Immediate Direct Confrontation

Earnest ran into Alesia on his way back to the inn. She was talking with some villagers about their sore and blistered feet. Earnest quickly communicated his urgency, and Alesia rushed to finish her conversation.

“You probably don’t need a potion for that. Try some new shoes that fit right!”

Both of them hurried back towards the inn. They spotted Coltia outside the inn, playing with a group of children. Some parents were hanging around the fringes watching their kids, as well as some bachelors who were watching Coltia. She casted some small, flashy spells with quite the added showmanship from exaggerated gestures and vocalizations. The children loved it, running around and screaming as they marveled at the strange lady’s powers. She spotted Earnest and Alesia rushing over and sent the children back to their parents, much to everyone’s disappointment.

Earnest told her about the need for an urgent meeting, and the three of them returned to the inn. They went up the stairs together and piled into Earnest’s room. Alesia and Coltia sat on the bed, and faced Earnest who stood in front of them.

“We’ve got some big problems. The misfit boys aren’t as simple as we thought. They know we’re coming for them, and they’re planning to leave as soon as they can.”

Earnest went on to recall what he learned by eavesdropping on the misfit boys. The full-time turns, the mind swaps, and Ricard’s choice to abandon his original body to live as Rosalind. After his relay of information was done, it was clear to everyone that their original plan wouldn’t work anymore. Alesia piped up with a question.

“Full-time turns? So ever since you left they’ve been… in her the whole time?”

“I don’t know for sure, but that’s what it sounds like…”

Earnest grimaced as he thought about the strain that this would have on Rosalind’s mind. He was placing his hopes in Coltia’s slime to return her to the woman he knew and loved. But he wasn’t sure if it would work, he wasn’t sure about anything. He was so far out of his depth, he felt like he was flailing around underwater, drowning.

Alesia looked at Earnest, who silently stood in front of her with a pained expression.

“Earnest… Earnest! It’ll be okay.”

She stood up and hesitated for a moment, but threw out her inhibitions and brought him into a hug. Earnest was surprised by this sudden gesture, but he accepted it and relaxed.

“It’s okay, we can do this. I’m here for you. Coltia is too. We’re gonna save Rosalind and get out of here. I know you are strong. You need to be strong for Rosalind. Just a little more.”

Alesia continued to embrace him for a few more moments before letting go of him. Earnest looked her in the eyes with a softened expression.

“Thanks. Don’t worry about me anymore, I’m fine now.”

Earnest took a deep breath to refocus himself. The group began discussing a new plan. Rosalind was leaving soon, and given her physique, she would be able to travel pretty quickly, likely faster than Earnest’s group. Earnest himself could probably keep up, but his companions probably couldn’t. They could minimize Rosalind’s chance of escape by immediately confronting the misfit boys but it would be a hard fight to win against all three of them.

Even if they managed to defeat Rosalind alone, there was the issue of getting Ricard’s mind out of her head. Coltia chimed up and offered a solution to that problem. Her master had taught her some spells that interacted with mind, but nothing quite like what Earnest saw in Morgan’s notebook. If she could get ahold of the notebook, she would certainly be able to cast the possession spell. After all, Barnabas had been able to pull it off with far less teaching and experience.

With this in mind, discussion began to favor immediate confrontation. It would be too difficult to keep pace with Rosalind while maintaining stealth if she left. The group would head straight to the misfit boys’ secret base and defeat them while they were preparing to leave. Earnest would deal with Rosalind, but the issue was the matchup between the remaining members. Thomlin had physical strength that could overpower both Alesia and Coltia. After some deliberation, Coltia came up with a plan. It was risky, but Earnest and Alesia were impressed by its cleverness. The group all agreed that this would be their course of action, and began to prepare for the upcoming skirmish.

…

Earnest led the way in front of his two companions. He didn’t even try to be nearly as stealthy as his previous traversals, as Alesia was already making ample noise with her untrained movements. Earnest could feel his body filling with adrenaline as he was mentally and physically prepared for a fight. He brushed the hair that covered his forehead from his eyes. He looked back at his companions and worried for them, but he had to keep his focus and turn his head forwards. He had to have trust in his companions, himself, and his fate.

The group arrived at the base, seeing some small crates and bags strewn around the outside. Earnest had a pang of worry that they were already too late, but he heard some movement with the base. Whoever was in the base must’ve heard Earnest’s entrance, as the door opened and Rosalind appeared.