Erianthe set down her cup after she finished her story. "That's what happened," she said.
The man Atalae had called Erik sat across from her. During the time that Erianthe described Delos' calamity and her quest, Erik kept a calm demeanor. At the end of it all, he placed a hand over his heart and bowed his head.
"I'm sorry for your loss," Erik said.
Unsure how to respond, Erianthe just mumbled, "Thank you."
After pouring another cup of tea, Erik offered some to Erianthe. She politely refused.
All three of them—Erianthe, Chris, Atalae—stayed silent as they waited for Erik's response. Chris sat next to his brother. Despite the decade long age gap between the two brothers, Erik and Chris didn't look very different from each other. If anything, Chris looked like a younger version of Erik. Blond hair, dull blue eyes. And they both had the pale, fair skin that stood out when Erianthe compared it to her and Atalae's tanner tone.
"I do wonder how they managed to link the Orichalcum to your sword. Aegis is known for being unbreakable, yes?"
"Yes. I have wondered that myself. I just assumed that my friend's father had something to do with it." Erianthe paused and took a deep breath. Talking about Orion made her remember Kyros, then the screams, then her father. When she calmed down, she continued, "He specialized in manipulating the Orichalcum."
Erik nodded. "We can ask Raios when he returns. Now would you mind if I read the letter?" he asked. "Raios is not here, and we are not certain of when he'll be back."
Erianthe hesitated to hand him the letter.
Next to Erianthe, Atalae whispered, "Erik is considered our second in command. You can trust him."
Ignoring the silence she was creating, Erianthe measured her options. It wasn't a matter of trust. Erianthe had no doubt that the people that took her in and offered her hospitality were honorable. The Imperis they carried testified that this band was strong. If she handed the letter to Erik, they could possibly form a plan against the Rogues.
What bothered her was that this man was not Raios.
"How long will he be gone?" Erianthe asked.
"He will return in a week or so. If you're uncomfortable with giving it to me, one of us can ride out to fetch him, but it will still take a few days," Erik said.
A week seemed far too long to hold onto whatever information was in this letter. Erianthe rummaged around in the satchel by her feet then pulled out the crinkled paper. Without a word, she presented it to Erik.
"Thank you," he said.
Once again, Erianthe and the others waited silently as Erik scanned the letter. Chris poured another cup of tea. As Erik's eyes traveled further down the page, his eyebrows furrowed. Then Erianthe saw him dart back up to the top of the page to read it again. After the second time, the man rested his head on his hand as if he were thinking.
"What does it say?" Erianthe asked.
"You didn't read it?" Chris asked her.
"No, it wasn't my letter," Erianthe said. "My father said to give it to Raios."
Would her late father have been disappointed in her? Failing to protect Kyros, failing to deliver the letter to Raios? The letter had made it to Lyca though. Erianthe bit her lip and tried to relax.
As boy brought his cup up for another sip, he peeked at the letter. Whatever he read must have been shocking because Chris choked and spilled a bit of his tea. His drink landed on his white shirt in brown splotches.
The funny sight and the tension brought out a nervous giggle in Erianthe. Before she showed any sign of amusement, Erianthe covered her mouth with her hand and pretended to cough. Now was not the time to laugh.
"Are you okay?" Atalae asked.
"I'm fine," Chris choked out. "Burned my tongue."
After he folded the paper back up, Erik laid it on the table next to his empty tea cup. The man turned to face Erianthe directly.
"I'm glad you chose to let me read the letter," Erik said. "If you had not, we might not have been able to move as quickly."
The man gestured toward the letter. Erianthe picked it up and scanned through it as Erik continued his explanation.
"Part of it was what you had told us all ready. The rest of it explained this mechanism you had set up with the Orichalcum in Delos," Erik said. "According to your father, this contraption might be able to contain the Orichalcum's power."
"That's amazing," Atalae said.
Erik nodded. "But the worrying part is what your father said about the Rogues. Apparently, they're close to finishing the Orichalcum bolt. Moreover, Hades is not where we though he'd be."
