Blue Valley Underground - Part 12 - Welcome
Those guards should think of a better password...
Blue Valley Underground - Part 12 - Welcome
Isaac fell asleep on the train, catching a few hours of rest before they arrived in Rivermere. He was drowsy and a bit disoriented as he disembarked. Once he saw the familiar stony hills and towering forests, smelled the smoke from the blacksmith, heard the bleating from the goat farms, a grand sense of relief washed over him. He was finally home. After such an ordeal, it felt surreal and impossible.
"This is Rivermere, huh?" Clara looked all around, clutching Isaac's arm as they walked down a winding dirt path. The buildings were small and simple, made mostly of wood and spread out from eachother. It was open and pastoral, built around the land's bumps and crags rather than intruding upon them. Tall trees blanketed most of the town in shade.
"This is it," replied Isaac. He pointed to a larger building in the distance, where children were playing outside, "That's the orphanage where I grew up." He then pointed to a stone building with smoke rising from its chimney,
"That's the blacksmith over there. They make weapons for the soldiers."
Isaac pointed out different places as they made their way to the church. It was a church dedicated to The Order of the Halo, distinct by its ring-shaped motifs. It was a long building, the inside decorated in blue and ivory. A bronze statue of a giant ring stood behind the Chaplain's podium. There were people sitting on mats lined up on the floor, silent in prayer. Priests clad in white and blue robes meandered about.
"I've never been in a church before." Clara whispered. Isaac raised his eyebrows,
"Really? I heard the one in the Capital is really ni--"
"Isaac?!" A man exclaimed over the quiescence, startling everyone in the room. Isaac and Clara watched as an old priest hobbled towards them with a walking staff. His head was bald and dotted with sunspots, his face shaven. Isaac's face lit up and he tightly embraced the man,
"Chaplain Kohl!"
"Isaac, where on Gaia have you been?" The priest's face was heavy with concern, "Everyone thought you'd been killed!"
"It's a long story. I just got off the train and I have to talk to my marshal, but I promise I'll explain later. Until then, can I ask a favor?"
The old man's clouded blue eyes looked exasperated,
"Well, I...I suppose so, but you'd better explain yourself eventually!"
Isaac gestured to Clara, who waved meekly,
"This is my friend, Clara. She's a good friend and a good person, and she, uh...She's trying to better herself. Can she stay here for just a while, until she finds work?"
"I'm afraid our beds are filled," Chaplain Kohl frowned, "There are vagabonds sleeping on the floor and eating scraps. I'm not sure we have room for one more..."
"Please?" Isaac big brown eyes were pleading, "She's small and she doesn't eat much."
"I can see that," the priest gently held Clara's hand in his gnarled fingers, shaking his head at the pitiful circumference of her wrist, "You're wasting away, My Dear!"
"She won't be any trouble." Isaac assured him, "Please. She can't be out on the street; she'll get kidnapped."
Chaplain Kohl sighed,
"She certainly is in need..."
Clara offered a charming smile and batted her long lashes. The priest chuckled,
"Very well. Just until she finds work."
He grunted as Isaac trapped him in another tight hug,
"Thank you, Chaplain!"
"Yes, yes," the old man patted his back dismissively and withdrew, "Now go see Evan immediately, Isaac. I'm sure you're in enough trouble with that godless brute as it is..."
The soldier nodded and extended a hand to Clara. She shook it and smiled,
"Don't worry. Even if they kick you out, you're still a good soldier."
"Thanks." Isaac smiled back. The girl saluted him as he left.
Running down the main path through town, Isaac arrived at the barracks. It was by far the largest building in Rivermere, almost a town in itself. At four stories high, it housed homeless soldiers and those temporarily stationed, with others living in town. Above the soldiers were marshals, above the marshals were generals, and above the generals was the grand general. All Isaac knew is that if the generals were unhappy, Evan was volatile. Two guardsman stood by the door, an overweight man and another younger man with round glasses. Isaac tried to walk through the doorway and they crossed their spears. Stumbling back in confusion, Isaac remembered he wasn't in uniform, nor did he have is ID necklace.
