Chapter Three Hundred and Sixty – Vim – Meriah

Stepping out into the rain, I glanced around the small brick road that Rapti's home backed up against. I checked corners, other building's windows, the roofs… and was glad to not see anyone spying on us, or acting suspicious. In fact, I saw no one else at all.

A good sign. Meriah was not someone who would have came to Rapti's home had she been followed, but I always worried for her. Although she herself looked nearly human, she was such a person that I knew she had as many if not more enemies than I did. And that had always worried me about her. This world was a cruel one, even for a normal person. Meriah wasn't just non-human; she dressed and acted a nun, and always traveled. Sometimes even opting to sleep outside over a room at an inn.

Such people as her were often targeted, and that was even before taking into account that Meriah was always sticking her nose where it didn't belong.

"Um…"

I frowned and turned, wondering what was wrong. Why was Meriah being so slow? Yet I already knew what it was before I found Meriah standing there, hesitatingly keeping the door open as Renn stood in the doorway… sheepishly smiling as she glanced at me and Meriah.

Right…

After the few moments of greetings, between Meriah and Renn, I had stepped out. Expecting, like always, for Meriah to follow me without question. Alone. Because it was what we did.

Until now, of course.

"It's up to you Meriah. I've decided to neither shelter her nor keep secrets from her. Though I admit I'm being… resistant in my opening up completely. The only thing I can say, if you'll hear my opinion, is that Renn is likely the only other person on this planet you can actually trust. I can say without doubt she would never become your enemy, for any reason," I said.

Renn stood up straighter, and I noticed Rapti behind her walking away. She had likely heard what I had said, but I knew she'd always pretend she hadn't. She knew what Meriah was like, full well, so knew better than to even stick around when Meriah wanted to be alone.

Meriah studied Renn, and then glanced over at me. I noted the way her white eyebrows arched a little, as if in worry or sadness. "I hear you married her," she said.

"Hm. I have," I said.

Renn smiled, and then looked to Meriah. "I can stay. It's okay. I'm sorry… I just usually follow Vim without thought, so…" Renn apologized, and stepped backward. Back into the house.

I gave Renn a smile. She really was kind.

Meriah sighed, rather loudly. "It's fine. Come on. Just don't be offended if I be rude to you," Meriah said.

Oh…?

Renn paused, as Meriah gestured for Renn to hurry up and leave so she could close the door behind her.

"You sure…?" Renn asked softly as she stepped out of Rapti's house.

Meriah said nothing, only closing the front door to Rapti's home once Renn was out of the way. I nodded to Renn and Meriah as I turned and headed for the road.

Where to go? Maybe the docks? It was late enough, and the rain was steady enough, that it was likely rather deserted at the moment. A good place to talk.

"I saw them earlier, but are your ears as good as they look?" Meriah asked Renn as the two followed me.

"Hm? Yes? Though this hood is really heavy, and I have the hat on too. If you want me to stay back far enough as to give you two some space, I can do that," Renn said without hesitation.

"No… It's fine…" Meriah mumbled.

Was it?

I kept back the urge to glance back at the two, as I slowly headed down the path towards one of the larger roads. To head for the docks.

Renn had her heavy cloak on. Meriah the traveling nun wore a similar cloak, though it had the gray colors of the church sewn into certain parts of her attire. Such as at her sleeves, and at the hems of her cloak. It was impossible to not know who and what she was thanks to her attire. So I knew neither would be too bothered by the rain and cold, especially being non-humans, but I knew better than to think we blended in. A nun walking around on such a gloomy afternoon was thing, but to do so with a pair that looked like mercenaries on first glance? Not the best camouflage for us… but it would have to do for now.

It had been slightly rude to Rapti, to walk out so readily after Meriah arrived, but I knew she'd understand. She too had known and noticed that Meriah had been impatiently waiting for me to arrive, after all.

Plus…

"Well?" I turned to ask Meriah, who had been about to ask Renn something. Renn frowned at me, as if upset I'd interrupted their light talk, but Meriah's eyes went wide as she nodded and harried forward.

