The Price of Failure.

[Alexander Faircroft]

42nd Spring 516AV

Bells after the return to the city.

Continuation of "Consigned to Oblivion"

Filing into the steward’s office was a very solemn experience. More so being followed in by a sergeant knight. A man Whom Alex had spoken too in the past sat at the desk before himself and Numia. The weight of the situation finally sank down onto Alex shoulders and despite the feeling of what he believed to be a reprimand it never came. Not from Ser Tristan nor from Sera Jyness. Instead ther hung a moment of silence where he offered both Alex and Numia seats. And off to the side one to Sera Jyness. He was trying to make the situation a little less imposing.

Alex took a seat slowly, his motions controlled and measured. He was still certain that he was up for the chop. That he was about to undergo the worst screaming at he’d ever felt. It never came. Instead a soft word came.
“Squire Faircroft. This is the second time we’ve met under circumstances of tragedy.” Tristan spoke with a commanding ease. Almost like he didn’t have to raise his voice to get across the fact he wanted to know what was going on. Alex simply nodded in a slow motion. A reserved action that spoke of knowing he was speaking to a vastly superior officer.

“Squire Numia. I understand that you were the one to stumble across the mother first? Along with Sera Jyness? Could you both please furnish me with the details preceding the incident?” As he spoke it was almost similar in fashion to how Alex carried himself. But much stronger. More refined like he knew what he wanted and how to get it. When Numia and Jyness finished speaking Tristan again turned to look directly at Alex. “It’s a shame isn’t it? Despite pulling off a near miracle. Theres still that bitter taste of defeat in the back of your throats.” Tristan looked up and over to see Sera Jyness and exhaled slowly. “Start from the beginning. I want to know how a Wailer managed to integrate itself into the outpost. And managed to sneak out two children in the dead of night without anty of the patrolling Knights noticing.”

[Numia]

It was hard to stay cheerful after such a day. Numia followed behind Jyness who seemed to be taking the situation much better than either of them. Jyness held resolute, not a scowl or a smile. Just a flat expression, she was doing her duty and she was keeping emotion out of it as a leader should. Numia tried her best to follow the example of the Sergeant Knight, disguising her sadness as best she could by standing up straight and staying stone cold quiet. But, as she knew, they were here to give a report. As everyone filed into the room, Jyness offered to pick Numia up and she climbed into her hand. Jyness brought the five pound clay creature over to the chair, where Numia stepped off into the chair formally. It was a chair too big for her to fill, and Jyness simply stood because there were only two chairs on this side of the desk.

Across her was a man so powerful that his gazed carried with it the wisdom of several lifetimes. His name preceded him, for Jyness had mentioned it to her that the Stewart Knight of Mithryn Outpost was none other than Ser Tristan Whitevine. The man reminded her of Alex in a way as he spoke, but far more wise … Alex had almost gotten himself killed. If she hadn’t awoken back then, in the heat of things, that monster would sucked him dry like a giant mosquito. I’m to speak about this, a report … the beginning. Numia spoke calmly, firmly, as best she could. Pycon were good at hiding their emotions from humans, but there was a tinge in her voice that told of just how deeply scarred she was. “We were on guard duty, it was slow, dull, boring. It lasted much of the night, and there was no indication of violence or of a crime being commited. It wasn’t until the morning when I first heard her sobbing - I have the gift of hearing from Rhaus - she was walking with the gait of someone lost to herself, and then I saw her. I was immediately worried, and I signaled to Sera Jyness.”

The female knight spoke up then, interjecting. “I looked over my horse, saw her. We approached, I asked her what trouble she had.” Jyness stopped herself from going over things further, letting Numia continue. Ser Tristan however mentioned the tragedy, sympathizing with the two of them and mentioning that he viewed it as a miracle. Did they surprise him with what they had managed to accomplish together?

Numia continued to speak informatively. “She told us her children were missing, I heard squire Alexander approach from behind upon his horse. He dismounted and took over the situation.” The Pycon glanced at Alex in concern, trying to find something to say that would help encourage him, but then she looked back to the steward knight. “He handled the situation well,” she finally said.