"Who are you?" asked the overweight man.
"Isaac of Rivermere," Isaac replied quickly, "I'm out of uniform. Please let me talk to Marshal Evan--it's urgent!"
"Got your ID?" queried the man with glasses.
"Not on me, no..."
The bespectacled soldier leaned forward and whispered,
"What's the password?"
Isaac whispered back,
"'Let me in, Asshole.'"
"Welcome, Soldier."
The guards then parted their spears and Isaac rushed inside, hurrying through the main dining hall. It was close to dinner time and the room was crowded with laughing, grunting, yelling armored men. Isaac weaved his way through them, looking all around for a familiar face. He was never good at making friends, and despite his three years living here, he only knew a handful of these people by name. Tapping a tall archer on the shoulder, he asked,
"Excuse me. Do you know where Marshal Evan Volk is?"
The archer raised an eyebrow,
"Who?"
"Marshal Evan Volk!"
"I don't know," the man shrugged, "I train under Marshal Jonah Lewis."
"Oh," Isaac backed away, "Thanks anyway."
He felt like such an ass. He didn't even know which of these men were in his squadron--Meanwhile Glen could rattle off names and recognize faces like it was common sense.
Speaking of Glen...
Isaac spotted a head of long blonde hair and a ridiculous moustache standing just a few feet away. It was Glen alright, talking with a group of men he wasn't familiar with.
"Glen!" Isaac called and rushed to his friend. The blonde man turned to him and his face flushed stark white, his blue eyes flashing wide. He looked like he'd seen a ghost.
"I-Isaac?!"
"Glen, I need to talk to--"
"Is that really you?! Y-you're alive! You're fuckin' alive!" Glen squeezed the thinner man, crushing him so hard that Isaac saw stars.
"Hnng! Glen, I can't--!"
Finally withdrawing, Glen clutched Isaac's shoulders and looked into his eyes, wearing an ear-to-ear grin,
"I can't believe it! Everyone thought you were dead! I mean, we searched the border for days, we had like twenty men out there--"
"Glen!" Isaac broke in, "I'm happy to see you, but I really need to talk to Evan! Where is he?"
The blonde man paused,
"He's on the training grounds, I think."
"Thanks!"
Glen was about to speak, but Isaac was already running off.
The training grounds were outdoors, a massive area closed off by high walls. It was divided into three sections to suit swordsmen, archers, and cavalry. Isaac made his way to the swordsmens' area, hoping no one would yell at him for his state of dress. No one was allowed to set foot in this place without armor--not among novice archers with bad aim, twitchy swordsmen, and disgruntled, rampaging horses. He hoped his case was urgent enough.
Isaac spotted Evan in the distance, training a skinny young novice on proper sword-wielding technique. Evan's gaze passed his way and he immediately barked,
"Soldier! What are you doing out of unif--" he cut himself short, his face blanking as his apprentice got closer. He was speechless as Isaac stood before him and addressed him sheepishly,
"Sir."
Evan paled. His eyes looked unfocused. After a long pause, he grabbed Isaac's shoulders and snarled gravely, just inches from his face,
"Where. The hell. Have you been?" His hands were trembling.
Isaac swallowed, his jaw quivering as he tried to answer. His words were afraid to come out with Evan's intense glare so close. Evan briefly turned to his novice-in-training and commanded,
"Take a break."
The young man saluted him and walked away. Evan roughly seized Isaac's arm, practically dragging him out of the training grounds. Isaac wanted to speak, to explain himself as soon as possible, but his tongue just wouldn't move. His marshal's lips were pressed into a thin line, breath gusting from his nostrils.
Evan took Isaac to his office on the second floor, neither of them speaking a word until the door was closed.
