Contemplation
I wake up again sometime in the afternoon. Rayla, John and Sher Aka seem to enjoy themselves by playing a game of cards.
John is the first to notice me being awake, “Good morning, you doing okay?”
“I had some nightmares but otherwise I’m okay.”
“I see, you wanna talk about it?”
“No…”
He raises an eyebrow, puts down his cards and sits down next to me with his arms crossed.
“What are you doing?”
“Sitting here.”
“You don’t have to do that, John...”
Staring straight ahead at the bed, John answers, “I’m aware. I’m just sitting here, listening and when you need a hug I’ll give you one.”
“Pfft…Hahaha, thank you John,” I say while giving him a hug. “To be honest, I’ve been having nightmares ever since we met Rayden and today I had a dream that he was the one torturing all of us. Slowly breaking our fingers because we can’t make him laugh. Every time I’d tell him I don’t know the joke he’d break a finger, call me a liar and then threaten to kill Rayla.”
“That’s some fucked up dream…" Letting out a sigh, he gives me a somber look, "To be honest, I’ve also been having nightmares ever since we met Rayden. But you know what’s funny? Sometimes they end early because you protect me in them.”
“Really?”
He chuckles, “Yeah…I know you can’t really influence dreams that way but maybe it will help to know that we’re all here for you. I can’t promise you anything but perhaps now that we know of your dreams, the next time Rayden shows up in them we’ll be the ones saving you," he gives me a smile wit ha determined look in his eyes, "You saved us from him in real life, so let us save you in your dreams…”
I start to tear up as I ask, “So…If sniff If I call for help you’ll save me?”
He nods, “Yes.”
“If…sob If my fingers get broken will you heal them?”
“Of course.”
“And you…You won’t leave me behind?”
He looks me straight in the eyes, then answers, “We will never leave you behind.”
It’s like John’s words shatter the dam I built around my heart and the tears I held back all come flowing out at once. John hugs me tightly as I let out all my pent up feelings. It feels really relieving...
After I have calmed down, Sher Aka offers me some water to drink and Rayla also sits down next to me holding my hand.
Feeling anxious, I look at them, “Can I ask you all something?”
“Of course, oki.”
“Why did you tell the sheriff that I’m a cultist and colluded with Rayden?”
“What?”
“We didn’t”
“I would never.”
“Who told you that, oki?”
“The sheriff did. At the beginning of the conversation, after I told her what happened, she said all of you had said something completely different and put the blame on me.”
Rayla lets out a sorrowful sigh, “Oki, she lied to you. Guards do that all the time when they ask you questions. It’s a common tactic of them to tell you that they have evidence they don’t have, that your friends and family sold you out or that you face a lot of trouble. They do that because they get rewarded for getting people to court, not for finding out the truth.”
Confused, I ask, “But guards are supposed to be righteous people that protect us from bad people.”
“That’s what they tell us but most of them aren’t like that," biting her cheek and looking at me with a conflicted expression, she adds, "Having power over others unfortunately attracts a lot of bad people.”
“Oh…Is the Sheriff a bad person?”
“Yes, a very bad person.”
Fiddling with my clothes, I ask, “So, it wasn’t my fault? I thought the whole time I did something wrong.”
Ane puts her hand on my shoulder and replies reassuringly, “No oki. You did nothing wrong, she was just a bad person.”
“Are many guards bad like her?”
“I wouldn’t say that there are many quite as bad as she was but most guards are doing bad things.”
“Then why do we have guards?”
“Because they’re still needed. Despite them being bad people we’d be suffering from worse people if they weren’t there.”
“Are adventurers the only good guys helping people then?”
Looking at me a little surprised at first, she thinks for a second and answers in a somber tone, “No oki, a lot of adventurers are pretty crooked too.”
“...”
“Are there no good guys, ane?”
“No there are. There are many people that are good but most people aren’t.”
“...”
“Can I be alone for a bit?”
“Sure, we’ll give you some space.”
They then leave for John and Sher Aka’s room while I contemplate some things. After a bit of time, I enter the door to their room and ask, “How do people become bad?”
“Hmm, that’s a very difficult question to answer, oki. Sher Aka you have by far the most experience with people of all kinds, what do you think?”
“Hmm I do have my own theory, why don’t you sit down next to me Thoma Ahad and I’ll tell you about it.”
“Okay,” I sit down next to her on her bed.
Putting her hand on mine, she answers, “I believe that people become bad either because bad things were done to them or because they found out that sometimes doing a bad thing is easier than doing a good thing.”
“Do you think bad people can become good people?”
“Yes. If you show bad people that experienced a lot of bad things love and kindness they will often change and if you consistently punish people that do bad things because they’re easy then both them and others will stop doing them because they are not easy anymore.”
“Do you think we’re good people?”
She smiles at me, “Yes. We all have our faults but we’re all good people.”
“Me too?”
She brushes through my hair and lets out a chuckle, “Yes, you’re the kindest and most innocent of all of us.”
“So…If we keep punishing bad people, help those in need and be kind to them then we’ll make more good people, right?”