Jyness interjected again, backing up Numia’s views. “Alexander was able to console the woman and ask for information more expediently than I could. It was at this point that I deferred responsibility for the case upon them. I had my orders to watch the gate house, and there had to be someone who could stop someone from fleeing the walls through that avenue.”

It was then that Jyness received a question from Tristan personally. That … thing, was called a wailer? The beast finally had a name the squire could say. Jyness began to speak about her thoughts and assumptions on the subject. “A wailer can disguise itself as a human, my guess is that it was around since the outpost began construction or arrived as a merchant as the lore on them suggests. They are charismatic and inconspicuous, careful to earn the trust of their victims. It is very likely that the wailer followed the victims for some time before snatching them with an elaborate escape plan. There is little defense against such a creature, and the children may have gone with it willingly for such is the convincing nature of a wailer.” After Jyness had finished talking about it, she added more to the equation for future defense of the settlement. “I suggest that bards with Rhaus’ blessing - who can spot the creatures in the open - be called to screen new visitors of the settlement regularly. This outpost will be vulnerable to infiltration from them until then.”

[Alexander Faircroft]

Listening to Jyness speak and hearing the words of Numia as something that Alex still couldn’t doo fully clearly. Even now in the brief pauses he could still hear the loud ringing echoing through his head. Still the words of appreciation and praise he felt weren’t warranted.
“It was simply a matter of myself managing to speak first. I did nothing that the sergeant or Numia would not do.” Tristan gave a small smirk nodding at the words. Though as the explanation continued Tristan sighed.

“Suggestion noted. I’ll have a few Knights put out a scout for a few bards willing to help keep the outpost safe and secure.” Tristan turned to the pair of the squires again. “Continue please.” Alex took a moment and spoke.
“From the moment we reached the house I spotted a fragment of cracked glass on the ground. A potential paralytic, or a sleeping drug. One of the two. If you have an apothecary examine it I’m highly sure my assumption will be right. But what threw me was the weight and size of the latch that had been used to secure the door. It was far too thick and heavy for a child to lift. In the children’s room there was a single boot print on the ground. A layer of mud having left it. Given the fact that there was no boots nearby that were even close to the size of the print left it brought me to the conclusion that the children were abducted.”

Tristan nodded. “But how did you figure it would be in the forest?” Alex froze a moment before looking around trying to grasp how he knew this without letting to much go. “Because it’s where I would have gone.” The words he’d spoken sounded like deep incrimination. Still he followed them up. “Logically it’s the safest place. If you wanted to do something beyond the prying eyes of the kngihts. Do it in the early morning between the changes of patrols. Outside the city in a secluded area. It gives the best chance of getting away with it.”

“Logical train of thought Squire. Wailers being intelligent and evasive creatures possibly would have come to the same conclusion. Numia. Would you be so kind as to continue the recollection of thing from here?” Tristan shifted his gaze over to her before adding. “As much as I’m sure you’re willing to regale me with feats of heroism and bravery. I want no embellishments. Cold. Hard. Facts. That is all. Because as it stands now I’m not sure whether to commend you both. Or reprimand the pair of you for going out there without any back up.” There was an under lying current to Tristan’s voice one that Alex knew well. It was an edge of concern and relief.

[Numia]

The steward knight imposed his will upon her, and the threat of punishment almost made the Pycon snap. Still, she persevered through the haze. She would likely never forget such a thing, and now a man was asking her to unravel what her mind had done to make light of the situation. No fanciful tale, no golden song. It was the truth without hope, and it was grim for Numia to have to speak it. “Alex and I decided to split up at the forest, it seemed tactically sound at the time so we could cover more ground. I proposed that I would signal with my instrument, and he would yell. We left our steeds because there was no trail for them to traverse. As I set off into the woods, I used a form of magic called Morphing to change my cloak into the semblance of a leaf so I would be hard to spot. At the time, I was concerned that it might be something more than human, but it was an unlikely concern so I dismissed it. I wanted to believe that what we were hunting was a human kidnapper, something that we could handle together without much cause for concern.”