Her hood nearly fell off as she came to my side. "The bishop who burnt Lomi's village is dead," Meriah said with a hush.

Looking forward, as to pretend that she and I weren't actively in the middle of a conversation, I frowned. "Where'd you find him?" I asked.

Meriah glanced back, thanks to Renn's hurried footsteps as she picked up her pace as to catch up to us. She took Meriah's other side, walking opposing me.

"I found his grave. And the ones who had buried him. One of them, some kind of nephew or something, had this in his possession," Meriah said as she rummaged into her side, beneath her cloak.

After a moment Meriah produced a small parchment of paper. One that I took quickly, unfolding it near my stomach as to try and protect it from the rain as much as possible.

Upon the little parchment, was a crudely drawn map and some light instructions. Such as to turn at a certain odd shaped tree, and to venture over a river that was small but flowed quickly.

I sighed as I recognized the map to the fox village. Leading from a larger human settlement to its south.

"The lad didn't know where the bishop got it. But the fool firmly believed whoever had done so had also been the one to kill him. Went on and on about betrayal and stuff," Meriah explained.

Folding the parchment back up, I handed it back to her. Instead of putting it back into her pocket she offered it to Renn.

My eye twitched as I watched Renn unfold it and look at it too.

"Your letter here had heavy claims Meriah. Even for you," I said as I watched Meriah study Renn who studied the map.

Meriah didn't take her eyes off Renn as she nodded. "Yes. It did. I do."

So she wasn't denying it. There had been no misunderstanding, or mistaking.

Meriah truly believed Light and the rest had either been directly involved with the destruction of the fox village.

Great.

"This… is a map? To where?" Renn asks.

"Lomi's village," I said.

Renn stopped walking, but I kept going. After a few steps Meriah stopped, to look back at her. I ignored the two as Renn made an odd noise and I glanced down the intersection we were crossing.

There were only a few people on the street, and this was a main road. One was a guard, a knight of the city, and the other was a man carrying what looked like a box of some kind. Likely delivering something somewhere.

"Please, please tell me this was made after the event…!" Renn asked hurriedly as she hurried to rejoin Meriah and me.

"No, Renn. It hadn't been," Meriah answered.

Renn groaned. "Vim…!" she cried.

"Renn," I said gently, wondering if maybe we should have stayed at Rapti's home. Maybe we could have asked Rapti to give us a moment alone. She would have obliged, she was kind that way.

"Vim!" Renn hurried over, and I heard the rustle of clothes and cloaks. I turned just to see Renn nearly push Meriah aside as she grabbed at my arm.

About to ask what she was thinking, as Meriah shifted and frowned at Renn, I found myself a little startled.

Renn, pushing someone she just met aside? That gentle woman?

Beneath her heavy hood, Renn stared up at me with a look of utter devastation, as she lifted the map up. It was wrinkled in her tight grip, and now it was obvious it was soaked. "This drawing! The handwriting…!"

Wait…

"You recognize it?" Meriah asked right before I could as she hurried up to us.

Renn didn't even glance at Meriah as she nodded. "The Chronicler, Vim!"

Before more could be said, something broke.

Many something's.

I blinked, and heard the shouts of shock and screams of fear… as a nearby building shifted and the side wall of it collapsed into itself.

Renn and Meriah both turned, staring in what was likely as much shock as the people inside the building felt. I, however, only glared at the map in Renn's hand.

Surely not.

But…

Closing my eyes, a part of me listened into the shouting and panic in the building, and the nearby other buildings. I listened for cries of pain, or desperation. In case someone had gotten hurt by the collapse of the brick wall. I heard nothing more than confused shouts and worry as people hurried to leave the building, fearing the rest of it was going to collapse upon them.

A quick glance at the building, and the portion of the wall that had shifted and fallen inward, I knew it was fine. It was only a few feet in width at the largest section of the hole, and I could see from here the large tree-pillars that held the rest of the building up. Even if it did break more, it wouldn't collapse completely.

Though…

"We should go Vim, quickly," Meriah said softly as I followed the crack that emerged from under the house's foundation, rolling along the stone path and road to us.

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To me.

