Nostrum: Tales of Valor

Herald

The man-sized hare drops several books onto the floor as he notices the reach Lee has made for his blade, then cowers.

"P-please don't kill me!" He begs, trying to look as defenseless as possible. In doing so, the guards begin to approach.

"No, no! Wait, everyone stop!" Samuel demands, managing to cease even the guards in place.

"Lee, come down from there. Everyone, please, return to the front here."

"Are... are you the Tsar?" Asks Marne, who has begun retreating to the red carpet and off the platform.

"I am. M-my name is Herald. Herald the Relic."

"Herald the Relic?" Hael asks rhetorically.

"Indeed." The curious creature seems to smile at them as it speaks, wanting to maintain a peaceful conversation as it wiggles its nose. "I was once nothing more than an ordinary hare, until my creator gave me new life."

"Your creator?" Yuler questions, intrigued by the strange beast.

"Yes, yes. My creator! What a fine man he was, or... or so I think."

"You think?" She asks again.

"Yes, well, I never really saw his face, aheh."

"Who was he?" Asks Hael, who now begins to approach the desk once more, but in a more cautious manner.

"Well, I couldn't tell you his real name, only that he was... otherworldly. Y-you might know him as one of the, er... Moon Children! He truly did enjoy splicing things up. If not for that then, well, I would have never happened." The Tsar points to his own chest with both thumbs and grasps at the corners of a blue coat, which remains to be the only clothing he wears. "Perhaps you've heard of them, hm?"

"Heard of them? We're searching for them."

"Really?" The Tsar swiftly climbs atop his desk and begins sniffing at the crowd before him, eager to hear more. "Well, have you found any traces of them? Any clues as to where they might have ventured off?"

"N-no," explains Hael with a slight bit of disappointment in her voice, "we actually thought that you might have some idea as to where-"

"Maciofim, Halisburg, Mordon. The last three cities where The Bethel still stands strong!" Herald raises a fist high into the air as he speaks these words, but is surprised that no one else has joined in on his minor celebration. "What's the matter?"

"Well," Lee now begins, "The Bethel might not stand so strong in Maciofim... any longer."

"Wh-what? What happened there?"

"We sort of... hurt it."

"It was an unintentional mistake on our part, one which we remain regretful of."

"Oh... dear Nostrum... how could you?"

"Listen, we said it was a mistake. Let us leave it at that." Lee demands, causing the hare to cower once more.

"F-forgive my intrusion. Information is sort of my thing." Herald motions towards the walls and the books that now litter the floor, then smiles once more. "There is not one thing that happens within this city that I am not made aware of... at some point."

"So, what of these other two cities? Halisburg and Mordon? What makes them so special?"

"Ah, Halisburg is where The Bethel took the Moon Children under their wings! It is the home of the Sigils and the birthplace of yours truly." Herald raises his chin proudly, then lets it fall once more as something else comes to mind. "Mordon, on the other hand, is where the Moon Children are believed to have perished."

"Perished?" Samara chimes in, placing a hand against her chest as she does so.

"Yes, yes. But I claim that that claim is false!" Herald states boldly, pointing towards the ground as he does so. "I assure you, the Moon Children could not have been so easily thwarted by a mere beast such as the one that they claim did it!"

"That's great and all, Tsar, but if they are now believed to have died, how are we to ever find them, or their remains?" Lee questions

"Isn't that the question?" The hare laughs to himself as he turns about and plops into the desk's chair. "We all seek to learn the truth of their existance, but to do so we must first unravel the mystery of their death. It is claimed that they died in battle against a lycanthrope. Nothing special 'bout it! Just another run-of-the-mill beast. Now, I ask you, how can that be when they are capable of creating something such as myself? No, no. No beast has slain them. Not a man nor woman either!"

"Herald, this doesn't answer the question."

"Oh, of course not. Travel is the key." Herald rubs his paws together as he speaks on. "Only by returning to the place of their enlistment and the place of their death can we truly understand what has happened to them. Unfortunately, I have been tied to these grounds ever since I was a youngling. So, I never got the chance to explore the truth so thoroughly as you have."

"Might I ask; What did Maciofim have to do with exploring the possibilities?" Marne wonders.

"Ah, a question only one who truly seeks understanding would ask! I'll tell, I'll tell! Maciofim is the home of Dabria. Not necessarily the place in which it was found, as that would be here in Crater's Crown, but it is the place in which Dabria was trapped! You see, long ago, Dabria was placed in the catacombs where it was to remain for all of eternity. A chunk of Impar that had managed to land here on our homelands. But, unfortunately, all the warnings about the plant had been lost, and eventually, Dabria was set free. It was then the corrupted ideology of those running The Bethel in Maciofim that the plant was a good thing. That it would one day cleanse the world, but as you and I both know, that was nothing but a misinformed theory. The fact of the matter is that Dabria must be destroyed, and fast!"

"We... sort of tried that once already." Marne states, scratching the back of his head.

"W-what?" 

"We destroyed a rather large flower that was known to be the course of Dabria, which is why, for a brief moment in time, the world was free of it." Hael explains, looking to the floor as she does so.

"Unfortunately, thanks to this lot here," Lee begins, pointing at all who are not himself, "Dabria is back again and in full force."

"Oh... I see. That is why it has begun to shower us in seeds." Herald rests into his chair, processing all that he has come to now know.

"Wait, but I did bring this." Samuel reaches into his coat and approaches the desk, placing on it several vials of the gold fluid.

"Oh, it's here! Finally it's here!" Herald swiftly collects a vial into his paws and begins examining the contents.