Numia’s voice devolved, stuttering as she recounted what happened and the sounds she heard. “It was then that I heard the sounds, sounds of chaos. I could not hear anything around me save for those sounds, and I knew then that we were in over our heads. I was sure it could not see me, but I signaled as loud as I could.” Numia looked down for a moment, away from the prying eyes of Ser Tristan. “Then, I heard a scream that reverberated through my mind and I began to hallucinate, I think. It was so real, all I could do was signal again. I did so, twice. The wailer became angrier, and its effect on me grew. I lost consciousness, or rather I became enveloped by the auditory hallucinations.”

The Pycon bard looked to Alex briefly, before speaking to Ser Tristan again. “I believe Alex managed to reach the wailer and bash it in the throat so it couldn’t speak, because the hallucinations lifted and I was able to regain myself. Immediately I used my fiddle to … counteract the voice of the monster. It screamed, I played over it so nobody could be affected by it. Alex looked to be wounded, but he managed to slash at it with the last of his strength while I had it distracted, but that was unneeded. Every stroke of my instrument made the flesh of the creature boil, it could no longer fight back. I simply played the fiddle until it was a dried husk.” Numia hoped the tale wasn’t too fanciful for the man to believe. Jyness had remained silent through Numia’s story. She was just as interested in the story as the steward knight was, and she shared similar views as to punishment versus praise.

Her heart sank, there was another part to this story. “I heard the voice of a child, I sang to him to calm him. Alex, he … he handled the … other child. It was noble of him."

[Alexander Faircroft]

The words that camer from Numia spoke the tale of truth. But as much as they did. Alex couldn’t bring himself to break them at least not until the very end.
“It was less nobility that compelled my actions there. I did what I did so as to offer some sense of dignity to the boy’s final moments. From how the child looked. It almost seemed like he’d struggled with the creature. Fighting it back to save his brother.” Alex’s mailed hand clenched as he gripped the edge of the chairs arm rest. “He deserved better than my failure.” Alex spoke with a tone that as even as it was still held a bile to it. A bitterness that he couldn’t quite let slip.

“”fanciful tales have often gotten people in trouble Numia.” Tristan spoke with a calming voice. Easily able to see that Numia was shaken deeply by the events. “Well thought out Alex. Silencing the creature by striking its throat. Had it been a human you could have potentially killed it with that strike. But I’m assuming by that point you’d already figured out things to the contrary. And Numia. Wailers are things which as you now know, have a special weakness to those blessed by Rhaus. Easily enough they are abolished by the bards that take a stance against them. I believe your tale.” His words tailed off as he leant back into his own seat.

“Both of your patrons will have my commendations for this. However both of you shall hear my concerns now.” His voice shifted much harder. Firmer. More a tone of command than the easy voice he’d been using prior. “You will not do something that stupid again. You were beyond lucky you survived. Let alone killed that thing. The next time you have even a vague suspicion of monster involvement you head to the nearest knight of ANY rank and inform them. Take them with you.” He sighed eventually before speaking again in the much easier tone.

“On the opposite hand. Exceptionally well done. You managed to save one of the children. It’s more than you could have hoped for. And on top of that you’ve done the outpost a great service in slaying a wailer. There will be no reprimands. No punishments as the faces you wore when you walked through my door spoke of more punishment and meaning than I could deliver through any form of reprimand. Stand tall and hold your heads high.” Tristan smiled and looked to Jyness. “You’ve taught her well.” And then he looked to Alex. And the slump on his shoulders. “If you keep shouldering the burden of the world son. Eventually you’ll break. Now dismissed.”

With a wave of Tristan’s hand, Alex rose from his seat and headed out into the hallway. The slow walk giving him to think. The silence bringing the ring back to his ears. “Numia…” he spoke when he exited the office. “Thank you for saving my hide.” His words were sincere even if his tone spoke of weightier things on his mind. A noble action? What was nobility? A mask used by those who didn’t want to stain their hands with failure. No his actions weren’t “noble”. Just those of someone who’d failed too many times in the past. And knew how to act because of it.

