Chương 79: Nostalgia stops

"Mommy, is this right?" Serel asked, brow knit in deep concentration, lips pursed and hands held awkwardly in front of her as she tried to maintain the shape of the Mark.

"It is," Vera said, sitting on a fallen stump with her chin propped in her palm.

"Keep it going, but dial the Resonance down a little for me, okay?"

"Dial? What does that mean?"

"Sorry, sorry. Be a bit more careful with it is what I meant."

"Mmm, alright!" Serel's expression tightened even further, and the Resonance radiating from her dimmed just slightly. The degree of control was probably very impressive for someone her age—but then again, Vera had already accepted that her kid was anything but normal. At this point, the best approach was to take whatever Serel did as a given and roll with it. A moment later, Serel's Resonance coalesced into a faint, pale glyph in the air.

Several paces ahead in the clearing, the grass rippled as thin, jagged bone lances thrust up from the ground. Vera nodded.

"Good job." That was a successful invocation of Mark of Hollowspike Cascade. Considering Vera had only shown it to the girl a few minutes earlier, that was… honestly kind of insane. But hey. Roll with it. Serel beamed, then let out a delighted laugh as she trotted over to the lances, tapping at the bone and examining them from every angle while Vera watched. So far, it looked like Serel had only picked up a handful of lower Seal Marks. At least from what Vera had confirmed.

They were ones the girl had seen Vera use while training. That was a relief, at least. Vera knew she wasn't exactly the traditional, overprotective, hovering parent, but even she felt a flicker of concern at the thought of her daughter accidentally picking something up that could potentially blow her and everything around her into smithereens. There was a reason you told kids not to run with scissors. Vera knew better than most that certain children didn't have much in the way of a grasp on consequences.

Thankfully, Serel was an improvement on that front compared to her. The girl had been careful not to play around with Marks on her own, and Vera had now made her promise not to use any unless she or Elaria was nearby or she was in real danger. Vera figured that was about the best she could hope for. She and Elaria were going to have a more in-depth discussion about how they planned to handle Serel's education going forward, though.

From the sound of things, Elaria was pretty intent on having Serel learn as much as possible and grow into a proper fighter. Vera still had some mixed feelings about that, but it wasn't as if she was completely opposed. She'd always planned to teach Serel herself, one way or another. She was curious which path the girl would take. So far, Serel had only shown an aptitude for Marks, which made Vera wonder whether her strange learning ability didn't extend to Forms.

When asked about the techniques she'd learned, Serel had just tilted her head and said the Marks looked fun. Which was fair. Marks were fun. Vera called Serel back and lightly took her wrist, sending a gentle pulse of Resonance through the girl to make sure she hadn't strained or injured anything.

The technique wasn't one Vera had been familiar with from the game, but after her encounter with the Whisper-Matron, she'd realized there were all sorts of small, practical applications of Resonance that she hadn't thought to try. With her control, most of them just took a bit of experimentation. Satisfied, she ruffled Serel's hair and told her to keep going. Serel, after fixing her hair, happily obliged. They spent the next hour or two like that—practicing, laughing, and even turning it into a game.

Every so often, Vera glanced up to check the sun's position, but there was still plenty of daylight left. They were in the middle of a pretend chase where she was testing Serel's use of Mark of the Ashen Slip —with the girl giggling as she darted out of Vera's reach and looped around a tree—when a sharp voice carried across the space.

"So this is where you were, Mournvale." Vera paused just as she was about to lunge at Serel, turning her head to see Elaria stepping into the clearing, fully armored save for her helm.

"Oh, hey. You're already done? I thought you'd be stuck there a lot longer."

"You overestimated how long such conversations take," Elaria said as she approached.

"Guess I did. You two aren't exactly the type to have cozy family reunions, huh?"

"Family reunions?" Elaria frowned briefly, then shook her head and glanced around.

"You said you would be near the outskirts of Karthvale. This is not the outskirts. I had to invoke a Fourth-Seal Mark to locate you."

"Yeah, that's on me," Vera admitted.

"It felt kind of awkward practicing Marks out in the open." Karthvale was surrounded by mountains and wide stretches of flatland. Vera had ended up taking them several kilometers away just to find a patch of forest that felt more secluded. She hadn't meant to make Elaria trek all the way out here, but now that she had, she felt a faint twinge of guilt.

"Mama, Mommy taught me Marks!" Serel exclaimed as she darted up to Elaria with slightly too fluid a motion, Ashen Slip still active and subtly smoothing her steps. Elaria studied the girl for a moment, then looked at Vera.

"That is good. I would like to see what you can do." Vera had already told her about Serel's ability to learn Marks quickly, so that much wouldn't come as a surprise. What they still hadn't discussed or understood was the cause of it, beyond Serel's general uniqueness. Elaria turned back to Serel, and something shifted in her expression. Vera was surprised when a trace of uncertainty crossed the woman's face.

"Serel," she began, sounding almost careful.

"Mmm?" Serel tilted her head up at her. Elaria hesitated for several seconds, casting a brief glance toward Vera again. She raised her hand, and a dark wooden sword appeared in it.

