Nostrum: Tales of Valor

Youthful Yearnings

Marne and Yuler find themselves ogling Maciofim's architecture as they wander the streets in fresh linens; Courtesy of Lee and Hael. With the sun now protruding from the horizon and casting its rays over the city once more, gold plating can be seen in nearly each and every one of the towers that have come to be. It is clear to them that The Bethel's grasp on the lives of the citizens is responsible for this, as the gold that shines the brightest remains that which coats the roofs of The Bethel's towers. The pair continue to examine their surroundings at their own will without speaking a word for some time until Marne breaks the silence between them.

"It's truly no wonder that a place like this can not exist in every corner of the globe. What with all the time and resources it surely took them to put it together. Hm?"

"Hm." Yuler remains fixated on nearby shops and the abundance of people that litter the streets and alleyways. Curious as to how so many could be packed so close together, yet there is no sign of disease.

"Where did you see yourself before all of this?" Marne pries, a sense of guilt in his voice.

"Hm?"

"Where did you see yourself before becoming a Nostrum? Let us say, but for a moment, that Mildew never existed; That Dabria never existed. What would you have wanted your life to be?"

Yuler hesitates to answer, still processing the night before and readjusting the cuffs of her shirt, as she is still a few inches taller than Hael. Once the cuffs are properly loosened and covering her wrists, she gives Marne a quick glance. Then, clears her throat and begins to speak.

"I'd still be at home with my family. My father would have helped me build a home right alongside his own. He'd hope that I'd have children and make a good mother for them. I'd invest some of my time into expanding the farmland and ensure that my father is well taken care of, seeing as I still could not say how his condition is affecting him to this day."

Marne blinks a few times and looks to his right where shop fronts have turned to residences. Many strange faces look back at him as if the skin he wears tells the story of his life.

"I suppose it would be similar for me, aside from my parents. Unfortunately, that's a chapter in my life that has closed forever."

"Do you wish for children someday?"

"No." He states with haste, only to notice Yuler's head cock to one side and her brow furrow. "I- I mean not in a time like this. If... by any means... we can bring an end to all this... then perhaps I would be ready. It just seems cruel to bring younglings into a world so riddled with hatred and beasts." Marne kicks at a rock neath his feet and stuffs his hands into the pockets at his hips. "A world where you may not even be able to trust the people you travel with."

"You know I never meant to keep it a secret from you, don't you?"

"I suppose that I do."

*****

Rounding a corner and coming full circle, the duo finds themselves walking back towards the inn, where very few people now seem to be. Regardless of this, they step inside and head up the stairs towards the room of Hael and Lee, which they find to already be open. A key still in the lock catches Yuler's attention, who acknowledges that this is something neither of their counterparts would do.

"Hael, Lee, are you in?" Yuler pushes the door open and scans the room, but finds it to be empty. So empty, in fact, that none of Hael or Lee's belongings are inside. It is as if they simply vanished altogether. "Hael, Lee?" She calls out once more, now looking up and down the hall.

"Are they not in there?"

"No, they aren't." Yuler grabs Marne by the hand and tugs him back towards the stairs. "Come, we need to check our room."

The pair of them rush down the stairs and towards the second set, which quickly becomes the hall to their quarters. Once their room is in sight, Yuler unlocks the door and steps inside, only to find that it too is empty, aside from their own personal belongings.

"Where have they gone?" She wonders, now skimming the streets below from the vantage point of their window.

"You... you don't think-"

"That perhaps you scared them off?" Yuler turns to face Marne, whose expression displays obvious guilt. "Maybe so, but this all still feels unlike them. We need to keep investigating."

"Let us speak with Parcely then. Hm?" Marne takes the front this time with Yuler following closely behind as they make their way back towards the desk at the main entrance of the building. To no surprise, the desk sits empty and the room behind it is closed. The pair look at one another for a moment, then move closer to the desk.

Yuler clinks a small bell that sits at her end of the desk and then waits for several moments. When nothing happens, she clinks the bell again. This time, with a little more force so as to make the sound of the bell louder.

"Parsely, we need to speak with you, please." She calls out, clattering the bell yet again.

With there still being no answer, Marne makes his way around the desk and approaches the door itself. As he goes to knock, he notices that the handle has been damaged. A deep crease in the brass and splintered wood behind it make it obvious that a break-in occurred. With this knowledge, he gives Yuler a concerned look, then goes to turn the knob. Though it does not rotate, it does rattle in place, and the door swings open with little effort. The room inside, though too dark to see in, lets off an odor that warns of what is to be found. Marne sighs heavily and pulls a lantern from the desk, which he then lights before heading into the room. Keeping the lantern low to the ground, he finds the corner of a bedframe. Atop it, is the body of Master Parcely.