"Who is Hades?" Erianthe asked.
"A powerful Imperis wielder. The reason why Raios is gone is because he went to hunt Hades to stop him from stealing more pieces. Only, he went north, but your father wrote that the Rogues spoke of him running around by the southern coast," Erik said. The man smiled. "I believe this bit of information is why my brother spilled his cup."
Chris flushed and drank more tea.
"This is also the first that we have heard about Arté's and Orion's disappearance," Erik said.
Erianthe just nodded. "We haven't heard from them in months."
Her mother and Kyros' father had left the village to hunt the Rogues a year ago. Erianthe has admired them so much, not just her mother, but all the heroes who had left. Even though the Decapolis, the alliance of the ten cities, had not sent them, the heroes still chose to fight of their own will.
They had come back every so often to visit and sent letters all the time, but few months ago, all contact stopped. Thinking of her mother's silence left Erianthe empty inside.
"In any case, we need to start mobilizing now. I will ride out today to fetch Raios." Erik said. Placing his hand over his heart again, Eric bowed his head slightly. "I'm sorry to ask this, Erianthe, but would you be willing to go to Delos and guide us to the device?"
Erianthe froze for a moment. She had not imagined that she would be returning to her ruined home.When she had promised Kyros to fight the Rogues, she imagined that they would be engaging in actual battle.
Erik softened his voice. "It is all right if you do not want to. I would not blame you after everything you have gone through these past few days."
Something about his words reminded Erianthe of her father. The tone and the words themselves were same ones her father had used to talk with her before her mother's disappearance. It was a voice that said, I understand.
Erianthe took a deep breath then said, "I will guide them there. Please, allow me to help however I can can."
She didn't mind the feeling the flimsiness of her white dress now. Filling herself up with determination, the kind her parents had instilled in her for all those years, Erianthe stood straight and met Erik's gaze. She would do this for her father. For Delos. For Kyros.
"I want to fight," Erianthe said.
As if to make her point stronger, Erianthe touched the hilt of her sword.
Contrasting with his brother's and Atalae's surprised looks, Erik smiled.
"Very well. We'll fight alongside you," the man said. "We owe it to your father."
For the first time in the past few days, Erianthe smiled without any tinge of sadness or nervousness. The only thing behind her smile was happiness at Erik's approval. It reminded her of her father's face when she had first learned to fight with her sword. Thinking of her father, however, eased the smile off Erianthe's face. Soon, the moment of happiness passed.
"Well, I must be off," Erik said.
"Wait, you're leaving now?" Chris asked his brother.
"Yes. I must find Raios as fast as possible. He is the only one who can fight Hades," Erik said. "And you must leave for Delos by tomorrow morning. We need time to see if we can fashion this device to disable the Orichalcum," Erik said.
"Do you want us to tell the guard we're heading out?" Atalae asked. "Ask for supplies?"
"No," Erik replied. "It's been this long since we first asked, and the Decapolis hasn't sent out any notice to hunt the Rogues. I doubt they'll give us a commission for it now." The man paused. "We do have some extra money stored away. Use that."
As Erik walked out the door, he waved goodbye to Atalae and Erianthe. Erianthe waved back at the man. When his little brother followed after him to help him prepare the horses for the trip, mention of the animals caused Erianthe to remember Caligula.
"Would you mind if I rode my horse to Delos?" Erianthe asked.
"Feel free to do so," Atalae said. "If you change your mind, our stable hands can care for him while you are away."
Seeing the confusion on Erianthe's face, Atalae explained further. "This house is my mother and father's. They are guards. Their trainees usually take care of the horses so that they can get experience around them."
"Oh, that's what my father did with me," Erianthe said.
The two made some small talk as they waited for Chris to come back. During the conversation, Erianthe learned how this band of fighters formed.
A little under a decade ago, Erik and Raios had formed the group to hunt monsters. As they traversed the land, the gained fame and more allies like her father. Over time, however, their members dwindled to the few numbers they had now. According to her, Atalae's parents had been part of the band until they decided to become part of Lyca's guard.
