Chương 15: Chapter 11 - A Note Between

Karina asked for a quill and paper before people went their separate ways for bed. Alyssia gave her a notebook as opposed to just a single sheet. Apparently she'd been able to use the time when she'd been getting dressed up to actually pack for a journey across the wilderness. With time and notebooks to spare. At this point, the church had either been so desperate to get Karina out of the barrier that they were willing to sacrifice her for it, or they were intentionally setting her up to fail.

Or the secret third option: They were all incompetent and relied on the heroes to do everything in the war, which explained why they hadn't won the war against the Demon Queen yet. That was the first thing that got written down into the notebook, on the third page from the back where it wouldn't be the first thing seen. Demon Queens? Karina needed to follow up with Alyssia on that and determine how much she knew—and what she was allowed to say.

If there were multiple Demon Queens, the question shifted from whether they could kill the Queen to whether the war was winnable at all. After all, if the gods were providing the heroes… the god she'd run into didn't seem all that interested in preparing her for the war. In fact, when Cinder Mage had originally appeared, he'd knocked it right out of her hands. Karina wrote down the second question. Gods?

Back in the church they'd mentioned the Seven Rays of the Pantheon, which pointed towards seven gods, but she'd never gotten the chance to find out anything about them. If she could see a depiction, then she could know who—or what—she'd seen. Of course, the answer to learning about the gods was as simple as asking Alyssia. Seeing depictions? She wrote the Protected Lands beside the question. She'd find the answers from the Cathedrals there. After adding that, she tapped the quill beside the Demon Queen question.

Volrick wanted his father's records. An account written by a summoned hero might describe the war differently from the church. And Volrick had made a point of mentioning his mother without explaining who she was. His ash-grey skin and sharp teeth suggested another question, but Karina knew too little about this world to trust her first guess. She wrote Whiteshackle beside Demon Queens and added a question mark. For the time being, she wrote out two other quick points. Cinder Mage? How Did I Die?

Whiteshackle might hold something about hero classes. Whether any of it would help with Cinder Mage was another question. As for her death, the only lead she had was her own memory. Alyssia hadn't promised that it would return. Nothing to do but be patient. Karina closed her eyes for a moment to try and accept that last part. Sitting and waiting wasn't exactly where she wanted to be. After she'd written down the basic questions, Karina flipped to the front of the book and adjusted how she was lying on the floor.

She'd taken a spot close enough to the dying fire to use it for light, but it wasn't the most comfortable place to lie down, even when using her layered fabrics as a makeshift bedroll. The true reason she'd grabbed the quill and paper in the first place—no ink, thank some god that the quill took care of that itself—was for the simple reason of writing down her thoughts on her Fates. [Basic Pyrokinesis - Level 2: 12/30] There were two notes there.

First, that she'd stored experience for Pyrokinesis during the fight, even though she hadn't ascended the Fate yet at that point, which would be useful if she ever spent a prolonged period without safety. The second note was that the gap from level 2 to level 3 was thrice as big as the first. Whether everything would be three times more expensive, or if there was another formula—or even if it were different for all Fates—were questions for Alyssia.

[Basic Grappling - Level 1: 0/10] That meant that despite killing the Volatu and getting experience by killing it, she hadn't gotten anything for it. In fact, none of the traits she'd unlocked that night had progressed. Fates wouldn't progress if they weren't equipped. That wasn't a problem now—she hadn't been told she was out of slots yet—but it was something to keep in mind for the future. If she wanted to work on it, it would need to be in one of her slots.

Finally: Firestealer: 21/200] The first part of the math was simple. Ten points to finish the first level of Pyrokinesis. Twelve toward the second. Half of twenty-two was eleven. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Firestealer had twenty-one. That left ten points to explain. The bonus had appeared when she finished the first level's requirements, before she'd been allowed to ascend. She wrote a theory beneath the numbers: Half of fire-Fate progress.

Extra for completing a level? She underlined the question mark. One Fate wasn't much of a sample. She could test the numbers herself. Understanding what Firestealer would eventually do was harder. Volrick's father might have left something useful. At least reading his records wouldn't require explaining her class to another priest. Great, that meant that she just needed to convince Alyssia to go to Whiteshackle and—"You really should try and get some sleep," Alyssia said.

She was perched on one of the rocks by the fire, but Karina didn't know when she'd gotten up, or how long she'd been sitting there.

"I know."

"We have a long day tomorrow."

"I know." Alyssia had been staring at the fire, but with the second point she turned to face Karina. Even in the warmth of the dying firelight, her cheeks seemed pale.

"Just too much on your mind?" she asked. Karina closed the book.

"Guess so."

"It's a whole new world, right? Hard to believe you're supposed to just sleep."

"What's got you up?" Karina asked.

"Never been a good sleeper," she said.

"Doesn't take much to wake me up, and of course, the Volatu…" She looked back to the fire.

"Just on edge."

"I thought the barrier would keep them out."

"It will," she said.

"And if something were to try and break in or Smokewalk, I'd feel it and wake up anyway." Karina propped herself up on her elbows.

"But you're still awake?"

