Chương 28: Consequence

Sophia didn't make a sound. She walked to Marick. He lowered Ed slowly, carefully, until Sophia could take him, and she did, both arms going around her son, pulling him against her chest. She sank to her knees on the wet road. The rain came down on both of them. Nobody moved.

"She did this." Everyone turned to John, then to Alexandra. Marick stepped in between John and her.

"It was a Silvershard. Ed attacked it, I found his axe lying next to him, and a trail of dead goblins leading to the site." He shook his head.

"I suppose he's always wanted to be a warrior. I should have been more attentive."

"It doesn't change a thing." John tried to step past him.

"That woman has been rilin' up the floral monsters. It wouldn't have happened otherwise." Marick stopped him.

"We're all devastated by what happened, but it's not a valid reason to throw baseless accusations around. Even with an Yshant's compulsion in place, Silvershards are still passive."

"There's nothin' baseless about what I said." John turned to the crowd.

"Don't you all find it suspicious? Look at her. Her hair, the way she hides them, the scars on her face! Pact with a demon, if I've ever seen one." Murmurs rose in the crowd.

"I assure you Alexandra has nothing to do with demons." Bamir was rubbing his eyebrows. John didn't say anything. He looked at the villagers. They looked at him. As for Alexandra, she wasn't listening. Her eyes were fixed on Sophia who was hugging her dead son on the muddy road. She'd never seen a dead person before. Shouldn't Bamir do something? He was a priest of the god of life, wasn't he? Perhaps it was too much to ask. Reviving the dead couldn't be simple, if it was at all possible.

The murmurs didn't die down. A man near the back spoke first. She didn't know his name.

"I don't think she did it. But John's not wrong that things have gotten worse since she arrived."

"That's the Yshant," Marick said.

"Maybe." The man didn't back down.

"But the Yshant was here before and we managed. This is different." Another voice, a woman this time.

"My husband won't let our children near the fields anymore. That's not normal for this time of year."

"It's not normal," Marick agreed.

"It's the Yshant. It's growing."

"Then deal with it," someone said from the back. Marick turned toward the voice.

"I'm trying." The rain came down. Sophia hadn't moved. Bamir had crouched beside her, one hand on her back, not speaking. The crowd kept its half-circle shape, shifting slightly. John was watching Marick. He wasn't pressing anymore.

"She's been here a week," the first man said.

"In that time, Ed died. The infestation got worse. Floral monsters started appearing close enough to the village to threaten us." He paused.

"I'm not saying she's the cause. But we can't be sure." More murmurs. Agreement, mostly. Marick looked at the crowd for a long moment. Then he looked at Alexandra. Then at Bamir, still crouched beside Sophia. His eyes bore on the back of the priest for a long time. He rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Fine." His voice carried over the rain.

"Alexandra. You'll remain inside for the next three days. Stay put. Keep quiet. Don't cause trouble." He looked at the crowd as he said it, making sure they understood it was for them.

"It will change nothing. But I hope it will show you she's not the source of our issues." The crowd absorbed this. It wasn't everything John had wanted. It wasn't nothing either. John looked at Alexandra.

"Three days. What a joke." He turned to Marick.

"Why are the Wardens not here already?" Marick turned to him.

"You'll come with me on patrol tomorrow." John's jaw tightened. He said nothing. The crowd began to move, slowly, people peeling away in ones and twos. Some looked at Alexandra as they left. Most didn't. Those who did were at best uncertain, a few hostile. Others helped Sophia up, and brought her home. Mira was the last of the crowd to leave. She passed Alexandra without speaking, but their eyes met, and Alexandra saw anger in them. Marick waited until the road was nearly empty.

"I'm sorry it has come to this. But showing some goodwill will appease most of the village. You must understand, losing Ed is a shock for everyone." Alexandra didn't look at him. Her streak. Her precious streak. If there really are gods in this world, please make my next quests achievable. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Confined home, she was certain it was over.

"It's not fair," Lara said.

"We all know it." Marick shook his head.

"Indeed, it's not. But please cooperate. The punishment is light, even if it's not warranted." Lara and Therion escorted a listless Alexandra home. They sat her at the table, and served dinner. She ate in silence, her hand struggling to even lift her spoon. When she lay down on her bed, she fell asleep almost instantly. She checked her daily first thing in the morning.

Quest Journal Daily Reset: 06: 00 | Streak: 7 Days | 0% All Stats Next Milestone: 10 Days Daily Quests: Gather twenty Aetherveil (0/20) Her face fell. Well, she was done for. She wasn't allowed outside and—"What's the matter?" Lara asked.

"I can't complete today's quest." Alexandra lay back on her bed, explaining what was asked of her. Lara blinked.

"You can do it."

"How? I'm not allowed to go out."

"Think about it." Lara teased.

"I'm sure you can come up with a solution." Alexandra sat up, and scratched her head.

