loathing, which made it even harder to decide on the next step. Was she supposed to agree, accusing Yetine of murder? Someone could not come out of that room alive if she did, and as she had just realized, she'd rather nobody got hurt.
"It was... it was a mistake. It was a disaster that destroyed several people's lives, but you didn't want it to happen." SQ had an experience in making excuses to avoid responsibility, and perhaps that was the thing that Yetine was lacking?
"I did it, and it's all that matters, overseer. I've m-mur-murdered... only f-friend. I just want someone... to tell me what a... what a horrible person..." Yetine stopped for ten seconds that she used to regulate her breathing again. "I've been holding this inside for... I don't even know how long! Nuwetha knows, my weapon master and his people know...yet they keep telling me it wasn't my fault. They keep lying to me! Why won't they tell the entire world about this incident if I haven't done anything wrong? Please... tell everyone the truth! I just want them to hate me!
"Argh! This is hopeless!" SQ growled, more because she was feeling exhausted by the conversation rather than from actually losing hope. " When I came here to talk to you, I was almost certain you'd be trying to defend yourself by all means, but what you're doing is even worse. You're partially at fault, but you're not a murderer. A killer? Maybe. If you're such a horrible person, why don't you prove it here and now? People would absolutely detest you if you did any harm to me, and that's what you want, isn't it?" The overseer's frustration was stronger than melancholy Yetine was involuntarily sharing with her. She spread her arms wide to make herself an easy target, in case the matriarch actually needed to aim her spells.
Yetine raised her shaking hand and pointed at SQ. Both women were looking at each other in anticipation. All it would take was a second of the pain spell at full power to incapacitate a person as small as the overseer, and then ending it would have been so easy, and yet the grand matriarch couldn't get any magic out of her body. This lasted for well over a minute, after which Yetine lowered her arm in defeat. She couldn't do it.
"That's what I thought." SQ said turning towards the door and grabbing the door handle. Before she left, she made one last remark: "Umm... Thank you for not hurting me. Hope we'll be able to get along after this..."
---
Eleven drows were walking around the caverns, but unlike most people wandering the bowels of the world, they seemed to avoid well-trodden paths and smoothed corridors. The one leading them was Schmendrick, as far as everyone was concerned, a beekeeper. The only reason she could force herself to go down o the wildest parts of the underworld was because her ten companions were the legendary warriors of Murknightmare, the royal guard, the Crimson Spiders.
As they were passing the same stalagmite for the third time, Schmendrick's keen ears heard that steps behind her had stopped. She barely had enough time to turn around before the leader of Crimson Spiders, the weapon master of house Shadycarries, provided explaination:
"There's something fishy going on. Spiders, stand your ground, expect an ambush! You, local, explain what's going on." The man glared at the beekeeper with a piercing gaze.
"W-what do you mean? I told you Liceyi never came back from his stroll." The woman explained, unsuccessfully trying to hide her uneasiness.
"First things first: you asked us, complete strangers for help. We're not familiar with this city, and especially with its caverns, and I'm sure local soldiers and rangers should be your first pick. Second, we've been walking in circles. This mushroom, the lake, the place with all the loose boulders... You're stalling for time."
"Okay, fine, maybe I am." Schmendrick admitted. She knew all of that was true, and she realized that the soldiers were much smarter than she had previously assumed. "We did send Liceyi to hide in the caverns though. He was supposed to be by the lake, and... Gods, giant salamanders live in that lake!"
"Not moving an inch until you tell us what it's all about. If you don't feel like talking, I'll make sure you'll never talk again. Then we'll deal with whatever trap you've set for us."
Schmendrick realized she needed to difuse the situation somehow, even if it meant revealing the truth. "There's no traps, I'm just dragging you around because I was told to. Overseer SQ wanted to have a word with the grand matriarch, but she wanted her own weapon master to take care of safety, because she doesn't really trust strangers. She knew you wouldn't agree, so she made me lead you here in search of Liceyi who really happened to get lost, which wasn't a part of the plan." While it wasn't exactly true, it sounded true enough.
