Follow Kara

You took one look at the beastfolk woman who was overly concerned with getting you to go with her and the Knight who may or may not be looking for you for any number of devious official means and chose the decentralised option.

“Alright, Kara, you win.”

She grabbed your hand, not your wrist, and began leading you towards the side door in the hall behind the rows of pillars lining the side. Walking into the centre, Teuta glanced over, noticing the particularly big, bright red tail swishing back and forth with a cloaked figure trailing behind. She gave a cursory look around the hall before diverting towards the same exit to follow. Looking back, you caught all that.

“Shit! Can you stand out any less?”

“I’m afraid not. I’m stunning.” Kara offered casually, pulling you into the covered area behind the pillars. As you passed one you looked to your left and noticed a girl with wisps of long black hair trying to stand still in the shadow of it. She was obviously trying to avoid the gaze of the Knight by the way she had angled herself. She had a very large hat with a wide, floppy brim that she pulled down around her head to hide her face except for her pale lower jaw and neck. Her lips were pursed and you saw that they were naturally quite grey in tone, which was odd. The whole figure seemed to stand out in the environment as someone that had the colour sucked out of them. Their robes were black with web patterns running up pale arms and over a pale chest. The robes reached right down to her knees, showing wep stockings with shallow-heeled black shoes with small ivory clasps on them. Her doll-like hands, you noticed, were tipped with the only piece of colour on her person. Dark purple polish that was half faded.

Kara urged you by pulling as you stopped. “Don’t you wanna get away?” She whispered.

“Ignore ‘that’. It’s not your problem.”

You looked to see Teuta advancing curiously, then the girl shrinking a little more into the pillar as she got closer. After a moment you pulled your hand away from Kara and reluctantly removed the cloak out of sight. The girl, noticing you, looked up, her lips parting in surprise as you pulled her away from the pillar and carefully wrapped the drab cloak around her rather outstanding appearance.You finished by plucking her large hat easily from her head and popping it onto your own head before pulling the hood over hers just as Teuta rounded the pillar to see you, Kara and the now cloaked figure. You looked at the Knight and gave a short wave.

“Hey.”

Teuta smiled. “Just the man I was looking for!” She paused, glancing between the beastfolk and the odd cloaked figure. You could make out features before they were hidden. Long, smooth black hair that curled at the ends. Eyes like black pears and perfectly pale skin. She was an elf. Long ears that extended far behind her head. You stepped close to her so that there was no angle really where Teuta could see into the hood. The elf, chewing her lip, stepped forward, almost into your chest so that it was even harder. She was a bit shorter than you, which was a nice change in the crowd of Kara and Teuta who were each taller. Teuta by a bit, and Kara by half a head at least. The pale elf was half a head shorter and could easily hide her face naturally in your chest if she needed to, not that you wanted that.

Teuta didn’t give much thought to the other two figures there and instead addressed you directly. She smiled proudly and patted your shoulder.

“That was a good match. Sorry, I had to leave, there was something minor that required my attention. Congratulations on the Emblem.”

You felt a bit of weight lift off your shoulders. “About that. I don’t have any intention of being a Gold emblem. I just wanted Bronze. Can you explain that to them?”

“I can’t direct them to do anything. Only the crown can.”

“Ah…”

“Besides, you are only provisionally a Gold emblem. If you feel like you should be Bronze it’ll lower to that rank naturally. You aren’t able to go anywhere that a metal emblem could visit so it’s not too deadly. Just carry on as you are.” She explained rather reasonably.

“I… yeah. That makes sense.” You should’ve thought of it like that from the start.

To begin with, I can always just sandbag myself a bit to get my rank down. It doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, anything lower than Gold is fine. Anything that doesn’t mark me as a-

Teuta added. “A Hero is a Hero regardless of what their emblem is, though. That means you’ll naturally stand out and raise your rank.”

She noticed you flinch. “Ugh.”

“Hmm?” The Knight lifted a brow.

“About that. Are you sure?” You asked in a very precise tone.

“Oh, for sure.” Teuta stated with a frank nod.

“I mean… Anyone can pick up a sword and do what I did. It’s not a big deal. I’m not even that strong.”

“I know.” She smiled, staring at you blankly, as if waiting for you to say something she was not already aware of.

“So… then why? Just because I hit you?”

“Nope. It’s more of a spark. When someone has it there’s no better way to explain it than to say… you have it.” Teuta shrugged, passing a few more cursory glances to the beastfolk and the still figure in front of you.

“You already found a group? That’s good. Just be careful. Others can see it and there are some that would try to take advantage of a fledgling Hero before they reach their prime. Not that I’m suggesting anything about these two. Just something to be aware of.”