"I'm still awake," Alyssia said with a nod. She picked something off of her robe and tossed it into the dying fire before continuing.

"How are the burns doing?"

"Oh, uh." Karina looked down. It felt impossible, but without looking, she could hardly tell where the burns were. That said, as she shifted to check, the cracked ridges on her legs caught on fabric and pulled.

"Upper half is mostly good."

"Legs?"

"Cooked, generally."

"But it doesn't hurt?"

"Are you going to keep asking that?"

"You've seen what it looks like," she said.

"Can't blame me for asking."

"Worried about me?"

"Obviously," she said.

"After the class selection fiasco, and with how little training you've had, you shouldn't be on the open road. Not when…well." She waved back in the direction they'd come from.

"We didn't really have a choice."

"We didn't," Alyssia said.

"But they did, Hero. I know that they thought you might have been affecting the barrier, but they just threw you out here." Karina glanced down at the notebook. Even if it wasn't written on the pages, Alyssia was echoing the thoughts. She hadn't expected her to do that vocally. At least not until much later.

"Anyway—I just keep thinking about all the things that we should have done before leaving the Cathedral."

"Like?"

"Any amount of training outside of standing in a courtyard and flashing some fire."

"Mhm."

"If everything hadn't lit on fire, and if you didn't have the extra mana, you would just be dead."

"Then I guess it was the practice I needed."

"No, it—it wasn't," she said.

"There was so much we still had—have to go over. Where to stand as a caster in a fight. How to space with your allies to manage spells." Karina nodded. She could have tried to reassure her, but they both already knew she was alive. That didn't mean it was any less close to death.

"I just—it feels like we were set up to fail. I'm not a combat priest or a trainer anymore," she said.

"But I don't know why they would be so willing to throw away a hero." Now Karina properly sat up.

"Throw me away?"

"They didn't," Alyssia hastily corrected.

"And wouldn't. What would the church gain from doing that? We need heroes to stand tall against the Demon Queen." There was a chance there to ask which Demon Queen, but Karina didn't want to break the train of thought.

"But then why does it feel like it?"

"They must have panicked, or something," she said. She still wasn't looking Karina in the eyes as she spoke.

"There's no other explanation but…" She finished by sighing into the fire. Karina stood up, pushed the notebook into the myriad folded fabrics beneath her, and joined Alyssia by the dying fire. The air was chilled against her bare arms now that she was out of the blanket. Partially dressed didn't quite cut it past midnight.

"I think I want to head toward Whiteshackle." Alyssia snapped her head up as Karina was climbing to join her on the boulder, but rather than arguing she simply settled back in.

"Yeah."

"Yeah?"

"Volrick found the demons before we saw them. He found this campsite." Alyssia rubbed her palms together.

"We need what he can do."

"Then let's give him a reason to stay."

"Then again, he already agreed to come."

"And tomorrow he can decide that was a mistake." Alyssia looked toward the edge of the barrier.

"If Volrick thinks that his father is going to have notes on his class, he might, but I don't think it will provide you with anything," she said.

"Your answers would be back in the protected lands, in the Archives."

"Back with Hilde?" Karina suggested.

"If we were allowed to go back there, yes," she said.

"But if you are corrosive to the barrier, like they thought, we won't be able to go back to the Cathedral."

"What about the protected lands?" Karina asked.

"They have a barrier as—""That one was made by the Gods to protect us from the demons," Alyssia said.

"It wouldn't break down from you being there and…" She clearly didn't believe her answer, but she stopped short of adding the questions herself. Karina cleared her throat.

"So Whiteshackle it is?" Alyssia nodded and then moved like she was going to get up, but didn't quite yet.

"Do me a favour?"

"Sure."

"When we tell Volrick, the only reason is going to be that our detour away from the path took us south towards it."

"So now it's closer."

"It was always closer. It was just the wrong way," Alyssia said.

"I just don't want him thinking that his stupid scheme to get back home had any merit as a plan."

"Does it?"

"His suggestion is getting us to go there, isn't it?" she said before finally standing.

"With any luck, Whiteshackle will be empty."

"I thought the demons took it over."

"They have, but demons also weren't supposed to be on the path," Alyssia said.

"They took it. We don't know whether they stayed."

"So we look first."

"From a distance. Volrick tells us where the house is, and we find out whether we can reach it. If we can't, we leave." Karina nodded.

"And he agrees to that before we start walking," Alyssia added.

"Tomorrow morning?"

"It's a three-day journey out of the way to get to Whiteshackle." She considered it for a moment.

"Three and a half because we'll need to get to the Harvosa for water."

"The H—""It's a river." Karina nodded.

"We talk to Volrick in the morning. If he agrees, we should start moving around dawn so—you can keep taking notes about your class ideas if you want." Karina looked back to the book. There was no way Alyssia had read it from that far away. She must have assumed.

"But there will be a lot of nights to do that, and I'm here to guide you. Best I can at least."

"Thank you," Karina said.

"So maybe leave the book under the blankets and get some sleep."

"Maybe."

"To Whiteshackle in the morning?" Karina nodded.

"To Whiteshackle in the morning."

"Goodnight, Hero."

"Goodnight." [Charmer] [Add Fate?]