After Chris returned, the group decided to go into Lyca's market in order to buy supplies for the journey. They walked on foot. The farther they walked, the more Erianthe realized that she must have made such a spectacle riding into town on Caligula. Most of the people in the city were walking, not riding, to their destinations.
The other thing Erianthe noted was the breeze blowing through the city. The air seemed like it never stopped moving.
By the time the group reached the market, Erianthe's overall impression of Lyca was that it was a larger, cleaner version of the merchant town she and Kyros had visited. The wooden and stone buildings were larger, and the roads were wider. More people walked along the roads.
Atalae and Chris led Erianthe around the busy market. Even though they never bumped into anybody, the crowd seemed to jostle Erianthe everytime she ran after the two. After an hour or two, Erianthe found her arms holding a basket full of bread, cheese, and salted dry meat. All the hustle and bustle drove out the sad thoughts in her mind. Still feeling a bit overwhelmed at the pace they were moving, Erianthe hurried after Chris and Atalae who were headed towards a weapons shop.
"Are we moving too fast?" Atalae asked. Her voice was concerned.
"No, no. I'm okay," Erianthe said, even though her arms were going numb.
It wasn't a total lie. Running around the bust market wasn't the worst thing that had happened to her.
When Erianthe entered the weapon shop, the owner didn't even look at her. He and Chris were too busy discussing the properties of the wire spool in Chris' hands. Leaving Erianthe alone, Atalae had disappeared to somewhere else in the shop. A little disappointed, Erianthe stayed by the door and hung onto the food in her arms. It would be a bit difficult to examine the displayed blades when cheese threatened to roll out of her basket.
Startling Erianthe, Atalae soon popped up again. The woman held to blades, ones that had no hilt or handle, in her hands.
"After we buy these, we'll head back, okay?" Atalae said.
"What are those for?" Erianthe asked.
Atalae smiled. "I have to replace the blades on my axe rod. See, I'm not an Imperis wielder like Chris, so I thought it'd be a good idea to keep my weapon in as good condition as possible."
Being able to fight alongside Imperis users with a normal blade was no easy feat. The only other person Erianthe knew that did that was her deceased father.
"You're amazing," Erianthe said.
When Chris paid for his wire and when Atalae paid for her blades, Erianthe noticed that they didn't leave any coins behind. When Erianthe had asked Atalae about it, she learned that it wasn't a custom in Lyca. It wasn't a custom anywhere but Delos, apparently.
Erianthe flushed as she thought about how confused the innkeepers and the weapons shop owner must have been when they saw the three coins.
By the time the group returned to their little home, Erianthe was deflated. Even though the entire trip only lasted a few hours, it had taken a lot of energy out of her. Erianthe suspected it had something to do with her lack of sleep as well.
As Atalae and Chris hurried some more around the house, Erianthe waited on the bench since she didn't know where anything was kept. Without anything to keep her occupied, her mind was free to think on Delos and her father. Then her thoughts turned to Kyros.
The dull ache in her chest turned into sharp pangs. Without her home and without her friend, Erianthe was alone. After she had fled Delos, the loneliness was not nearly as bad. Kyros had been by her side then, but now he was gone.
When Atalae and Chris returned, Erianthe brushed away any hint of tears and faked a polite smile. It didn't seem to fool Atalae though. Without questioning her, the woman hugged Erianthe for a moment before setting a map on the table.
"Let's plan our route," Atalae said.
Although she couldn't show Chris and Atalae a proper route to Delos, Erianthe pointed out the fastest ways to enter the town once they were inside the forest's border. The three of them spent the next hour discussing possible paths to travel until they decided an a straight route to Delos.
During the entire process, Erianthe's stomach turned, then settled, then tumbled again. It had dawned on her that she had fulfilled her and Kyros' quest. All that was left was to finish the rest of her oath to her friend. Erianthe would fight against the Rogues. No matter what, she wouldn't let Kyros' sacrifice be in vain, nor would she allow Delos' destruction to go unavenged. Tomorrow morning, Erianthe's oath would lead her home.