“Can you be more specific please? It’s a spark? Why have I never seen it?”

“Because most wouldn’t see it like that. They’ll just feel a bit stronger, faster, smarter. Chalk it up to some other explanation and be on their way.”

You stared back at the blonde in disbelief. “Why couldn’t it just be those things, then?”

“Like I said, it’s a feeling.”

You gritted your teeth and **** a smile. “Thanks a lot for your time, Dame.”

“Hah…” She exhaled.

“Please, feel free to call me Teuta. By the way, the reason I tried to find you is because there is an event coming up in Teor.”

“An event?”

“Hero Selection.” She announced. You could not be less excited as she said that.

“Oh.”

“People from every territory are invited to send their candidates. Even hostile territories are granted some… minor clemency. The only catch is that this is mostly an event for newer Heroes. The burgeoning Heroes compete in a number of tests made up by the Academy to decide a group of winners, then an overall winner at the end. It’s a huge show that happens every decade.”

You nodded slowly and lied through your teeth. “Goodness. That sure is interesting. I’ll think about it.”

“The winner can make any request. A wish, basically. I’ve seen it once. Even miracles are possible.”

You stopped, your mouth opening suddenly. “Miracles?”

“Yes.”

“So… If someone was lost, asking for them to be found and returned would be-”

Teuta looked up in thought. “Regardless of where they were, I think that it might be possible to have them brought back. At the very least, resources will be mobilised to try to make it so. Territories that would never cooperate could be prompted to act. Things like that.”

You gulped, suddenly in deep thought over whether it was worth it or not as an avenue.

“I See. I’ll think about it.”

“You’ve got time. But, you’d need a sponsor to actually get in so don’t leave it to the last minute.”

“Are you saying you want to be my sponsor?”

The Knight looked awkward for a moment. “Well… Honestly I can’t. I’ve already taken the initiative to sponsor a candidate from Elga and I am pretty excited about her prospects. I’m afraid you’ll need to find another.”

“Got it. That’s fine. Thanks for telling me.” You said genuinely.

Teuta gave a loose nod to each figure. “Of course. Enjoy your stay in Teor and let me know if you need anything.” She turned and left. You all seemed to have good reason to wait for her to be completely out of earshot before you moved. The girl let out a deep sigh, leaning back against the pillar. She placed a hand over her heart and you noticed that the polish which was faded purple had already become black. Without thinking you reached out and gently took the hand, leaning close.

“What happened?” You could only see her mouth and nose, but her mouth was a wide ‘O’ as you grabbed her hand. After a few seconds, she finally processed what was happening and tore it away from you.

“What is wrong with you!? You can not simply go around touching a lady without permission. You do not know anything! it could be… it could be dangerous.” She frowned and scrunched up, pulling the cloak around her even tighter.

“But thank you for your assistance.”

“Uhm… I just wanna point out that’s mine and I want it back.” Kara said flatly.

“I will pay you.” The figure offered.

“Buy your own cloak. I don’t wanna go to the shop.” The beasfolk complained indignantly.

“Well… I apologise but your cloak is already…” The elf bit her lip.

“Is what?” You leaned in, eyes widening as you noticed that the drave brown tone of the cloak was becoming a more solid shade of black. You figured it out, at least, the result. You had no idea what it was.

“Woah. Your nails, too. Do things you touch lose colour?” She nodded to your question without saying another word. She chewed her bottom lip. You shrugged and remarked.

“That’s interesting.”

The girl looked up at you. “What?” She shook her head.

“No, you do not understand! When the polish fades it means that things around me will lose colour. Things… I touch first. Your hand is likely suffering from just that short-”

You raised your hand curiously and turned it. “Nope. Not a hint of white or black.”

The elf looked closely. “That is… so odd.”

“I’ll take my ‘black’ cloak back, please. I don’t care.” Kara shrugged.

The girl touched her grey lip, thinking out loud. “Perhaps it was the cloak. Since it was surrounding me-” She shook her head.

“No no.. It does not work. The contact with the skin should be first.”

You bent down and peered under the hood as Kara reached maximum annoyance at being ignored so obviously. As she noticed you, you smiled and asked.

“What’s your name?”

“Jeane.” She offered.

“I would offer to shake your hand in human custom, but…” She trailed off.

“What about your custom?” You asked politely.

Jeane was thinking. Eventually her cheeks darkened and she placed her palms together pointing down at waist height. She bent forward slightly.

“Nice to meet you…”

You considered how to introduce yourself but eventually just settled on. “Fin.” You placed your hands in a similar way and bowed back.

“Is this okay?”

Jeane huffed. “That will do, I suppose.”

