Chương 10: Chapter 7 - These First Steps as a Hero

Despite Alyssia being her aide, Karina was handed off to an entire room of women the moment they returned to the main cathedral. More staff than she'd expected to find in such a ruin descended upon her, taking measurements and selecting cloth and light armour. The two oldest women did the sewing. Their fingers called needles back and forth through the fabric, each diving through the cloth like a dolphin through waves.

Shirts and trousers came together in moments while the others supplied measurements and commentary. There were questions. Was she a spellcaster? Yes. Would she carry a weapon? That seemed sensible. How closely fitted did she want the clothes? She would like to breathe, please.

After too much chaos, the quick jacket she'd been handed was tossed aside for another, thicker one because it was a 'mere week from the season of tears'—whatever that meant—and she was given several other bundles of cloth which, Karina discovered, were tight sets of wrap-like clothing. It looked like she was set to perform martial arts as much as magic, but then again, she had asked to be able to move. When they asked whether her abilities would damage the clothing, Karina had to admit she didn't know.

A cautious test left her sleeve untouched. A loose piece of linen wasn't so fortunate. Apparently, wearing the fabric made a difference. Burning the spare linen didn't earn her the last point in Basic Pyrokinesis, either. The last part of 'looking like a hero', as the ladies put it, was originally unbandaging her arms. That process had stopped as soon as they exposed the bark-like charred skin running along the back of her hand as the burn test. Fresh bandages went on instead.

Between those and the fitted wraps, she looked ready to punch someone as opposed to throw fire at them. Would the subversion be useful? Was there a Fate for subverting people's expectations with your appearance? If there was a Class called the Con-Weaver, that seemed possible. The only thing that hinted at her true nature was the fact that, over and over again, the aides had grabbed bolts of fiery cloth to use in her clothing while they complained about not having enough time to properly outfit her.

On the other side of two hours, Karina was tossed back out into the hallway with a large pack stuffed with changes of clothing, including the thick canvas jacket for the Season of Tears. Alyssia was waiting outside the room when the ladies spit Karina out. She had a small scroll out, which she rolled and stowed upon seeing the results of the fitting. Karina was already tying her hair back with a strip of cloth she'd pocketed while the women argued over her jacket. [Fate Progressed! Basic Stealth 1/10] Apparently, taking something unnoticed counted toward Stealth. Firestealer hadn't moved. That would have been too easy.

"Looks like they were merciful," Alyssia said as she stood.

"Most heroes aren't given such…manageable attire."

"Didn't feel like mercy," Karina said, speaking through the second swiped strip of cloth she held between her teeth as she finished tying her hair.

"They know we need to leave and will be walking without the caravan," Alyssia said.

"I've seen some of the heroic outfits they've chosen. You got off easy."

"If you say so," Karina said.

"It's easy enough to move in at least." There was still fog drifting through all of her memories, but Karina understood that these were closer to the clothes she wore in her old life than her original borrowed attire.

"Dashun is waiting for us in the front grounds," Alyssia said. Her tone was flat and simple as she spoke, resignation.

"And Volrick?"

"Yes, someone released him," she said.

"He will meet us there as well."

"Shall we?" Alyssia motioned for Karina to follow her. Despite her night adventures, she didn't know where the 'front grounds' were.

"There is typically a much grander display for the hero's departure from this Cathedral, or any for that matter," Alyssia said.

"Suppose we'll have to get our salute another time." A salute? They really were going off to war.

"Though considering we're heading back to the protected lands to continue your training, maybe we'll get our salute once that is done."

"There or Whiteshackle," Karina floated. Alyssia looked back but didn't stop.

"You're not seriously considering that, are you?"

"I want Volrick to join us," Karina said, "and he wants answers from that town."

"Does he?"

"His father was a hero. There might be something useful in what he left behind."

"If anything remains."

"Which is why I want to hear more before deciding." Alyssia looked ahead again.

"Then he can explain the route. And what's waiting along it." Karina let the subject rest there, omitting the part where she wanted to see the same things he wanted to. It didn't feel as though that point would help at the moment. As far as Karina could tell, Alyssia was happiest when they were pretending nothing was irregular about her summoning. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. A broken menu, meeting a god and secret skills. Everything was so normal and by the book.

After the quiet had settled in for a moment, Alyssia changed topics as she continued to lead.

"Sorry you weren't able to make it to the Archives. I've always loved the one in this church. It's quite a ways underground and has these lovely high ceilings." She matched the description by pointing toward the comparatively modest roof above them. Several of the keystones were cracked.

"And the Archivist is very kind."

"The Archivist?" Karina asked. That must have been the black-haired woman she'd seen during her 'stealth mission' around the main cathedral. The one who'd been carrying the books out.

"Lady Hilde," Alyssia said.

"A hero. She's been the Archivist here for years."

"A hero?" Karina asked.

"You said I was the only hero here because Cascad hadn't re—""She's hardly a hero in the same way," Alyssia said.

"She was summoned and did her time on the front, but has since dedicated her fates to her position as Archivist."

"A hero Archivist?"

"Not every hero spends their entire life on the front lines," she said.

"Some dedicate themselves to other aspects of life. We hardly think of her as a hero anymore." Karina raised her eyebrows at that. Based on the length of the war, she'd assumed that almost all the heroes died on the front.

"That isn't to say she can't keep herself safe. She stays at the Cathedral when others retreat to safety."

"Someone needs to keep an eye on the books?"

"There is a lot of ancient and forbidden knowledge in those halls." Karina bit her lip to cover her disappointed sigh.

