BT - Book 2 - Chapter 104

“Are you sure this is going to work?”  Trevor asked, standing over Martin Osswain’s bound and unconscious form.  “The Durgh look pretty angry.”

He shrugged, a wry smile on his face.  “Well, they seem to be angry even for Durgh.  Durgh always look angry.”

“Probably.”  Micah glanced down at Martin.  It didn’t feel right turning anyone over to the Durgh knowing their penalty for the faithless and those that betrayed matters of honor.  On the other hand, this was Martin.  If anyone deserved the awful fate of being twisted by ritual and alchemy into a mutated warbeast, it was him.

“Given what Pereston has done, I’m not sure I blame them.”  He sighed, Trevor nodding slowly, a sour expression on his face.  “The level of dishonor we’re discussing is beyond anything I’ve seen in the last two to three hundred years.  You’d have to go back to some of the uglier wizard kings to find someone more dishonorable.  Still, their cultural rules are pretty clear on this.  Once the person at fault it is punished, that’s the end of the incident as a matter of honor.”

“They’re better than humans that way.”  Micah jumped slightly as Sarah walked out of the darkness, approaching the two of them.  “I know the Durgh have a bad reputation, but that’s only because people refuse to understand them.  They’re never going to lead placid and peaceful lives, but so long as you follow their cultural rules, you aren’t going to be surprised.”

“Honestly?”  Micah shrugged helplessly.  “If we just had small scale battles with them annually with the loser paying a small tribute to the winner, I don’t think we’d have any problems.  It’s what the various Durgh clans do amongst themselves.”

“That wasn’t all of what I was asking though,” Trevor sighed helplessly.  “You’re saying this Martin guy is a Royal Knight, right?”

Micah nodded, frowning down at the unconscious body of his former mentor.  Martin’s chest rose and fell slowly.  Four breaths a minute.

After he’d removed everything with a trace of enchanted from the old man to prevent him from waking himself with some contingency, the knight looked frail.  Almost peaceful.

“From the way you describe it, he’s not as strong as the Khan?”  Trevor continued, drawing another grunt of agreement from Micah.

“Then why in the name of the Sixteen do you think that fighting the Khan head to head is a good idea!”  His brother threw his hands up in frustration.  “You caught Martin by surprise without most of his gear, and even then he ‘killed’ you and forced you to use that time traveling contingency spell of yours.  How in the hells do you expect to beat someone more powerful than him in a fair fight!”

“I have to agree.”  Sarah crossed her arms.  “I can understand risking your life to save your family, but you’ve pulled them out of Basil’s Cove.  The city’s destruction will be a tragedy, but it’s hardly your responsibility.  Pereston intentionally caused this disaster.  Let them be the ones to clean up the mess.”

Micah turned to her, mouth half agape in horror.

“There will always be another tragedy Micah.”  Her voice was bitter, eyes staring past him as he confronted her own memories.  “The gods didn’t create a pleasant fair world.  Even the most powerful of blessed could spend lifetimes trying to right Karell’s wrongs and barely make a dent.”

“But I have to try Sarah,” Micah responded, trying to suppress the memories of the first timeline.  Jo dying in front of him, Trevor giving his life to get Micah to safety, The blood and screams as the Durgh assaulted the wall, all of it was just too much for him to give up.

“You’ve done more than anyone could expect.”  Sarah’s voice softened.  “Micah, you’ve struggled against an impossible fate in silence for years.  You’ve rescued your friends and family from what’s to come.”

“Hells,” she continued with a self depreciating struggle.  “You had to drag me along kicking and screaming for half the journey.  That’s more than anyone could ask of any one person.”

“But what about Basil’s Cove?” Micah’s voice was almost a whisper.  “There are thousands and thousands of people that don’t even know what’s coming for them.  They deserve more than a nonsensical betrayal by their god and country.”

“They do.”  Sarah nodded.  “It isn’t your responsibility though.  If you take it upon yourself to fix every wrong with Karell, where does it end?  Today you’re fighting to save Basil’s Cove from invasion, but what happens tomorrow?  Do you fight against the oppression of the nobility, maybe you become a spell throwing radical and attack an opera house in the name of equal rights for the forgotten?”

“I don’t know about abandoning Basil’s Cove.”  Trevor shot a brief glare in Sarah’s direction.  “It might have taken me some time for me to come around, but I think you’re on the right track Micah.  It’s just all happening too soon.  Escape is far from your only option.  You could always use your blessing and try again.  With one more timeline under your belt, I’m sure you’d be able to make it work.”

Micah clenched his fists, panic welling up inside of him.  Even the thought of starting over sent his heart hammering out of control.  Hiding for two years to practice the same spells over and over again before going back to thirteen?

It felt like a sandbag was pressing down on his chest, crushing the breath out of him.  Even as Sarah’s face screwed up in thought, mulling over the prospect of a restart, Micah’s mind went wild.  He’d have to gather everyone together again.  To win their trust.  Level up while avoiding Baron Hurden’s son.  Craft enough enchantments so that he could-

His thoughts went blank, replaced with one word.  Luxos.