"Right…" I nodded and turned. Renn held onto my arm, having grabbed it earlier and since she'd not let go, as I dragged her away from the house that people were starting to gather around.

We left the area before we became the focus of attention, and I sighed again as we turned onto another road… and I lost interest in where we were headed. I knew we were no longer heading for the docks, but I didn't care anymore.

My mind was a mess, and my head wanted to hurt even though it didn't.

I didn't doubt Renn's memory. At all.

If Renn claimed that writing and drawing were that old fake-saint's, then…

"Give that back to Meriah, Renn. Don't let it get ruined," I said, as I remembered the source of my new discord.

Meriah took it, folding it back up carefully as she also squeezed some of the moisture from it before putting it back where she got it.

"I'm to assume she's not wrong?" Meriah asked.

"Huh…?" Renn hesitated, so I nodded and answered for her.

"Renn has perfect memory. If she says that's the Chronicler's writing, then I have no doubt it is."

Meriah said nothing as Renn groaned and squeezed my arm again. "Vim…!"

"Give me the rest of the bad news, Meriah. Since I'm buried in it anyway," I said.

Meriah nodded, her light cloak shifting as she did. "While investigating them, I tracked down some of the knights who did the deed. The bishop, and the nephew I had found, had not actually been there. They had only sent the knight order to do the deed. The knights I found confessed they had done the deed, and had done so at the bishop's orders. The bishop also ordered the deed and location to not be shared or told to anyone else. I don't know if they gave such an order to cover their tracks, or because they didn't want people knowing our kind even still exists or something, though," Meriah said.

"Wait… wait! Are we actually trying to say the Chronicler sent this bishop, the one that destroyed Lomi's home, that map? Led them straight there?" Renn asked, her voice telling me she wanted to doubt it… but couldn't.

Renn stopped, and since she still held my arm I had to too. She was holding far too firmly for me to just keep walking. I'd not outright hurt her, or break a nail since she was keeping them short lately, but I didn't want to take the chance. Fingers could pop off easier than people knew, sometimes.

And right now I knew I wasn't in full control of my strength. Thanks to my internal chaos.

"I confirmed they did the deed. Not only did a couple of them have ears, spoils of war, a few had encountered you Vim. They knew what you look like," Meriah said defiantly, as if daring Renn to claim she was lying.

"Me?" I asked. What…?

She nodded. "You killed a group of them not long after the deed, supposedly. At some bar in one of those logging towns not far from Ruvindale. Some of them saw you do so. You became a legend amongst their little group, claiming you were retribution."

Ah… I had indeed killed a few churchmen while escorting Lomi out of that area. So those men had been involved…? I could have sworn I had asked and inquired about the village while crushing their hearts… maybe I had done so too quickly…?

"It was why their order had split up, Vim. You killed their important members, and the bishop got all weird. There might still be a knight or two left alive, that I haven't been able to track down, but at this point I never will be able to," Meriah said.

"You've done well. More than enough, like usual."

She scoffed at me. "Hardly Vim."

"You… found their ears, Meriah? Really?" Renn asked worriedly.

Meriah only nodded, rain splattering around her as she did as it bounced and rolled of her hood.

I sighed as I glanced around, and decided we needed somewhere to sit. We weren't being followed or even looked at, even though we were standing in the road in the middle of the rain. Odds are it was because this was a port town. A lot of people here weren't as bothered by the rain as some other places. So we weren't too strange just yet.

"Vim," Renn said my name, bringing my attention back to the two women. They were looking at me as if I was being strange… which meant they had said something. Or someone had asked a question.

"Sorry… What'd you say?" I asked.

"He's angry Renn. Be thankful all he did was that small crack," Meriah said to Renn.

"I can tell. I'm angry too, but this is not the time to be so mindless. We need to talk about what has happened and…" Renn began to say, but I didn't want to hear it. Not at the moment at least.

I shifted, grabbing Renn's arm gently, the one that held onto my arm. She turned to glare at me as I, as carefully as I could, got her to release me.

"What about the rest of the northern church order?" I asked Meriah, while staring into Renn's glare.