"What is it? What do you see?" Comes the voice of Yuler.

"I found Parcely, but he's gone."

Yuler falls into stunned silence but quickly recollects herself to get more information.

"Was it natural? Or?"

"Or." Marne raises the lantern so that it is beaming down on the chest of the pale man. In doing so, he finds the obvious puncture wound of a blade where the man's heart would be. "Murdered, he was. I'd say this is the doing of Bethel Nostrum."

"What would make you think that?"

"This wound. It matches the kind of blade both Hael and Lee use. The same type of blades I saw on those three men last night. We know it to have not been Hael or Lee who killed this man. They respected him too much for that."

"So, you believe those Nostrum returned then? Why would they kill Parcely?"

"Harboring fugitives, if I truly had to guess."

"Wait, you don't think the others were captured, do you?"

Marne turns away from the body, then heads out of the room and pulls the door shut. With another sigh, he returns the lantern to the desk and rests his palms against his temples.

"This is all my fault. I should have allowed Lee to handle them by himself, but I was so angry with them, that I just couldn't help myself. I couldn't help but intervene and I couldn't help but hurt them both. Now... now we don't even know if we can save them from this and it is all... my doing."

"Hey now, don't beat yourself up too much for this." Yuler places a hand on Marne's bicep and guides him to a chair that rests behind the desk, offering him the seat, which he takes. "We can't even be sure that that's what happened quite yet. Perhaps Parcely caught wind of the Nostrum returning, so he warned them and they fled. All we can do is ensure that that is truly what is happening."

"How can we do that?"

"We need to return to the stables first. Ensure that our wagon is still here. If so, I hardly doubt they fled the city. Lee isn't much of a walker when he's constantly got a belly full of booze."

Marne snickers for a moment, but quickly shut it down as he reminds himself of the situation's seriousness. He then licks at his lips and nods his head.

"Let's go then. We've no time to waste."

Rushing out the doors of the inn with their garbs now fully on display and their linens left in their room, they dart through the streets. Catching the eyes of many passers-by who seem startled and fearful of them. Neither of them allows this to bother them, as all it truly does is leave a larger opening for them as citizens rush to get out of their way. Before long, they find themselves back at the main gates, where they quickly step through and rush towards the stables. To their dismay, the wagon remains in its stall.

"Halt!"

The pair look back towards the gates, where four guards now approach them from. Marne reaches for the hilt of his cleaver, but Yuler stops him. Watching as she shakes her head at him, he releases the weapon and awaits her command. Just as the guards are about to reach them, ready for a fight and to detain, Yuler kicks up a pile of horse manure which slaps against each of the men. In a moment of disgust and rage, they're knocked off course and Yuler swiftly grabs at Marne's wrist and pulls him back towards the city gates.

"Get back inside, we need to hide!"

"Close the gates!" Comes the voice of one of the guards.

"Don't let them escape!" Comes another.

As the duo approaches the large wooden frame, a door on each side begins to close guided by chains that tug at them from some mechanical means. Still, just as they are nearly closed, Marne manages to get through.

"Yuler, hurry!"

With a burst of energy, Yuler leaps through the gates as well but finds herself to be snagged on something. Turning to look back at the doors she sees that the blade of Cronn's ax has managed to become wedged between them. Looking to her left and right, guards can be seen coming out of the towers that rest on either side of the gate and she is running out of time.

"Yuler, you have to let it go! Please, hurry!" Marne backs away from the gate slowly, trying to maintain a distance from the guards as they continue to approach the both of them.

"Stop them!" Shouts the voice of an archer, who remains atop the tower. His arrow aimed at the head of Marne.

"Yuler!"

Feeling defeated, Yuler stops struggling against the ax and unstraps the belt it is holstered to. Once she does so, she launches forwards and tackles Marne. A sharp pain comes across the back of her right shoulder, but she ignores it and pulls him to his feet.

"Come on, we've got to get out of here now!"

With the guards on their tails, the pair sprint into an alleyway where Marne tips barrels, startles horses, and lobs loose bricks at the men. Eventually, they manage a great enough distance to find themselves in a position where they can burst through the doors of a building without being seen. As the guards pass the building they are in, Marne looks to Yuler, who is panting heavily and lying against the ground.

"We did it, we're safe!" He exclaims, but Yuler does not share in his glee. She instead winces and raises her right shoulder for him to see. A pool of blood coats a small area of the floor beneath her and runs down her back. "My god." Marne then looks to the patrons of the bar they had stumbled into. "She's been hit. We need medical attention here, please!"