“That’s not the greatest idea,” Micah croaked out around sharp, uneven breaths.  “If Luxos is interfering now, it’s only going to get worse when I’m completely helpless.  I can’t know that he’ll even wait until I’m sixteen to antagonize the Durgh next time.  I might literally just wake up to the city in flames and have to escape.”

“So you walk away,” Sarah replied with a shrug.  “You’re not family Micah, but you’ve done a lot for Jo and I.  I’d hate to see something happen to you just because you don’t know when you’re overmatched.  Humans did awful things to the elves, but you don’t see me railing how unfair things are.  If I tried to get justice for my mother, I would end up in an unmarked grave within weeks.”

“Sometimes.”  She clapped a hand on his shoulder, her voice out of practice as Sarah tried to comfort him.  “All you can do is take the ‘L.’  Sure, step two is to make sure you’re never at the mercy of others again, but in your case?”

Sarah shrugged apologetically.  “I just had to drag Jo to a human city where we could make ourselves useful enough that no one would come after us for our heritage.  I’m not sure it’s actually possible to avoid the gods like that.”

“The gods do not give us challenges that are impossible.”  Drekt’s voice rumbled from the darkness as the big man joined the three of them.  “Only tasks that force us to struggle and improve ourselves.  To become something more than we already are in order to overcome them.”

“Very philosophical advice for a man that’s about to face certain death.”  Sarah snorted, crossing her arms.  “Six months ago, I would have just said that this is Micah’s choice and Micah’s problem and washed my hands of it.  Now?  I care enough to say that I want to escape, and that all three of you would be wise to follow me.”

“There’s nothing certain about it.”  Micah stumbled slightly as Drekt’s heavy palm landed on his other shoulder.  “Micah has fought under unfavorable circumstances in the past, and I have seen him win battles from which it would have been more prudent for him to retreat.  Luxos conspires against Micah, but Ankros has given him a fighting chance.  A warrior can ask no more of the gods.”

Micah closed his eyes.  Sarah’s slim hand on his left shoulder beckoned him toward the logical decision.  She was right.  Everyone but Keeper Ansem that mattered to him was well outside of the city, and Micah suspected that the Keeper would have ways of protecting himself.  The heavy weight of Drekt’s hand spoke to his sense of duty and exhaustion.

Long ago, Micah had vowed to himself that he would fix the problems that beset Basil’s Cove.  Deep down he suspected that the gods would never have unleashed the Durgh on the city if it wasn’t for him.  As much as he wanted to believe Sarah, to simply turn his back on the disaster and say it wasn’t his responsibility, it wasn’t true.  He could walk away and no one would stop him, but the invasion was his responsibility.

All of this was a cauldron to test him, to forge Micah into a weapon.  Even Luxos’ meddling with the timeline was linked to him.  No matter how long and far Micah ran, he wouldn’t be able to escape the knowledge that tens of thousands had died because he had turned his back on them.

“Not to be callous,” Sarah began, her voice unhesitant and unaffected despite her words, “but honestly, if you just think about it, walking away would solve a lot of problems.”

“What do you mean?”  Micah asked, his brow still furrowed with thought.

“You and your brother pissed off that Baron guy, right?”  Sarah shrugged.  “Won’t mean all that much if his compound is burned to its foundation and warbeasts are gnawing on his bones.  Same with Westmarch.  A guard saw you and might be able to identify you as the person who kidnapped a Royal Knight.  That isn’t nearly as much of a problem if they die in the Durgh attack.”

Micah bit his lip.  She had a point.  Even if he won and saved Basil’s Cove, there’s no way he’d be able to go home.  Too many people knew who he was, and too many of his actions could be misconstrued as treason.

He snorted.  Fuck that characterization.  Pereston was trying to start a war with the Durgh and he was trying to stop it.  There was no ‘misconstruing’ here.  He was committing treason.

Sarah and Drekt were both looking at him expectantly, waiting on an answer.  A couple paces away, Trevor watched on, worry written on his face.

Micah sighed.  “I’m sorry Sarah.  This may be dumb of me, but it’s something I need to do.  I understand that I’ll probably die, and that even if I win, I’ll need to go into exile to avoid reprisals from Pereston, but I can’t.  As much as I want to walk away or push the problem back to another loop, I just can’t.”

“I understand that you and Jo will have to leave,” he smiled weakly at the woman.  “This is a dumb decision on my part and I don’t want to drag the two of you into it.  Drekt, Trevor, Ravi and Telivern should be enough.”

Drekt’s hand squeezed Micah’s shoulder.  “You made the right choice,” the big man rumbled, approval swelling his bass voice.

Micah smiled apologetically at Sarah as she stepped away from him.  She exhaled heavily, blowing a couple strands of hair out of her face.

Sarah stared at him in silence for almost ten seconds before shrugging helplessly.  “Fine, we’re fighting the gods blasted Durgh, Mursa save me from myself.  What’s next?”