"I am not sure this is something you would want," she said, "but I have a gift for you." Serel's eyes widened, staring at the sword. Then she looked back up at Elaria.

"This is for me?" Elaria inclined her head.

"Yes. My intention was to train you myself in how to use it, if you would be willing." Serel immediately threw her arms around Elaria in a fierce hug.

"Thank you, Mama!" Elaria stiffened for a split second, then carefully returned the gesture, resting a hand against the girl's back. Vera smiled at the sight, though the smile faltered just slightly when she recalled something.

"Say, Elaria…" The woman turned to her.

"I know I said I'd let you handle the whole compensation thing with Lorin, but just checking—you didn't, like… throw me under the cart, right?" She'd said that because it sounded cool at the time. In hindsight, it might have been good to add at least a few qualifiers. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

"Throw under…?" Elaria repeated, releasing Serel and studying Vera.

"Mournvale, is it so difficult to speak plainly rather than through your endless turns of phrase?"

"It really is." The woman closed her eyes briefly and exhaled.

"Fine. Regarding the recompense, we reached an agreement that should be considered reasonable, given the circumstances and the motivations behind your theft."

"Could we maybe not call it a theft?"

"That is, by definition, what it was."

"Okay, but that makes me sound worse than necessary." Vera scooped Serel into a light hug in front of her, turning the girl toward Elaria.

"Look at this cute little thing. Does she really look like the product of some dastardly criminal?"

"Mommy, let me go!" Serel protested, wriggling in her arms without much force.

"No can do. I need to weaponize your wholesomeness." Elaria regarded her coolly.

"You truly have no scruples, do you?"

"Scruples?" Vera blinked.

"Can I eat those?" Elaria shook her head. Vera laughed, but the sound was a little forced. Elaria hadn't actually screwed her over, had she? Vera knew she could trust Elaria. She hadn't doubted the woman for even a second. Anyone who claimed otherwise was a liar—and that included Vera's own flesh and blood. That was the position she was sticking to, no matter how many pointed looks Elaria sent her way.

As it turned out, Elaria really had negotiated a fairly reasonable arrangement with Lorin regarding Vera's 'punishment.' It involved monetary compensation—which wasn't remotely an issue, given the amount of untouched wealth Vera still had from the game—and a formal promise that Vera would assist the city of Karthvale if they ever genuinely needed her help.

All things considered, for something that might technically have bordered on outright theft on the original Veralyth's part, she was honestly satisfied with the outcome. To the extent that she'd felt guilty at all, that feeling had largely faded. Of course, there was no telling how many other questionable acts she might unknowingly be responsible for in this world. Just off the top of her head, she could think of a fair few possibilities. But those were problems for another day. Preferably a much later one.

After Elaria joined them in the forest clearing, the two of them spent some time watching Serel practice her Marks. That lasted all of five minutes before Serel became completely incapable of resisting the temptation of the brand-new wooden sword Elaria had given her, and what followed was less training and more enthusiastic play, with Serel gleefully dragging both of them—though mostly Vera, for some reason—into the role of terrifying monsters she had to defeat.

By the time evening was starting to approach and Serel had managed to tire herself out, they returned to Karthvale. There, they had a brief follow-up meeting with Lorin to finalize the terms of Vera's 'recompense.' Vera might have slightly irritated the woman by casually producing the full payment from her Vaultring on the spot, but she at least managed to escape without drawing any further sharp commentary.

She did, however, notice Lorin giving Elaria a series of looks she couldn't quite decipher, which left her somewhat uneasy. From there, they stopped by the Resonance crafter's shop to collect the socketed Wick Vera had commissioned earlier. It was only a small convenience upgrade to the item Serel already had, so Vera really hadn't expected much of a reaction.

Still, she was a little surprised by the twinge of disappointment she felt when Serel's excitement over the new necklace fell just short of the enthusiasm she'd shown for Elaria's sword. It wasn't as if they were competing for Serel's affection. Vera knew she could be childish sometimes, but surely not that childish. If Elaria ever found out she was feeling even vaguely competitive over something so minor, Vera could already imagine the look she'd get. She could do without that.

As evening settled in properly, they wrapped up their remaining business in Karthvale before leaving the city. Vera's Hollow Reach carried them back to where they'd left Vorthalor, and with a few hours of decent sunlight still ahead, they took to the air once more. Karthvale fell away beneath them, framed by ash-colored mountains and fading into the distance. The rest of the flight passed in relative peace. Serel dozed in Vera's arms, quieter than usual after being excited for half a day.

Vera kept her gaze on the landscape sliding by below, silently appreciating what it truly meant to be here—to be living this life. To get to experience this kind of reset from what she'd had before. It was still surreal in many ways, even if she'd grown used to the more fantastical aspects of it. Though she couldn't help but wonder about some of the things that had been left behind.

Then, as the last rays of the setting sun caught in the crimson strands escaping from beneath Elaria's helm ahead of her, Vera felt a sudden, aching pull in her chest that caught her completely off guard. She blinked, staring at Elaria's silhouette. For some inexplicable, stupid reason, the image overlaid itself with a memory of her parents sitting in the front seats during one of her family trips.

