Relentless Potential (Original Fantasy)

A/N: Thomas' perspective!

-x-X-x-

Even after the Dark Elf departs, Thomas stays where he is, back ramrod straight, shoulders squared, waiting and watching. Only after a few more minutes of relative silence does he rise to his feet, moving away from the rock and striding back into town.

He keeps his head held high and his back straight then too, smiling and nodding to the townsfolk he passes on his way home. It's only when he finally returns to the Mayor's House proper and steps out of open view and into the building… that Thomas finally lets himself slump against the foyer wall.

Even now he can't be sure that he's not being watched by Sevinarya to be fair but given she didn't seem to know about his and Camilla's talks with Eloise, she clearly isn't around all the time. Hopefully she's left Last Hope behind for now, though he's fully aware that her shadow magic would allow her to go from that shadow to any other shadow nearby… be they in the Darkwoods OR further into town.

Still… that was fucking intense, wasn't it? Thomas' heart is racing, even as he struggles to calm his rapid pulse. Facing off against Eloise's Dark Elf Boogeywoman had been just as suspenseful as he thought it would be.

Sevinarya Vairath… was no slouch. That right there was an elven woman secure in her own power, someone with a whole lot of pride and the strength to match. To put it bluntly… the vibe he'd gotten from her was one of extreme danger. Not to mention calculating, methodical, and cunning.

She was unlike anyone else he'd come across since arriving in this world. Camilla was… well, she was a bit too much of a meathead to really be called cunning and the people of Last Hope all lived simple lives. Too simple for them to be 'calculating' or dangerous by any stretch of the imagination. Even Eloise was just an able administrator… anything beyond keeping Last Hope running and cooking absolutely amazing meals just wasn't in her.

The question then became… was it an elf thing? Were Dark Elves like Sevinarya simply more dangerous on average than humans? Or was it just happenstance that the most threatening person he'd met since finding himself in this body was a Dark Elf?

Regardless, it mattered little in the short term. Gathering himself up, Thomas pushes off of the wall and makes his way deeper into the house, calling out as he goes.

"Camilla! Eloise! Kitchen please, when you get the chance!"

Both women arrive soon after that. Eloise had explained to them that Sevinarya, or 'Shadow' as she'd labeled her, arrived at the same time most weeks. So Thomas had taken today off, even if it pained him to do so, and sat on that rock just outside of town for a few hours waiting for her.

Maybe it was a long shot, but he'd wanted to see how she would act both when she thought he was just a grateful human… and when she learned that he knew she'd been spying on him. It hadn't surprised him that she'd still denied her involvement in the King of the Forest crisis, however. Nor did it surprise him that she was sending him after ANOTHER beast now in the form of a huge Giant Spider…

Once they're all together, Thomas looks between Eloise and Camilla, not bothering with mincing words.

"I met with the Dark Elf. She approached me when she saw that I was alone, just as I thought. We had a conversation… her name is Sevinarya Vairath."

Eloise blinks while Camilla arches a brow. Neither of them recognizes the name in any way from the look of things, but then Thomas wasn't expecting them to. For all he knew, it could have been entirely made up after all… Sevinarya might be a fabrication.

"She was receptive to making a new deal. One that, if I hold up my end of the bargain, she'll fully cure Mayor Harper. No more small doses, no more stringing you along… we do something for her and she does this thing for us in turn."

Eloise's breath hitches at that and she has to sit down in the closest chair, looking torn between hopefulness and looking stricken. Camilla, meanwhile, frowns slightly.

"You're confident then that she can actually heal Rot Lung fully, Lord Thomas?"

Thomas nods without hesitation.

"I am. She's duplicitous to be sure… but Mayor Harper's progress these past few months definitely isn't fake. More than that, I could tell that her pride was slightly prickled by the insinuation that she couldn't actually cure him. Whatever she has, whatever she's been doing… she can finish the job. We just have to make it worth her time to do so."

When she finally finds her voice, her tone is quiet and small.

"What… what does she want, Lord Thomas?"