[Numia]

Ah, yes, the beauty of a story was that motivations became twisted by the outsider looking in. To her, it seemed noble. To him, it was a moment of serious dedication to make sense of the death of a child in what way he could. As Numia listened, she heard again how much Alex was punishing himself for his failure, especially in the tone of his voice - it was THEIR failure. If Numia knew what a wailer was, she might have been able to do more, she knew her strategy could have been to counteract the wailer’s voice, to ambush it before it even had a chance to know she was there.

Then the knight seemed to read her mind on a previous subject. There was no place in the information structure of the order for a warped tale, it had to be the whole truth and nothing but the truth or something might be overlooked. Numia understood that, it just hurt her to speak of such things bluntly. She was lucky Alexander had silenced the beast, it was good and quick thinking on his part. If he had not silenced it, it probably wouldn’t have found Numia buried in the brush but the other child would have died. Then, the steward knight spoke of his knowledge confirming confirming her tale. At least she would be believed and wouldn’t have to stand up to further interrogation on the subject.

As the wise knight juxtapositioned on his sword of words multiple times, Numia was carried through a form of punishment on her own. It was as he said, they had already been severely abused by themselves so there was nothing the knight could do to match it. Truthfully, she didn’t know if she would always seek the help of her patron, but she would try harder to get her involved - or any knight at all. It did show that the order valued their lives, perhaps too much. Was it not the greatest honor to risk your life to save another?

The encouragement he offered did not help to lift the great weight Numia felt. Perhaps, in time, she thought, there would be the light of hope or the burden on her soul would decay into something she could carry. Or maybe she would grow stronger, to carry the burden as she would a leaf? Only further experiences would tell the tale of her recovery, and that took time. Then, the knight waved them off. It was time to return to the world.

Numia slipped off the chair, an icy disposition within her mind although she looked to be the same outwardly. Ser Tristan must have had a lot of experience with Pycon to be able to observe her emotions so well. The fall to the floor was a little less than two feet, but she stuck the landing by bending her knees and balancing out some of the weight with her hands. It hurt a little bit, but it was nothing compared to the suffering and anguish she endured within her heart. As she left the room, Jyness followed silently, addressing Ser Tristan with a gesture of respect before shutting the door behind her and leaving the old high-ranking knight to his own machinations.

And then Alex thanked her. For saving his life no less. He was a big teddy bear, he didn’t deserve to be hung over an open flame to be burned. Numia ran to his leg and hugged it. “Promise me you won’t die. I know you will go out on your own, it’s your nature. Just don’t die. Live with care for yourself as much as you care for others!” Numia kept the words private by angling them away from Jyness’ ears at just the right tone, but they were laced with the venom of the bonds of friendship. In such a short time Numia had already endorsed the squire as part of her family.

[Alexander Faircroft]

Alex felt the impact of the small pycon against his leg. And despite the armour he worse and the conditioning he had against them, he was still never quite fully prepared for the weight they carried. His legs nearly buckled from beneath him but he caught himself seeing the pycon look up towards him. The tone of voice that was there spoke of enough to let him know he should be more careful. He nodded but spoke lightly His voice airy and light as usual.
“I can’t promise anything like that. But I’ll try.” Not entirely sure of Jyness had heard or not Alex closed his eyes and hung his head back, blowing air out of his mouth slowly. Not a sigh but more another weight had been placed upon his shoulders. Another failure rested upon him. Something else he could never change nor make right.

“You too Numia. Be careful. And As much as you think magic can help, keep it as a last resort.” Alex turned his head down towards her. His eyes slowly opening again and there was an intensity in his eyes. He’s called forth the magic that Nivel had taught him and looked at the small Pycon. The Aura she projected was almost as large as Nivel’s own. But hers was a much darker blue. Like rolling waves of the sea crashing over one another with a white lining around their edges. Through the intermingling of the colours he spotted a shallow streak of yellow. Unsure what it meant, he gave a soft smile closing his eyes again and feeling the taxation upon him. His head pounded and roared with another headache. His body stumbled as his back crashed into the wall behind him to help him maintain balance.