"I guess I could wait for nightfall, sneak outside, and quickly pick the flowers." Therion shook his head from the corner of the room where he was sorting the clothes Alexandra had washed the day before.

"Think harder," Lara said.

"I'm not going to encourage you to break the law."

"Are there Aetherveil growing inside the house?" Lara sighed.

"Of course not."

"Then I don't see it." Lara and Therion shared a look, and both of them smiled.

"You're really asocial, are you? Can't you consider asking me or Therion to collect the flowers for you? We're going to be doing just that, anyway." Alexandra clasped her hands together.

"You would do that?" Therion nodded.

"It's our job. It won't take extra effort."

"Erm… Then, please help me." Lara laughed.

"Just ask. It's not that hard." She nodded. Alexandra hadn't even considered the possibility. She was a bit too used to operating alone. A few minutes later, Lara was back with twenty fresh Aetherveil. Alexandra grabbed them, and opened her journal. Gather twenty Aetherveils (20/20) -> Quest Completed: +10 exp, +1 PER Daily Quest Streak: 7 -> 8 Alexandra sighed in relief. She hadn't been certain that it would work, but it did open another way for her to complete this type of dailies.

She considered if there were other loopholes she could exploit. What if she stored a heap of various materials, and just picked from it whenever she needed? She sighed. That would have to wait. Alexandra was no stranger to staying home all day. In some periods of her life, she'd gone several days without leaving her apartment. When new expansions of Lone World Online were released, she'd gone several weeks without seeing the sun or leaving her chair for somewhere other than her bed or the bathroom.

This was different. There was no computer here, no gaming rig, not even a TV or a book. What was she supposed to do? She read her journal several times over, the Cleaning quest nagging at her. She hadn't fallen so low. Not yet. So she waited, trying to kill time however she could. She exercised, slept, helped with the chores as she cut vegetables, stirred the soup, and watched over the hearth.

Sometimes, Lara or Therion stayed behind to keep her company for a few minutes, but they had work to do, and couldn't afford wasting their day. Mid-afternoon, Bamir came to visit. The healer knocked twice and let himself in. He looked worse than the night before. His robes were clean but his eyes weren't, the black circles deeper, his shoulders slumped. He sat down across from Alexandra without being invited.

"How are you?" he asked.

"Bored," she said. Then, after a moment, "How's Sophia?" Bamir rubbed his eyebrows.

"As you'd expect." He folded his hands on the table and looked at them. He was quiet for a long moment. She didn't say anything either. Then he spoke.

"This confinement won't change anything." He said it without inflection. Not a complaint. Just a fact.

"If nothing happens in the next three days, you'll still be suspected. If something happens… Nobody wishes for something to happen." He unfolded his hands. Folded them again.

"It's a lose-lose situation. Marick knows this."

"I know," Alexandra said.

"Yes." He looked up.

"I imagine you do." The fire was low. Lara had left it banked before going out to the fields. Alexandra had added a log around noon and hadn't touched it since.

"Ed came to see me sometimes," Bamir said.

"Often injured, that boy. He was always doing something he shouldn't." He stopped.

"He was a good boy. Reckless, but good." Alexandra looked at the table.

"Do you think it's my fault?" she asked. Bamir looked at her.

"Not Ed," she said.

"The infestation. Do you think my being here made it worse?" He was quiet for a moment.

"The Yshant was active before you arrived. The timeline doesn't support—""That's not what I asked." He stopped. He rubbed his eyebrows.

"Unless you did something to make it worse, I don't see how it could be construed as your responsibility. Who knows how you ended up here, Miss Alexandra." He paused.

"For what it matters, I don't think your presence has anything to do with the infestation." She'd been thinking about it since the night before. She'd been summoned by gods. Dropped into the plains of Baleria. The Yshant was already there. But things that were already there could be accelerated. Disturbed.

"If I caused it," she said slowly, "then Ed died because of me." Bamir didn't answer.

"Not directly," she said.

"But."

"And I could have done more," Bamir said.

"And many others too." He stood up.

"If we're laying guilt, I'm more to blame than anyone else in this village, you included."

"How so?" He moved toward the door.

"Forget it. Grief is making me say things I shouldn't."

"Bamir." He stopped.

"Is there anything we can do? For any of this? For the Yshant?" He stood with his hand on the door frame. He didn't turn around.

"I'm waiting," he said, "for someone wiser than me to tell me what to do." A pause.

"I've been waiting for a while now." He left. Alexandra sat at the table. The fire had burned down again. She got up to feed it. The next day, she opened her journal, and grimaced at her quest. When Lara asked what it was, she shook her head.

"I don't think you can help with this one. I guess I'll have to skip it for real, this time." Yet, inside her mind, she was already planning on how to escape her hosts' vigilance. She wasn't giving up on her streak. No matter the cost.