"Spiders, let's split! Two to Four, come with me; Five to Seven, go look around water; Eight to Ten, search the tamed parts of the caverns." The weapon master barked at his soldiers, then nodded at Schmendrick to continue the search.
---
At that point the atmosphere in Cavernhall became overwhelmingly tense. It's been way longer than anyone in the tavern expected it would be, yet nobody wanted to be the first to suggest any kind of action. The worst part of waiting was the fact that solid rock doors blocked all sounds, so it was impossible to know if SQ was even alive.
Asin was trying to help Scourge stay calm by teaching her meditation. Unfortunately for him, his new student wasn't eager to learn, and his own wife wasn't very supportive.
"No, that is not correct, Scourge-diri. You cannot hurry the meditative breathing; it is not about the number of breaths, but their correct rhythm and depth."
"Asin, this is only making me even more frustrated. I'm worrying about my best friend's life, and here you are telling me I can't even breathe correctly!" Scourge snapped, which was exactly opposite to the effect the meditation was supposed to give.
"It was not my intention to offend you, Scourge-diri, however I must admit..."
"Leave her alone, won't you, dear?" Efaci, the Iron Samurai interrupted, breaking her own meditative trance. "It would be nice if you also stopped pretending everything is alright with you. Have you thought about what you're going do if overseer... doesn't make it? Another journey? I'm not gonna go with you; I'm staying here with our son whatever happens."
"You have never understood the warrior's code, Efaci-larami. I do not blame you, a few people these days do. It is not a subject about which people of a lineage without martial traditions think about often." Asin said calmly.
Efaci Couldn't believe what she had just heard. Before she managed to come up with a proper angry response, Scourge excused herself to avoid getting tangled into an incoming marital argument.
Scourge's patience was running out fast. She was considering sneaking into the matriarch's room to see what was going on, but she had an unfading spark of hope inside her; a spark that wouldn't have lasted in any other person. She was convinced that in just a few minutes SQ would come out unharmed and gives whatever order she would have to.
She was wrong about one thing - it didn't take a few minutes for SQ to come back. The overseer quietly appeared at the bottom of the stairs to the inn rooms unnoticed by most. She was good at avoiding attention, something she'd been mastering for a century now. Scourge has noticed her immediately, something she'd been mastering for a century now too.
"Guys, she's back! She's back! Oh, and... guys, slow down! SLOW DOWN!" A stampede of soldiers immediately ran towards the overseer before Scourge could stop them. "Mind the personal space." She grumbled snarkily after almost getting trampled.
"Overseer, lemme at 'em!"
"Miss SQ, how did it go?"
"Biretha, touch me one more time, and I'll break your hand!"
"Why are we even here?"
The tightening circle of drows, the neverending torrent of words, the overwhelming atmosphere; SQ looked around, seeking a friendly face in the crowd that would save her from the sensory overload she was experiencing. The help didn't come from a friendly face:
"All right, chucklenuts, you better stop piling up on the overseer like that! She's not gonna tell me anything if you don't step back! This is an order, you bunch of morons, so if you don't wanna end up being the dungeon mistress's new toys..." Freshcannon threatened. The excitement in the tavern hadn't faded, but the thought of being whipped while listening to the dungeon mistress's squeaky, weirdly-accented voice forced people to restrain themselves somewhat. The priestess had pushed her way to SQ and asked "Was I right, or was I wrong? Was it her?".
The overseer, relieved that the drows moved to a reasonable disance, yet not quite in the mood for talking, had muttered a brief explaination and an order "Yes, kinda. She's innocent though. Tell the soldiers to go do their things now, because the revolution has been called off indefinitely."
"I guess that's fair. I was right all along, as always. Snakes out! The rest of you too."
"W-wait, you don't want to know what really happened? I thought you would argue with me and demand..."
"Listen, I just wanted you to confirm that there was some magical influence. If she didn't feel like hiding it, all better for her." The house priestess turned around, gestured at her soldiers to follow her, and in her usual style she left the tavern cutting the conversation short.
---
Most drows had enough of sitting around in the tavern already, so even though the work hours were over, not many people stayed to relax. The cancelled revolution needed to have all its ends tied - convincing Kaos to unbarricade her room and give the children back, releasing Nuwetha from Fred's room and possibly dragging the administrator into the hospital, telling Schmendrick that Liceyi was actually safely sleeping in his room... All those things were better to be left to armed soldiers.