"How did you come across this? How did you-"

"Nevermind that." Samuel smiles at the hare heartily, then looks back to the others. "This is the reason the people of Crater's Crown are not so worried about Dabria's spreading. This serum is meant to stop it before it can spread any further."

"How does it work?" Asks Hael, who curiously reaches out for one of the vials herself.

"Like so." Herald swiftly pulls the cork from one of the vials and chugs the contents entirely. Once he has finished doing so, he licks his lips and shivers. "It doesn't taste great, but it should certainly do the trick."

"You created an antivirus?" Hael questions with amazement in her eyes.

"I told you, I am a man of science." Samuel smiles once more and looks back to Herald. "Will this be enough for your people?"

"I believe it to be plenty!" He exclaims, cheerily collecting each of the remaining vials and stowing them away in a drawer of his desk. "How could I ever repay you?"

"Your presence alone is enough." Says Samuel, offering a bow.

"Truly!" Exclaims Samara, who bows as well.

"Oh please, enough of that!" Herald pleads, reddening around his pink nose.

"Well, I suppose if there are no answers left here for us, then we should be on our way." Lee looks to Samara and Samuel before speaking further. We've been given a place to sleep for the night. You two are welcome to join us."

"Hurt to say that?" Whispers Hael from behind him as she approaches the exit doors.

"W-Wait!" Cries Herald, who reaches out for them. "I-If you find them, would you please send them my way, or at least write to me, or send a letterman? I just need confirmation of their whereabouts. After all, they are essentially the only family I have ever had."

"Of course, Herald the Relic." Hael offers a smile before heading out the doors, followed by the others.

*****

As the party enters the cottage, they are met by the comforting warmth of an already lit fireplace and a pantry full of goods. Lee takes it upon himself to open a container of peaches and begin fishing them out with his fingers as he lays across a couch in the living space. Hael takes to one of the bedrooms, wanting to catch up on as much sleep as she can, and Marne and Yuler sit outside on the porch, wishing for nothing more than some time to talk about anything else other than what is going on. As they do this, Samuel and Samara pass them and enter the cottage, giving them some privacy.

"So," Marne begins, uncertain of what to really say, "have you thought any more about your future?"

"What future?" Yuler giggles at the thought then sighs. "No, not truly. It seems that, with the way things are going, there might not be much of a future to have."

"Nonsense." Marne states, kicking at the ground as he rocks back and forth in his chair. "There is always a future to be had, even if it isn't the future you expected."

"I suppose you're right." Yuler smiles in his direction, then looks off into the distance. "Have you thought any more about yours?"

"I have."

"Do tell." 

"Oh, there isn't much to tell I'm afraid." Marne quickly darts his eyes about and readjusts the way he is sitting before clearing his throat and looking back in Yuler's direction, where he finds her eagerly awaiting his speech. "I mean, there is a lot, but I'm not sure that I could cover it all in one go."

"Try."

Marne smiles and licks his lips, but just as he goes to speak, the wailing of a strange creature can be heard from only a few cottages over, followed by the sound of screaming. Marne hears the thumping of boots coming from within their own cottage and shortly thereafter is face to face with Lee, who also heard the cries.

"What's going on out here?"

"I don't know, I-" Marne pulls himself up and moves towards the porch railing where he spots a creature not unlike the last that they fought chasing down a woman in the street. As the beast grows nearer to her, a bolt shoots through the air and pelts it in the back of the neck. The creature falls forward and then turns about on the ground for a moment before getting back up and screeching painfully.

"Come on now, let us deal with this!" Demands Lee, pulling his blade free and rushing out into the streets as another bolt comes soaring down from the towers of the city walls. As the bolt misses and pelts the ground, Lee swings wildly at the creature, taunting it as he does so. Yuler and Marne get to their feet and join him as quickly as they can, taking wild slashes at it themselves and attempting to expose a weak point. Once they have done so, Yuler swats at the bare skin of its clawed paws and Marne jabs his blade at the creature's torso. Weakened by the bolt that pierces its neck, the beast goes down rather quickly and Marne extracts his blade from it.

"I truly believe we're getting the hang of these ones." He states, planting the tip of his blade into the ground and leaning on it as he does so.

"I truly believe you're missing the bigger picture here, boy." Lee states, resheathing his own sword. "Where are these coming from?"

"Oh." Marne mutters, now seeing the problem with his previous behavior. "I couldn't say."

"I didn't figure." Lee looks to the cottage where he sees Hael rushing out to join them, but stopping as she is surprised to see that the beast has already fallen.

"I apologize, I was fast asleep when I heard the cry."

"Never mind that, my dear."

"Poor thing."

Hael looks over her shoulder and spots the face of Samuel, who looks to the creature with sadness in his eyes.

"What have they ever done to deserve such treatment?"

"That beast was about to kill a woman, and you truly believe it still deserved a chance?"

"Perhaps I do." Samuel then turns back towards the cottage and steps inside, closing the door behind himself. 

"There is something off with that child." Hael exclaims, walking closer to the others.

"I suggest we keep watch tonight. We can trade off if we must, but someone should be at the ready in case another decides to show up."

"Of course." Marne says, offering himself up for the first shift.

"I'll stay out as well. We'll awake you if we feel the need to switch." Yuler states, cleaning her blade with a loose cloth.

"Very well." Lee looks to each of them briefly, then sighs and heads back towards the cottage himself, followed closely by Hael.

"Shall we?" Marne asks with a soft smile on his lips.