Go towards the light

As you round the corner you’re immediately jumped by someone or something. They grab your arm and hold it behind your back while also pressing a knife against your neck. The shock of the surprise attack has you standing there, perfectly still.

“Oh,” says a voice you recognize. “It’s you.” As quickly as it appeared, the knife is pulled away and you turn to see your party’s latest addition standing before you. Lia is still wearing Blythe’s brown cloak, but she’s pulled the hood down now, revealing her short black hair and cat-like ears in all their glory. Seeing a familiar face after walking for hours in total darkness lifts your spirits so much that you pull her into a tight hug. Her body tenses up at first, then eases as her hands come up to give your back a few obligatory pats. “Okay big guy, I missed you too.”

“Tell me what happened after you got teleported here,” you say. “Have you seen Blythe anywhere?”

“Yeah, I ran into her hours ago, right after the Fulco riddle.” The what? you think. “Oh yeah, she was pretty sure you’d have trouble with that for some reason, but I guess she was wrong. I don’t know why she was so worried; I mean, even I know that myth.” Oh, wait, does she mean the thing with the torch flames? Was that a recreation from a popular myth in this world? If that’s the case, it was probably obvious to both Lia and Blythe what to do right from the start. I wasted a lot of time not knowing more about this world. “We found this door thing together, but it needs three keys to open. Hey, mind letting me go now?” Once you let go, she walks back around to where the light is coming from.

The lit passage you were too busy being held at knife point to properly observe before is actually a spacious alcove. A pale glow emanates from the top of a stone plinth in the center of the room. Lia is standing opposite the plinth from you, and gestures for you to come join her. “Come take a look at this,” she says. You do as instructed and approach the glowing surface, where upon closer inspection you see a paragraph of glowing letters. “Your friend and I split up to find these keys, but all I’ve found so far is this thing. I can’t…” Her words trail off, and the look on her face says she’s trying to decide whether or not to tell you something embarrassing.

A poor, homeless girl in a world of sword and sorcery, standing over a paragraph of text? You decide to take a stab at what that embarrassing thing might be. “You’ve lived on the streets your whole life, Lia. Did anyone ever teach you how to read?” Her eyes go wide as they remain locked on the glowing letters, her posture going rigid and her lips pursing together tightly. She shakes her head as color floods her face.

“I’ve picked up some words, you know, from signs and papers and stuff, but…”

You walk around to stand next to her, and also to not have to read the paragraph upside down. “That’s alright. When we have more time, I’m sure Blythe would be happy to help you learn. I’d offer to teach you myself, but I don’t even know how I understand this writing.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asks, now able to look at you again, though still red in the face.

“Oh,” you say, “right. Well, I already told Blythe this, so it’s only fair you know too. You remember how I told you I was new in town?”

“Uh-huh.”

“I’m actually new in the Empire.” Lia doesn’t say anything, so you continue. “Where I’m from, the language is different. You actually saw some of my native language on my stuff when you, uh, took it before.”

“I guess that explains the weird clothes you had when we met.” Lia absentmindedly rubs her fingers on the fabric at the neck of your doublet. Then, realizing what she’s doing, she quickly pulls her hand away. “So, what, our language just ‘made sense’ when you got here?”

“Pretty much.”

“That’s bullshit!”

“I agree. That’s not all, though. Remember, back when I came and got my stuff back, how I said I didn’t know how to turn off the light crystal? I meant it. Magic doesn’t exist at all where I’m from. Blythe was really understanding when I told her though, and she seemed excited to be able to teach me something. Now, with the basic spell book I’ve got, it’s looking like I might turn out to be quite a mage. I guess, between the language and magic, I just pick things up really fast.” Suddenly, you recall the wound that you weren’t able to fully heal before. “Speaking of magic, how’s your stomach?”

Lia lays a hand over the spot where the priest stabbed her. “Hurts like hell if I move too much, but it hasn’t bled any since you sealed it up.” Her eyes seem to lose focus as her hand lingers over the sealed wound.

You place a hand on her shoulder, and another over her heart, startling her out of her daze. “What about here?” She looks confused for a minute. You can’t blame her, you are saying something pretty convoluted and cheesy. What about the wound on your heart, is what you’re thinking. Eventually, she seems to catch your meaning, and she pulls away to go sit against a nearby wall. She sticks her legs out straight in front of her. You lower yourself to sit with your back to the plinth and mirror her pose with your own legs, your boots able to tap against hers if you bend them forward a bit.

“Aren’t you gonna read what it says on that thing?” she asks, trying her best to look more than a little confused by your actions.

“That can wait,” you say. “Let’s just talk for a bit.”

She alternates between looking up at you and down at her hands a few times as the silence grows between you. After a while, she says, “I woke up today thanking the Goddess for sending a bit of luck my way. Then She went and took everything away from me.” Her hands return to resting over the wound, and her eyes follow. “It all happened so fast I couldn’t believe it. When that priest stabbed me, I couldn’t even feel it. Then I was on the ground. I didn’t fall, I was just there. When you came over, that’s when it actually started hurting. Somehow, seeing you made it all real.”

“I’m sorry I’ve only been able to make painful memories for you so far,” you say. Her boots tap against yours, and her gaze comes back up to your face. Her cheeks are a little puffed out, presumably in anger over your comment, but you can’t help but find it adorable.

“Come on, it was the Goddess who betrayed me, not you.” After she says that, her mouth hangs open and a hand comes up to cover it. Beneath the cloak, you can see movement that you guess is her tail swishing around erratically.

You consider your next words very carefully as silence hangs in the air between you two. _I’m pretty sure the fault lies with the priest, or maybe the wider Church, and not with Ithwen herself, _you think. She didn’t seem like the type to use and **** her followers, at least from the impression I got. Should I really defend her, though? She considers me an enemy at the moment, but I definitely don’t consider her one, so that’s a tricky question. If I condemn the Goddess, I could take advantage of Lia’s confusion to get her solidly on my side, but is that really the right thing to do?