“Now that we know each other, why were you hiding?”

“I thought she was after me. I am, how you would say, up the river without a paddle.” She remarked wearily.

“I wouldn’t say that.”

“Me neither.” Kara looked at you, shaking her head.

“Regardless. Why?” You asked curiously.

Jeane eventually presented a rather sturdy-looking case from her robes. When she opened it she withdrew an emblem. The emblem was purely grey with no tone, shine or indication of what material it was.

“I am similar to you. Gold. Provisional. However, I raised it enough to be able to travel. It was exciting, of course. The Guild even provided me with a case that should have protected the emblem. However it did not work and I believe it was intentionally done. I started to see the colour fade as I crossed the river into Teoran and it only faded more and more until finally it became unrecognisable in the city. I am trapped. If I leave I have nothing to show that I was ever allowed to be here and if I stay I can be found out at any moment and treated as an intruder.”

“We’re at the best place for that problem.” You looked over at the desk. The Clerks seemed bored.

“You would think so, would you not?” Jeane sneered, looking over at the desk subtly.

“They question whether I was ever granted an emblem at all! They say that they are ‘kind’ enough to not turn me in, since they are not a full extension of the Teoran Kingdom! Peh!” She waved her hand in their direction angrily.

“It seems I was never welcome. When I commented on the guild's provided container they claimed that no such object would ever be offered and was never recognised.” She was shaking with anger by the end of her explanation.

“I was tricked and no one will listen to me!”

“It sounds like you were scammed, yeah.” You nodded.

“Kinda.” Even Kara agreed.

“Well… Cloak. To me.”

“You lent it to me.” You said to her.

Her golden eyes widened at you. “That means you can just give it to whoever you want? No! It stays with me.”

A smirk crossed your lips. “Good suggestion. I guess she stays with us as well for as long as she needs it.”

The elf stared up at you in confusion. “I do not understand… what do you get out of this?”

You shrugged. “It just sounds terrible. Makes my stomach hurt. I don’t know why people are so ready to discriminate against you, but it doesn’t seem right.”

“You agree?” She settled into a stern resting face.

“Good. Where are we going?”

“We!?” Kara was shocked.

“Lead the way~” You waved her on.

You all began moving, mostly through alleyways and backstreets. It did not seem to be for Jeane’s benefit, either. Kara followed them of her own accord.

“Who is she?” Jeane whispered. Kara’s ears twitched.

“I can hear you.”

You chuckled and waved your hand. “To be honest I already know more about you than I know her. She just walked up to me and let me steal her cloak.”

“How gullible.” Jeane remarked.

Kara turned around suddenly, hands on hips. “Alright… That’s enough murmuring behind my back! For your information, Hero, you’re in grave danger and I’m trying to help you.”

Jeane cocked her head to one side. “How suspicious. What manner of beastfolk are you, anyway?”

Kara narrowed her eyes and shot back with. “What ‘manner’ of elf are you?” Both girls clammed up pretty quickly, though Kara had the pleasure of remaining smug with the last word. She turned to you, continuing her explanation.

“Alright. Got your attention? Good. There’s something dangerous that’s gonna be here targeting Heroes. One’s like you that aren’t fully grown. Low profile types. Defenseless… Weak…” She seemed a bit dazed near the end. Distant.

“Ah… So they’d probably target them at the Guild and try to lure them away with sex appeal?” You asked.

“Logical.” Jeane nodded.

“That would be one way- wait, are you talking about me?” Kara stared daggers at you both.

“Listen up. I’m trying to help. If I can help at least one Hero I… I… I dunno. I just wanna help, got it?” She swallowed hard, becoming faintly frantic.

“What’s this danger gonna do to me?”

Kara looked dumbfounded. Her ears drooped. “I don’t know…”

“I’m sorry, what?”

Jeane said. “I am beginning to think of her as less suspicious. No one this stupid would make it as an assailant in some mysterious **** targeting Heroes.”

Kara’s eye twitched. “Pretty fucking harsh.”

“Can you explain what you’re saying in a way that makes sense?”

Kara sighed, rubbing her eyes. “Yes. But also no. I’ve been travelling a long time. There’s parts of me I can’t control. I’m not crazy and I’m serious! I know what this sounds like. I don’t know who I am. I don’t know who I was. I only know my name and… and all the shit I need to do to get by.”

“How do you know I’m in danger?” You asked.

“It’s a feeling.” She offered seriously, extending her hand.

“You can trust me, Hero. Please.”

***

Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this story and want to read more of it, more Chapters are currently available to read at https://www.patreon.com/TVWintergreen By Subscribing you also gain access to my extensive backlog of content and uploads of new chapters daily! Hope to see you soon~