“Yes, not every bad person will turn good that way but you’ll definitely create good people.”
Feeling hopeful again, I ask, “But that means as long as we do that, more good people will be made that will also do that, right? So as long as we stay good we can make the world a better place, right!?”
Sher Aka gives me a warm smile and brushes through my hair, “That’s correct.”
Smiling at her, I ask, “Do you think that even someone like Rayden could become a good person?”
Sher Aka seems surprised by my question, thinks for a few seconds and answers, “Hmm…I think it’s possible but I also think that it is too dangerous to try. With people like that, it might be better to kill them so they can’t turn others into bad people.”
Excited, I say, “But that still means that if someone like that can be redeemed then this world is a good place after all! Thank you Sher Aka!”
“You’re welcome... Say Thoma Ahad are you hungry? It’s dinner time soon and you haven’t had lunch.”
“Nope, I’m not hungry at all.”
“Would you like some sweets then?”
“Oooh yeah that sounds nice.”
She gets up and hold out her hand to me, “Then let's go down to the dining area, they’re serving some tea and sweets now.”
“Okay!”
We then all go downstairs and have some tea and sweets. After that, we go back to our room, enjoy ourselves some more and around the early evening I go to bed and have a nice relaxing sleep while the others are eating dinner.
—--------------------------------------------------------
Meanwhile in the dining room of the hotel Sher Aka is cutting her steak, “So, provided there is no sudden change for the worse, we’re going to start traveling to Murago tomorrow?”
Rayla answers, “Yeah, Thoma seems… mostly… fine. So it’s probably best to get moving quickly, we only have a short time window and I’d like there to be some buffer in case something happens on the way.”
“Yeah, speaking of ‘mostly fine’ do you guys have any theories yet on what the heck is happening to him? His teeth go sharp like a Beastfolk person when he eats but then go back to human ones after, his eyes are some fiery version of Rayla’s fox eyes and his behavior and palate is changing.”
“Well…Thoma said he thinks he might be turning into Foxkin and it is said that those with nine tails can shape shift so maybe that's what’s happening with his teeth?”
Sher Aka interjects, “While we shouldn’t outright dismiss the possibility, I think it’s not a very likely explanation. He doesn’t have any tails yet so it would be strange if he had the abilities of a legendary fox Beastfolk. Also, while his eyes are definitely similar to yours Rayla they are also different. Beastfolk eyes do sometimes have reflective properties but they still don’t glow outright.”
Absentmindedly pushing a bone on her plate around, Rayla answers, “Yeah…The first time he woke up I thought it was just the light reflecting but I noticed the other times that they were definitely glowing by themselves. They also don’t look quite like fox eyes even if they were just a normal, not glowing, color. But that might also just be because they’re not quite done changing yet.”
“Is there anything else you noticed, Rayla?”
“Well, his smell is completely different. Also, this might be just my imagination but he feels warmer.”
Scratching his head, John answers, “Well, his heart was literally pierced by a fireball so I wouldn’t be surprised if his body temperature is a little high. Isn’t there any myth about this sorta thing, Sherry? Like I’m sure Thoma can’t be the first person ever to have this happen to, right?”
“Well, there are the Gen Evir, which basically translates to spirit touched. They are said to be both spirits and people at the same time but they are also described as having hair that is made of the element they’re close to, so unless Thoma Ahad suddenly starts to have a burning head I doubt it’s that. As for other myths that apply…
Well, Spirits are said to give gifts to those that helped them. Some stories also say they grant wishes but that you should be careful what you wish and especially how you phrase it. Because no matter how benevolent or malevolent the spirit, they always grant you your wish in a way you did not intend. So, maybe we need to start from the beginning again and think out of the box. John, what was the exact thing Thoma Ahad said his wish was?”
“He said ‘I’d like to have a family that loves me and a home to come back to’. Basically he couldn’t have phrased it any more vaguely than that.”
“Yes…That doesn’t really help much. Do you have any ideas Rayla?”
She seems surprised to be asked for her opinion, “Me? Well I don’t know that much about how Spirits think either but if we take it literally then perhaps she is turning him into someone's son and we’ll meet that someone in Murago.”
“That’s certainly a possibility, what do you think John?”
Closing his eyes, John answers, “Give me a second, I’m thinking.”
“...”
“There is something we haven’t considered yet. His curse isn’t removed, meaning it's probably still affecting his appearance. What if Ifrit, instead of removing the curse entirely, just made it so parts of his real form shine through so he could be recognized by his original family? Rayla, let's say Sher Aka disappeared and an Orc came along with no memories, a curse mark on them and their smell was just like Sher Aka with just a few elven features, what would you think?”
“I’d think that’s Sher Aka…”
“Exactly, so maybe Ifrit twisted the rules just a bit for that to happen. I’m far from certain but it is possible that we will literally meet his family on that mountain.”
“...”
“...”
Rayla with a face colored in contemplation answers, “If that’s the case we should make sure we get there quickly. I’m going to bed now, let’s leave tomorrow before first light.”