Straightening up, Thomas grunts.

"She's tasked me with hunting down another great monster. She compared it to the King of the Forest and called it the 'Spider-Queen'. If I can slay the Spider-Queen and retrieve it's mandibles for Sevinarya within the next month, then she'll cure your father in exchange. And once that's done, it's over. A clean break between you and her and between her group and Last Hope."

Thomas can't help but feel good about his negotiations with the Dark Elf. Sure she was intense as all hell, but he'd gotten a pretty good read on her in the end. Whatever she wanted those mandibles for, it was worth more than keeping Last Hope or Eloise in her debt, that much he believed.

"The… S-Spider-Queen?"

Thomas smiles and nods. Was Eloise worried? She shouldn't be. Sure, he and Camilla had barely survived the King of the Forest, but they had a full month this time to get ready to confront the Spider-Queen… with some extra training and another satchel full of potions, he had full faith that they would be up to the challenge.

Eloise looks hesitant for a moment… before slowly shaking her head.

"I… um, I've never heard of such a creature before. I don't think anyone in town has heard of a Spider-Queen…"

Wait… what? Thomas blinks and at his stupefied expression Eloise blanches.

"B-But I can ask! Maybe I just haven't ever heard of s-such a thing until now! I'm sure someone in town must know something about this 'Spider-Queen'."

He can see what she's trying to do… but frankly, Thomas knows as well as Eloise that if anyone in Last Hope did know a single thing about a Spider-Queen lurking in the Darkwoods, it would be her. Or if not her, she would at least know who to talk to.

The fact that Eloise had never heard of this creature before… and Thomas is just realizing that he didn't get any actual directions to the monster's lair from Sevinarya either. Hell, it was possible that the Spider-Queen didn't even really exist!

… No, he had to operate under the assumption that it did. Somewhere out there in the Darkwoods was a spider the size of a house and he was going to find it and murder the fuck out of it, plain and simple. His pride would not allow for anything less than that… he was committed to this course of action.

Although… Thomas glances to Camilla and really hopes that Sevinarya isn't spying on them for this next part.

"… We'll make a Plan B, just in case. We might need to try to capture her after all… though having seen what I assume is her Gift in action, it's not going to be easy. She can disappear into any shadow of deep enough darkness."

Camilla nods, frowning.

"Then it's as we thought. She has the Gift of Shadow. That's not the kind of thing any respectable human back in the Capital would have, but it's not completely unheard of. Usually, those with the Gift of Shadow wind up turning into thieves. The temptation to misuse their Gift is too strong. It's possible that Dark Elves are more… predisposed to that type of Gift."

Her derisive tone makes it clear what Camilla thinks of such a 'predisposition' and for a second Thomas finds himself contemplating if his pledged knight is being racist or not. On the one hand, it was 'only' fantasy racism right? On the other hand, it was fantasy racism in the fantasy world that he'd found himself transmigrated into, so he's not sure that excuses it anymore.

On the third, more ephemeral hand, Sevinarya was quite literally engaging in some seriously suspicious activity and she may or may not have been involved in endangering the entirety of Last Hope… on top of coercing Eloise into spying on him for her for months.

So yeah, he's not about to lecture Camilla, he supposes. More importantly…

"We can work against it, can't we? Prepare a space to trap her, maybe?"

Camilla nods sharply.

"Yes, with the right preparations we can trick her into entering a shadowed space and then chase the shadows away with enough light sources. She wouldn't be able to teleport away then… she'd be completely at our mercy."

Thomas considers the dagger he has and the damage a single throw was able to do to the King of the Forest for a moment. He seriously doubts that even if they do manage to trap Sevinarya, she'll be completely at their mercy. More than likely, they'll have a fight on their hands. But all they really need is to make her submit and get her to heal Mayor Harper…

At the same time, Eloise has fallen quiet and looks the opposite of certain about any of this. Gracing her with a reassuring smile, Thomas gets her attention.