"At least people say there is. I've never tried to check. Why search for what I'm not allowed to read when there is so much for me to discover in the approved texts?" Alyssia sounded content with the distinction. Karina wondered what would happen when she asked a question none of the approved books answered. The walk to the front 'courtyard' wasn't long in the end, with their conversation sputtering out as they reached their destination.

By the time they arrived, there were already a half dozen guards—and two mages with the black steel bracers—there waiting for them, alongside Dashun, a handcuffed Volrick and what must have been Lady Hilde, though she was dressed very differently from last night. Volrick was the only one who wasn't staring at Karina as they approached. Instead, he winked at Alyssia, who, to her credit, didn't react.

The 'courtyard' itself was much better maintained than the training grounds or the rubble-filled plaza in the center of the keep. The walls on three sides stood high and a well-cobbled trail ran from the door to the main building to a circular platform in the middle, where everyone awaited them. The only hint that time had ravaged the place at all was the creeping vines running along and over all of the inner walls, so overgrown that some sections of stone could be mistaken for shrubbery.

"I see our ladies prepared you well, Hero," Dashun began just before they were close enough to have a private conversation.

"Your new attire suits you well, from everything I know about you." Karina shrugged.

"I will let you know once I remember more about myself."

"With time," Dashun said, "but the returning memories of most heroes don't change their demeanor. The statue does not need to remember the chisel to keep its shape."

"Hero, I don't believe we've had the pleasure, and it scarcely seems like we will," Hilde said. It all came off her tongue a little too sweet, which made it taste like a lie.

"Hilde. I protect the archives." Karina offered the closest thing she could to a sweet smile, but it didn't come naturally.

"I was just telling Alyssia I wanted to visit this morning before we were called."

"Well, if you ever return, don't be too early. I'm a bit of a night owl." Karina held her smile a moment longer. Had the guards seen her? Dashun wasn't close enough to interject physically, but he raised his voice to cut the pair off.

"Unfortunately, time is of the essence. The longer the Hero lingers, the less blessed daylight they will have on the road ahead," he said. As he spoke, he retained eye contact, ensuring that she understood the true message. Karina looked past Dashun to the open 'road' out of the Cathedral. A well-worn dirt path that might have been tamped and leveled at one time but was now mostly footprints. It went off into the forest, disappearing into the trees well before where Karina remembered the barrier being last night.

Alyssia stepped forward onto the central stone circle first, and Karina kept pace. Dashun matched their approach with a small bundle carried in his arms.

"Typically," Dashun began, "a hero would be leaving with a more complete party at their side and with more time for us to prepare objects from the treasury." Karina glanced to Volrick, who shrugged.

"So rather than something enchanted from the treasury," Dashun said as he unwrapped the bundle in his arms, "I present you with a personal item from my collection, something to aid you on the early steps of your journey." The bundle was too small to carry a sword, so Karina had expected a dagger or some other hidden weapon; instead there was a pair of—"Glasses," she said.

"Yes, something carried from your world to ours," Dashun said.

"One of the many revelations the heroes have brought with them." He offered them. The glasses had soft circular orange lenses on a bronze frame that seemed too thin to match the craftsmanship Karina had seen around the cathedral. They were interesting, but it was quite the display for a fashion piece. Karina picked them up; they were impossibly light.

"The enchantment on the lenses is quite simple, but, after speaking to Alyssia, I believe it should be of great benefit to you," he said.

"They allow you to perceive through flame completely, preventing it from blinding you or blocking the view of a demon on the other side." Karina put the glasses on; the tint was less harsh than she'd expected while staring at the lenses. The world before her was warmer, but not much more than that. To test, she summoned fire to her hand and held it up. Paradoxically, she could both see the dancing flame in her palm and fully perceive Dashun on the other side of it.

When she took the glasses off, she could still see the man, but the flash and the light of the fire occasionally obscured him.

"They should also be more durable than glasses you might have been used to," Dashun said. Karina turned the glasses over in her hand and, as the thought lingered in her mind, the memory slid into place. Reaching beside a bed, searching by touch because she couldn't see what she was looking for. There should have been more. A room around the bed. Something she needed to get up for. She tried to hold on, but all she could remember was her hand searching across a surface she couldn't picture.

She put them on again, then took them off. The cracks in the far wall stayed sharp. These weren't her eyes. Had she been grateful for that when she'd first arrived? Had she even noticed? She looked down at the glasses. Somewhere in the fog was a version of her who would have been delighted to see this clearly. Karina would have liked to remember enough to share that with her.

"Thank you," she said, folding the arms before Dashun could ask what was wrong. For a moment, she considered asking him whether this happened to the other heroes. Whether they remembered small, useless things and found themselves wanting those more than answers. But Alyssia was waiting, and Volrick still had his handcuffs on. Karina put the glasses back on. She pushed them into place with one finger. That felt familiar, too. This time, she let it.

"We did not want to send you on your journey so early, hero," Dashun said.

"But travel north towards the bastions." Volrick winked.

"And we of the church will attend to your training there. Of course, that is unless Alyssia believes you ready at some point during the journey back." That was new, though it wasn't clear whether it was instruction or musing.

"With this gift, I ask you take our world into your hands, Hero. May you strike true and act in a way befitting your station." Alyssia offered a bow to Dashun as the guard standing beside Volrick undid the handcuffs. As he rubbed his wrists, Volrick whispered something to the guard that was glare-worthy.

"May your fates grow and guide you true. May the Heavens that brought you here smile upon you." The scent of ash rose as Dashun spoke, but Karina didn't take her eyes off of him.

"And perhaps you will be the one to kill this Demon Queen." This Demon Queen? Had there been more than one?