Not everyone, however, has left Cavernhall, which was inconvenient since SQ wanted to tell Scourge and ZM5 what she learned without anybody listening in. The overseer's office also wasn't a good place, because that's the first place Nuwetha would go to complain. Imic's office was also out of the question, because the weapon master didn't need to know everything. ZM5's room wasn't as comfortable, in fact it was quite cramped, but at least it provided some privacy. The three drows locked themselves in the three-by-three room with no intention of letting anyone in.
"I believed in you! I was all bright and cheery, keeping the spirits high." Scourge lied to SQ. "Though I expected you'd run out after a few seconds, not... as long as you were there. So what happened? Were you so scared that you couldn't find the door handle?"
"Could you not make fun of her after what she's supposedly gone through?" ZM5 scolded his friend, but actually found what she'd say quite funny. Then he asked SQ: "Actually, what did you go through SQ? Has the goddess of sorrow hit you with one of her miracles?"
"First, she's not a goddess. Second, I could feel what she felt and that was freaky. I knew it was because of her magic, so I could supress those emotions somewhat, but they were there. Oh, she never cast anything intentionally. I think. Don't worry though." SQ explained hastily, which was a great relief to her friends. "I guess the next big question is the connection between mistress Yetine and Ena's death. Well, I said she was innocent, but the things are more complicated than that."
"You're reading my mind, baby doll. You sure Her Divinity hasn't taught you any of her tricks?" ZM5 suggested jokingly, then he cracked his fingers and said "Let's start the game. Is the goddess-queen a murderer?"
"Not this again..." Scourge whispered to herself, but loudly enough for the others to hear clearly.
"W-well, sorta? Not really." SQ attempted to avoid the most fundamental question, but to no avail. "It was a suicide, but Yetine's melancholic magic was involved."
"That was very much what we've assumed earlier. Why did you call off the soldiers though? You've got another trick up your sleeve, huh?"
"What? I'm wearing a short-sleeved shirt, there's no way I could hide anything in there." The overseer explained, showing that her sleeves were indeed empty. Then she realized "That's just a saying, isn't it? What I meant to say is: it was never her intention to kill anybody. She wanted Ena to become an alchemancer too, but she couldn't force her to read the slab."
"So she cast spells on her, just as Nuwetha said..." ZM5 finished the thought. "There were those two problems coming up during the investigation every time we thought we were making progress - lack of evidence, and you insisting on trusting everyone's words. What makes you think Her Divinity wasn't lying? Check."
"She..." SQ hesitated. She knew it was a risky move, but she had to say it. "She was lying. She clearly said she is a murderer."
"What? This... this doesn't make much sense, but you were the one questioning her." ZM5 was utterly confused. He doubted the confusion would be cleared soon.
"Ena was taking care of her; they were very close. Yetine wanted someone to teach her how to keep her powers in check, and who would be better for that than a close friend? So the most believable version is that she drove Ena to suicide with her resilience and purity spells that were supposed to be an imitation of an alchemancer's powers. If Yetine wanted to avoid responsibility, she could have just said she's innocent because she never meant to hurt anybody, but she didn't. Check." SQ nodded at ZM5, expecting him to take his turn.
"So she admitted it was an accident, but she's still insisting on taking the guilt? Is she covering for someone?" ZM5 suggested. It was a wild guess and he was aware of it.
"For gods' sake." Scourge muttered quietly, shaking her head.
"Just before I left the room, Yetine has told me... that she wants everyone to hate her. Everyone including Nuwetha and the royal guard. Isn't that strange? I told her that if she really is such a cold-blooded murderer who deserves nothing but contempt, she should give people a reason to hate her. Gotta admit, back then I wasn't really sure I'd come out alive, but here I am. She couldn't do it."
"You... you taunted a sorceress goddess? You dared her to kill you?" ZM5 couldn't believe his own ears, or rather he chose not to believe them. "Never do that again! I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you! Well, at least we know that Her Divinity hadn't killed Ena intentionally, but there's still one more question to be answered - why was she denying it so hard?"