"Don't fret Eloise… we won't use this plan unless we absolutely have to. Starting tomorrow, Camilla and I will head out into the Darkwoods and see if we can't begin hunting down this Spider-Queen. I mean, at the very least you know where some of the normal giant spider nests can be found, right?"

Blinking, Eloise slowly nods.

"I… y-yes. Of course."

"Perfect. We'll start there then, clear all of those out and then see if we can't follow them back to wherever this Spider-Queen makes her lair. If all goes well, then we won't need to entrap our Dark Elf lurker just to get her to heal the Mayor. She'll do it of her own volition once I present the mandibles to her."

It's as good a plan (and Plan B) as any, Thomas figures. While it did chafe a little bit to be making any sort of deal with Sevinarya after the sort of shit she'd pulled so far, both what he knew she'd done and what he thought she'd done, it would be worth it if they could save Eloise's father…

"I… I don't know if I can ask this of you, milord."

Thomas frowns as Eloise wrings her hands.

"You've already done so much for me and my father, not to mention Last Hope. I can't just expect you to go risk your life against something like this again, not after the King of the Forest almost killed you…"

Scoffing, Thomas shakes his head.

"It doesn't matter what you expect, Eloise… it's already decided. I'm doing this no matter what… I'm going to get you and this town out from under that woman's thumb and I'm going to save your father in the process."

Eloise still looks uncertain, so Thomas gives her a reassuring smile.

"Look Eloise, you made a mistake. Yes, you should have come to me or Camilla, or even the townsfolk of Last Hope much earlier than this. You should have told us yourself what you were dealing with instead of shouldering all of this alone. But I know you. I know you care about this town and I know you've put everything you have into preserving this place, even before Camilla and I arrived. That's why… I'm going to put everything I have into helping you now. Because you deserve it."

Eloise stares at him, wide eyed and stricken. And then…

"Lord Thomas is right."

Both he and Eloise look to Camilla wearing what he suspected were matching looks of surprise on their faces. He wasn't expecting Camilla to say anything and neither was Eloise, that was for sure.

"… While I am still angry on Lord Thomas' behalf over your decision to sell him out to this Dark Elf, your intentions were not malicious. You simply wanted to save your father. You have erred and you have much to make up for… but you are not a bad person, Eloise Harper. You are not a monster. Lord Thomas is right to help you and his decision to do so only reinforces for me my own decision to swear myself to him."

Well, that brings a slightly red tinge to Thomas' face. Eloise, meanwhile, looks like she's been struck for a moment… before her face contorts and she begins to sob out of nowhere. Camilla looks gobsmacked and bewildered by this, glancing at him as if to say 'what did I do wrong?!'.

Truthfully, Thomas doesn't know. He quickly moves over to Eloise's chair and places his arms around the poor young woman though, assuming that it all just got to be too much for her. Eloise wasn't a warrior, but she was a fighter… and yet, even someone with as fierce a spirit as she had would have her limits.

"Shh… it's okay… we're here for you, Eloise. Let it all out."

He rubs soothing circles into Eloise's back… only for her hands to suddenly push against his chest, driving him back.

"N-No! You shouldn't b-be! That's the problem… I'm not the woman you think I am! I am a monster. I… I'm a pervert!"

Wait, what?

Teary eyed and red faced in shame and embarrassment, Eloise looks between them and sniffles.

"I-I've been watching you two for weeks now… even though I knew I shouldn't. Even though I was betraying you to… to Sevinarya the entire time. I've spied on you having sex ever since you first started… and t-touched myself to the sight. I'm no better than scum…"

Well… damn.

-x-X-x-

A/N: Ruh roh.

Please let me know what you think! Your feedback, suggestions, and ideas for this story are keeping the inspiration flowing in a big way!

Plug: There will always be FIFTEEN (15) Bonus Chapters of this story to read over on my Patreon!

-x-X-x-

A/N: Also if you have an account over on Royal Road and have the time to throw me a Follow, Favorite, and Five Star Rating, it would be GREATLY appreciated! Every little bit helps in the early days if I want to get on Rising Stars over there!

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/157707/relentless-potential-original-fantasy