The memory brought a pang of pain, of unwilling recollection, and the nightmares had never really left her, even after all these years. But threaded through that was something else. Some faded memory of a sensation she hadn't realized she'd forgotten. She couldn't quite name or place it, but it was something warm. Something steady. And she wanted, very suddenly, to just reach out and touch it. She froze when Elaria turned to look back at her, ember-bright eyes meeting hers through the narrow slits of the visor.

"Is something wrong?" Vera's lips parted, but no sound came out. Or maybe the rushing wind stole it—though she knew Elaria's Resonance easily kept that from being an issue. A faint frown touched the corner of Elaria's mouth.

"Vera?" Vera looked away, not entirely sure why. Her gaze drifted instead to a forest stretching below them, winding through a shallow valley split by a river that widened into a lake farther on. A worn stone road traced the terrain, one they'd been loosely following for the last hour. An impulse took hold of her, sparked and kindled by memories of her father taking a city kid like her out into the wild, of them spending nights sitting by a fire beneath an open, starlit sky.

"…Hey, El," she found herself saying without thinking.

"Do you think we could spend the night outside tonight? Instead of heading back to Sablewatch?" For a few seconds, there was only the rush of the wind and the steady beat of Vorthalor's wings beneath them.

"Outside?" Elaria finally asked.

"Yeah. Outside."

"… Very well. If that is what you would prefer. It could be a beneficial experience for Serel." Vera turned back toward her. She hadn't expected her to agree. She wasn't even sure she'd meant the suggestion seriously when she made it. But now that she had, she didn't want to take it back. They flew on for a while longer, the sky dimming by slow degrees as the sun sank lower and the light thinned, the world beneath them softening into shadow and muted color.

Elaria guided Vorthalor down toward a stretch of uneven ground near the edge of a shallow ridge that ran parallel to the road below. Vorthalor settled with a heavy thud, sending a brief gust through the nearby treetops. Serel stirred slightly in Vera's arms, letting out a quiet, drowsy sound before settling again. Vera lifted her daughter gently as they dismounted, but as she looked around, the obvious flaw in her plan finally caught up with her.

"Right," she said.

"Camping usually involves tents and stuff, doesn't it?" She hadn't brought anything. No bedroll. No tools. No plan beyond the vague idea of 'outside.' Should she pop back to Sablewatch Hollow and grab something? She had to have some tents lying around somewhere, right? Before she could dwell on it for too long, Elaria had already stepped toward a section of the ridge sheltered by an overhanging slope. From her Vaultring, she produced a tightly rolled bundle of treated fabric reinforced with thin rods and fittings.

Vera watched, faintly awed, as Elaria went to work. With practiced efficiency, the woman unfolded, anchored, and assembled the structure. Within minutes, a sturdy shelter stood in place. Elaria moved through the process like it was something she'd done hundreds of times before. Which she probably had. Meanwhile, Vera was stuck wondering what the names of half the components even were. Elaria clearly didn't need her help, so there wasn't much for her to do except stand there and feel useless.

That bothered her just a tad more than it should have. By the time Elaria finished securing the last line and pulled out blankets before beginning work on a small fire pit, Vera had the uncomfortable sense that she'd invited herself into something she didn't quite belong in.

"This was a dumb idea," she muttered under her breath. But she still didn't want to abandon it. Shifting her weight, she glanced at Elaria, then away again.

"Hey. Uh. I'll go get some firewood." Elaria looked up.

"You do not need to—""I'll be right back," Vera said quickly, easing the sleepy Serel down and already turning away. She left before Elaria could argue. The nearby forest swallowed her almost immediately. Darkness pressed in, broken only by moonlight filtering through the canopy. She didn't bother enhancing her vision with Marks. Instead, she just walked. The ground crunched softly beneath her boots. Her thoughts wandered, going everywhere and nowhere with less focus than she was used to.

Back to the flight, to that stupid, indistinct sensation she'd chased earlier, and then to the moment she was in now. It was funny how sometimes even the most minor things could make one feel conflicted without much reason. Funny and kind of laughable. She had no doubt Elaria was thoroughly confused about what she was up to. After walking around for longer than she'd intended, she slowed, finally remembering to actually collect the firewood she'd come for.

She snapped a few dead branches loose, gathered fallen limbs, and went through the motions without really thinking about it. Then— There was a shift. Tiny. Barely perceptible. Just a motion in the ambient Resonance—something so minor it should have meant nothing. Something inconsequential enough that no one else would have noticed. Something even Elaria wouldn't catch. Vera froze. She didn't invoke Hollow Reach. She didn't use Hollow Resonance at all.

But the bundle of wood slipped from her arms as she turned, bolting back the way she'd come, heart slamming in her chest. Branches clawed at her as she pushed through the undergrowth, but they couldn't hurt her. Her strides lengthened, her pace accelerating as she stopped caring about footing or obstacles, barreling past trees and brush alike. Her focus narrowed to a single thought. Getting back. Firelight broke through the trees as she neared the clearing.

"Elaria—" She burst from the treeline, her eyes snapping to Elaria, seated near a fire with Serel in her arms. Then her gaze moved to the dark, indistinct shape sitting beside them.