Scourge couldn't listen to that conversation anymore, so she snapped "You absolute idiots, she feels guilty about causing her best friend's suicide! Nuwetha has been isolating her from the outside world since that accident, not allowing her to either develop any real relationship with others, or actually learn to control her magic. Yetine is stuck in the same state as she was just after realizing she had killed her only friend ever! She's still in shock after what she's done decades ago."
"What you're saying is... It's Nuwetha's fault?" SQ asked.
"No! Actually, yes. Nuwetha probably wanted the best for Yetine, but she knows nothing about raising kids with problems."
"Kids with problems? You know Her Divinity is twenty years older than you, right?" ZM5 noticed.
"That's beyond the point!" Scourge lashed out. It wasn't actually beyond the point; she just forgot how old the grand matriarch was. "What matters now is that we'll have to intervene somehow, or else Yetine is never going to get better. Not tonight though, because neither Nuwetha or Yetine are probably in the right state of mind to talk. Checkmate."
---
SQ and Scourge were just about to exit ZM5's room when the rogue stopped the overseer on her way. Scourge realized what he wanted to do, so she stayed too.
"SQ, I'd like to tell you something really important. I know you're tired, so I could tell you tomorrow, but if you don't mind." The man sounded nervous, which was very rare for him. The feeling got even worse when he looked SQ in the eyes, but instead of awkwardly looking away, the woman looked him in the eyes too.
Scourge noticed that, and discretely slipped behind SQ. She started signing at ZM5 with hands shaking from excitement: "Go for it, Five. You pretty much promised."
"You wanted to thank me for helping you with the case? It was kinda fun, except for those parts where it wasn't." SQ said with a smile so very different than her usual fake half-smile.
SQ's genuine smile took ZM5 by surprise. It was not something many people had chance to see. Had it not be for Scourge's quiet hints, he would have agreed and let the women go. "SQ, you're the most important woman in my li... in Dungeonevened..." Something prevented the rogue from saying the sentence as he planned. Scourge's hands suddenly stopped in disbelief. Even SQ seemed disappointed. ZM5 knew he had to continue regardless. "Don't ever risk your life like that again. Those five years still weren't enough to make up for the time I haven't been around, so if you die, I won't ever forgive myself for leaving you."
"Don't worry, Five, for you I'll even change things around in the menagerie so I won't have to feed dangerous monsters." The overseer said in a light-hearted tone.
Scourge started panicking, frantically waving her hands: "She's out-smoothing you, Five! Go straight for the goal! No turning back!"
"That wasn't all I wanted to tell you. SQ, I l... I look forward to..." ZM5 glanced at Scourge in panic. Her hand movements were too fast to understand fully, but ZM5 could make out a few words, namely 'strangle', 'kill' and 'maim'. This time he had no idea what to say to recover. Why was it so hard? He's said that to so many women before, why couldn't he say it to this one? He was paralyzed, unable to move, let alone say a word.
Before his mind went fully blank, something pulled him out of the void. A kiss that was simultaneously more awkward than any he's ever had, and somehow more meaningful. Once the daze faded, he could see once again. SQ was standing very close to him, blushing purple, with a nervous grin, but still looking him straight in the eyes.
"Was... was this what you wanted to tell me?" The woman asked, after what Scourge's delighted squeal could be heard behind her.
"Well... yes but..." ZM5 himself was blushing so brightly his faerie fire seemed pale in comparison, but he wasn't aware of it yet. All he knew was that something nothing would be the same from that moment.
"Good, because I really need to go! I'll have to explain everything to Nuwetha, Schmendrick AND Kaos! Oh, and we're training again tomorrow morning! I need to get a good night's sleep tonight!" After making the excuses, SQ quickly left the room, leaving ZM5 and Scourge alone.
"Five, I think you don't have to worry about confessing anymore. She's smarter than I give her credit for." Scourge admitted. "But you? I never expected you to be this spineless. I'll tease you about it for the next month, I hope you're ready."
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Topic: LCM - Dungeonevened - The End (Read 41230 times)