"Sit." Evan commanded, gesturing to the chair across from his own at his desk. Isaac obeyed, glancing around at the perfectly-spaced shelves--three to a wall, books organized in alphabetical order. Even the items on his desk were meticulously placed at even lengths, every stack of paper flawlessly straight. Three framed paintings of black Labradors were hanging on the wall above Evan's seat. Isaac had only been in this office once, back when he was initiated. He'd always hoped he would never have to be here again.
This was it. He was on the streets.
Evan sat across from Isaac, suddenly appearing very calm as he folded his gloved hands together and said,
"Tell me what happened."
All the words that Isaac failed to speak before were unleashed. He told Evan what he'd told Clara; about going into the woods alone, getting seduced and tricked by a nymph, waking up across the Blue Valley naked and disoriented, staying with the Stillwaters, arriving in Newell, getting drugged, raped and robbed by Miss Krista, getting kicked out of the brothel, working for Mr. Callahan, almost getting murdered by Mr. Callahan, potentially murdering Mr. Callahan, meeting Clara on the train, jumping off the train in Greenhearst to save her from gang members, staying overnight and taking Clara back to the church in Rivermere, and finally...Here he was, sitting before Evan with a hoarse voice and a sour stomach.
Evan took a minute or so to process his tale, gazing down at his hands in silence. All the while Isaac was trying not to throw up all over the pristine desk. He glanced around the office for a distraction, focusing at the glass black Labradors lined up on a bookshelf. He twitched when Evan finally spoke,
"Well, Isaac...That's the most colorful load of horse shit a soldier has ever presented to me. I commend you on your creativity."
"W-with all due respect, Sir..." Isaac unbuttoned his white shirt and pulled it open, exposing the nymph's swirling, looping scar,
"It's true. I promise you, it's all true. This is where I ripped the nymph's plants out of my skin." He then pulled his knapsack into his lap and rifled through it until he found two keys.
"This is the key from the brothel," he said, placing the iron key on the desk. He set the one with the broken cord beside it, "And this is the butcher's key. Clara is staying at the church, if you want to question her. That's, uh...All the evidence I have. You can expel me, but please believe me." The look in his eyes was desperate and genuine. After a moment of consideration, Evan sighed,
"You're immature. You don't take my orders seriously. Your impulsive urges are going to be the death of you..." he shook his head, "But I've never known you as a liar. I believe you. I shouldn't, but I do."
Isaac chewed his lip nervously and Evan continued,
"The thought of treason crossed your mind at least once, didn't it?"
Isaac hesitated. He forced himself to look his marshal in the eye and replied,
"Yes, Sir. More than once."
"Hm. And despite the urge, you never followed through. You came back. Marched right up to me, ready and willing to keep fighting for the kingdom."
"The military is my life," Isaac replied with quiet sureness, "I have no family. I have no other skills. I came back for selfish reasons," he paused, "I'm not very good at it, but...Being a good soldier is what I live for."
Evan slowly nodded, gazing down at his hands again. Finally he stood up,
"Come here, Isaac."
The young soldier nervously rose from his seat and approached Evan. He was expecting to get punched in the face, or at the very least, handed a resignation form. To his surprise, he was pulled into a tight embrace, his head pressed forcefully against his marshal's steel chest plate. Evan buried his face in Isaac's black hair and murmured,
"You caused me a lot of grief, you little idiot."
Frozen at first, Isaac brought his hands up and awkwardly patted Evan's back,
"I'm sorry. It wasn't my intention, Sir."
"I know," his marshal released him and snorted, his eyes a bit glassy, "The search was called off yesterday morning. Of course no body was found, so all the while you were gone, I thought I was at fault. I thought maybe, the...The way I yelled at you, that I was too harsh. Scared you off or something." He frowned, patting Isaac on the shoulder, "I know you're a sensitive kid."
Isaac straightened,
"I'm stronger now. I learned a lot while I was gone. If you let me stay, I promise I won't get upset when you criticize me. I'll listen to you, and I'll get better."
Evan grinned and rustled his hair,
"Welcome back, Isaac."