Still he stood though. Not sure whether the fall and the look of pain on his face would come off as one of just deep regret and exhaustion of his actions or the blatant use of a magic. Whichever it appeared to be, he would simply smile and turn to walk off. An air about him that again grew thicker as he walked away. Though over his shoulder he’d say towards Numia with a soft word. “Just remember Numia. Fear is met and destroyed, with courage. Don’t lose yours.” The slow walk he took as he motioned away was marked by the sound of steel on stone.

[Numia]

It seemed to Numia typical of Alex, that he was unable to take a promise. His fear of pain made it hard for him to cope with the possibility that he might fail, and having even more to fail than himself was something too much to ask. Numia was silent as the other squire fell into a lapse of the same behavior as her. He looked weary, he needed rest. And then, then he attempted to tell her what to do with her magic. He spun it around on her, and it was true she had made mistakes with her magic in the past but they were her own and nobody had gotten hurt by them. Still, she couldn’t bring herself to start a debate on the subject.

As Numia looked up into his eyes, there was something odd about them. Some sort of intense focus, it didn’t seem normal. Then, he seemed to fluctuate between awake and barely awake. He stumbled back, Numia kicking off with her legs and bouncing away to avoid a potentially disastrous fall. Jyness was there, thankfully. She took a step forward and grabbed him by the shoulder. She gripped him firmly, tugging him forward so he could hear her when she spoke into his ear, Numia could hear every word of course. “I could tell you were using magic right there squire. It’s reckless to use it for such a personal thing when you can barely stand. I’m going to get you to a healer for those wailer-minced ears of yours,” her tone shifted to something more neutral. “Alex - you’re going to have at least two days of rest, I’ll have Numia watch you so you don’t do anything stupid.”

It surprised Numia when Jyness chewed out Alexander. She had a vague suspicion that he was using magic, but Jyness spotted it right away. Her experience was unfathomable, but it seemed to her like a wizard with more proficiency had a knack for spotting the unusual, the arcane. It was probably why Numia felt differently on their way to find the child abductor who turned out to be a monster.

Jyness supported the squire as the two walked outside, helping him to get mounted up on his steed. As Numia followed them both, Alexander talked of courage, and it was interesting to her that he thought she was brave. In truth, bravery to her was an illusion but fear was very real. Fear followed her everywhere, hanging over her like a dark cloud. It would never truly be destroyed or defeated, only risen above and kept in check by being greater than it. Numia climbed atop Banter, her riding dog. Then, Numia mushed on the reins and off she went with Alex the Wounded-in-All-Ways in tow. As they rode under the warm rays of the setting sun she could feel herself growing stronger in more ways than one. “Alex, Jyness. I’ve learned a great deal today. I’ve learned of hope, strength, duty, the bonds we share and more. Thank you, I will do my best to be my best, and I won’t do it alone because I need you both by my side. I’ll meet many others, I’m sure I will.” Banter adjusted his bit at the words, though he did not bark. “And yes, even my friend Banter is a valuable companion.”

[Okara]

Grades and Awards   Numia Experience Storytelling 2 Observation 3 Acrobatics 1 Lores Characteristics of a Wailer The Importance of Being Honest in Reports Shield Points +1 (thread with patron) Notes This was a quick thread that mainly consisted of Alex and Numia discussing what happened so there wasn’t much for me to award.   Alexander Faircroft Experience Storytelling 2 Persuasion 1 Auristics 1 Philosophy 1 Lores Characteristics of a Wailer The Comfort of a Concerned Superior Notes This was a quick thread that mainly consisted of Alex and Numia discussing what happened so there wasn’t much for me to award. Please edit your post in your grade request to reflect that it has been graded. PM me with any questions.