"As I said… as far as I can tell the knights kept what they did a secret. By order and because of fear. Many of them firmly believed they were being punished, more than a few took their own lives. I found many of them buried like the bishop, and met their families. I'd believe one or two being alive, claiming suicide as to hide, but it was more than a handful and I doubt common peasants would lie about such things. Several had felt such guilt they had killed themselves only months after the deed," Meriah said.

Renn shifted, glancing at Meriah with a look of utter sorrow. "Why do you sound annoyed by such a thing?" Renn asked Meriah.

Had she…?

Meriah smiled at Renn, in such a way that I knew even Renn saw the utterly broken soul within her. "People who kill themselves in grief do so because they're cowards, Renn. They weren't strong enough to not partake in the evil when it happened, and weren't strong enough to pay their debts to the world afterward. They took the easy route on both ends of their mistakes."

"So you believe it was a group used and tossed aside on purpose," I said, before Renn could respond to Meriah's point of view on life.

Meriah nodded, her eyes leaving Renn's and going to mine. "Yes. The bishop had been involved in some corruption which I think had been used to coerce him. I don't have any clue how he died, but I bet it wasn't suicide. Older churchmen like him don't have souls like that, it's the peons who do," she said.

Renn shifted, and I glanced around again. Was there a restaurant nearby…?

No.

Good thing.

I'd not be able to sit. Not without destroying the chair I attempted to do so in, at least.

Or the table. Or likely everything else around it…

Stepping forward, I ignored Renn and Meriah… as I tried my best to parse the information and the knowledge it gave me.

"I have more proof Vim…! Not that I think any more or less would change the fact of what happened," Meriah said as she hurried up next to me.

I didn't even glance at her, or Renn who hurried to join her.

"Mapple. One of the knights described her. Perfectly. Gave her name and described her. She had not been the one to deliver the letter, he had been clear on that, but she had arrived not long after they burnt the village down."

I slowed as we neared a new road. One that was familiar. We were near the docks, I hadn't gone off path, I was just slightly…

Yes. I was disturbed. And rightfully so.

"You're sure she had not just been nearby and overheard what had happened? She frequents the north," I asked, trying to pretend to be my mother and play devil's advocate.

Meriah snarled at me. "She arrived at the village, Vim. As they prepared to leave."

I stopped.

Narrowing my eyes at her, I frowned and shook my head. "I had arrived as the village smoldered. I had found Lomi in a well. Only a day or so after they had left. I had not smelled, or saw any trace, of Mapple."

"Then you didn't look hard enough. He had definitely claimed it was Mapple. She spoke to the bishop and other higher ranks in the knight group, and then left. He remembers her clearly because she had taken the man's prize. Ears."

For a few long moments… I didn't move.

I didn't breath. Or blink. My eye didn't even twitch.

Mapple would have indeed taken the ears from a knight. To the knights they had been treasure. Spoils. Trophies of their kills. Mapple would have not liked that.

Yet…

"Would… would Mapple have actually done that…? She would have seen the fox village destroyed and done nothing? Said nothing?" Renn asked. She sounded closer than I thought she was. Hopefully she wasn't holding onto me again.

I was a mere heartbeat from destroying this whole area, after all.

"She had likely just been confirming the deed was done. Mapple does whatever her mother tells her. Or well… her mother's sister, in this case," Meriah said.

I wanted to nod. That was true. Mapple herself didn't have a bad bone in her body, but she didn't disobey her orders at all. Even if she wept afterward, she'd do it… for so long as the ones she saw as her saviors told her to do so.

A common trait amongst non-humans, regrettably. Though lately few were in such positions anymore to suffer such a thing.

"A map. Written by a hand familiar. Names unique, with corroborating stories from multiple witnesses…" I whispered as I took in the situation.

"At the very least Vim, you need to verify it. This time. You can't just…" Meriah's voice started to rise… but the world lit up. I glanced upward as the lightning flashed, and a very distant sound of thunder rumbled.

A storm was on its way. Arriving now. As we spoke.

Fitting.

Renn groaned, rather loudly. It was a mixture of a whine and a word. She sounded as if she wanted to say something, but was too distraught to do so.

I didn't blame her.

I felt that way too.

Turning, I saw the sea. Not far down the road was one of the docks. An empty one.

The sea looked dark. Foreboding. It was the type of sea sailors didn't willingly set out in. This was a time for bars and barmaids, not hoisting the sails.

"You two… go back to Rapti's. I… need to think," I said as I turned to look at them.

"What…? Vim…" Renn was about to reach out again, as to grab my arm again, but Meriah stepped in for me.

Meriah grabbed onto Renn's arm before she could get mine, and leaned close to her. "Hmph! Come on Renn. Let's become friends while your husband convinces himself to be a stunted man."

"Stunted man…?" Renn asked softly as she allowed Meriah to turn her around and head back down the road, heading back to Rapti's house.

"His rules. He knows he needs to do something but will convince himself not to. I swear, sometimes I wish I could find a way to make one of them a monarch or something so he'd just finally destroy them ruthlessly without thought!" Meriah said, loudly, as if to make a point as she took my wife away.

Being left alone… I sighed as I turned to look at the sea.

Walking towards it, I did my best to step as lightly as possible. I tried not to allow my weight to harm the fragile world around me as I approached the edge of the dock. Where the stone road turned into wooden boards. Slippery ones, by the look of them.

Stopping before the dock, I stared out at the sea beyond. As if to get lost in it, and not my mind.

It wasn't too bad really. Although a storm was obviously here, just now arriving, the sea didn't look too rough. The boats docked not far from here weren't even rocking too badly.

While staring out at the dark sea… I listened and paid attention to Meriah and Renn as they left my area. They were talking about my indecisiveness.

The world became blurry as I stopped looking at anything. I thought about that note. What Meriah had said. The truth behind those facts.

It wasn't hard to imagine how or why it had happened. The Chronicler, or Light or someone else, had seen a prophecy. One that had demanded they take action.

But… why?

What had Lomi and her people done to deserve such devastation?

Why not get me involved? If it was something so drastic…?

Why get a whole village eliminated? A village for that matter that had existed for hundreds of years, without any complications?

The foxes had been a simple people, but good people. They hadn't provided anything to the Society but a lack of problems. They had never needed much. Never desired anything. Were always friendly and welcoming.

Yet even if they had been problematic…

A loud noise forced me to pay attention to the world around me, and I groaned as I turned and watched one of the larger ships roll over, cracking loudly as it snapped in half.

While watching the ship sink, I did my best to ignore that it had been my fault. The sea, the storm, and the world at the moment weren't cruel enough for such a thing to have happened. I was the only threat here, at the moment. Yet no matter how heavy my heart was, I couldn't ignore the fact I was utterly disturbing the world around me.

I'll need to find out from Rapti whose house that had been, and who owned that boat. To compensate them.

It wasn't right that someone, something, like me interfered into the natural order of the world around me in such a way.

Yet…

Cracking my neck, I took a deep breath and tried to not break anything else around me. I made sure not to shift my weight, and just… stand still for a moment.

Reaching up, I covered my face and squeezed my face. I covered my eyes, and tightened my grip… as if I was trying to crush my own skull.

I focused on the feeling of pressure on my temples and head. I felt my skin tighten, I felt the bones creak. I felt my own skull stress under the pressure, though not crack.

The Chronicler… Light… all of them. They hadn't just possibly murdered their own kind, our own members… they had interfered beyond the natural order. Doing exactly what I didn't allow.

It was one thing to use their prophecies to stop major disasters or calamities. To end monarchs. Or to stop great sorrow, like floods or diseases…

But what could have possibly been their reason to do such a thing to the foxes? What motive could have been good enough to cause such terrible cruelty and yet be justifiable enough to stay my hand and punishment? What could they say to stop me from doing what I knew I had to do?

What excuse? What reason? What rationale? What possible excuse could they, would they, give me?

I knew from experience they wouldn't have one.

"This won't end well… What should I do, mother?" I asked the world around me… lowering my hand, as the rain fell onto my face.

My answer was a rumble in the sky. The storm was here.

Inside and out.

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