Octopath Travelers, plus one

chapter 3

Therion woke up to find alfyn standing above him. "What the-" he muttered, abruptly sitting up, which was a mistake. Everything hurt. There was a burning sensation in his ribs, they had probably broken earlier. His side, where the grenade hit him, didn't hurt one bit though, unlike everywhere else. He groaned as alfyn helped him lay back down. "Woah there, you're okay, just lay back down." Alfyn said. Isla and Ophilia walked in the room. "U-um," Ophilia started, then let out a little squeak as therion looked up. He had a shirt on, but it was unbuttoned. He tried to laugh, but immediately regretted it. "Sorry." Isla mumbled. "Yeah, she broke your ribs, getting you to breathe again so," alfyn said. Then therion noticed Isla's hair. It was down. It was different, pretty, even. "Kay. Thanks, Isla for breaking my ribs." He said sarcastically. "What would we ever do without you?" He deadpanned now. "Oh, I don't know, probably die from some weird poison, stop breathing, lose the stone, get beaten to death by a fat scholar, you know, the usual." Isla said, glaring him down. "And I still haven't got a thank you, did your mother ever teach you respect?" She asked. "Nah. My mother was never around to teach me anything." Therion said. "Good to know. If she did, I'd want to have a talk with her." Isla said. She looked him up and down. "Phili, you can go on ahead. You're a woman of the church, you probably haven't seen a lot of this so, if I could borrow your staff..." Isla asked. "No! I-i mean, therion doesn't seem to want to be beaten with it Isla, and it's a very good staff." Ophilia said. "Beaten with what?" Therion exclaimed. "Phili's staff. Isla said she'd beat you with it when you woke up for scaring her like that, and for having her take the stone. It burned her." Alfyn said. Isla put up her hands, to show that they were heavily bandaged. "Of course, I didn't notice that they were burnt until I picked up the stone again for Cyrus to examine it." Isla added. "Hmm." Therion muttered. "The ravuses didn't mention anything about that." He said. "Alfyn, check his head. He's actually using his brain! Was there some head trauma that we missed?" Isla said in fake surprise. Then she deadpanned. "Yeah, no dip sherlock, otherwise you would have mentioned it, if they mentioned it. Can you walk?" She asked. "We've got to get back to Boulderfall with the stone." Alfyn tried to say something, but was interrupted by therion. "Yeah, I probably can, with some help."

A couple days and random encounters later, they were just around the corner to Boulderfall. A large screech echoed between the canyons. Everyone looked to the sound. "Lets go." Therion said, not wanting to waste any more time. They bolted for it. Finally, they made it. Isla seemed to take a liking to the stone for some reason, even though it kept burning her hands. Better get this stone to Heathcote before she becomes the next orlick, therion thought. "All of us are going to go shopping to get more supplies for the road. You and Isla go deliver the stone." Tressa said to Therion. "Alright." Therion said, not wanting to waste any more time. Isla was quiet, and therion became more worried by the second. As they reached the manor, Heathcote and Cordelia were waiting for him. "Mr. Therion! You came back with the stone!" Cordelia said excitedly. "You forgot to mention something. The stone burned her." Therion said bluntly, shifting his eyes toward Isla. "That's weird. That's never happened to one of us before." Cordelia said. "That's because your companion has a connection to the stone." Heathcote said. "What?" Therion asked. "She has a connection to the stone. The dragonstones have multiple properties, and the ruby stone is fire and mentis imperium." Heathcote said. "She may as well be in a trance of the stone, like the scholar, but not to obsessive about it. Humans have a natural curiosity." So this is like her stone, maybe she feels like it's hers, therion thought. "This makes out situation much more complicated." Heathcote finished. "She is mentis imperium." Therion said. Isla was ignoring all conversation and just watching everyone closely. "Oh, is she now?" Heathcote muttered. "Why does it make it more complicated?" Therion asked. "She can use the stone to enhance her magical power, it's best that we keep it with her for now." Heathcote finished. "the emerald stone is in wellspring, being sold on the black market." He said. Only the people involved are supposed to know about the market, therion thought. This guy is not a butler. "Maybe we could take off the band now..."And you know the rest of this dialogue, and I'm lazy and don't want to put in the rest of it so later at the inn: Therion watched as Isla picked up the stone, only to see her flinch and set it back down again. She hadn't said a word for a couple of days now, and they had all started to get worried. "Best that we keep it with her for now." Heathcote's words echoed in his head. What did he mean by that? He thought. Tressa walked in the 10 person bedroom (the other ones they'd been to only had two beds each, so this was weird.) "we are going to head to quarrycrest now, are you guys packed?" She asked. Isla and therion just nodded. "Let's go then!" Just then, Isla seemed to snap out of her trance. She looked around for a moment and when she saw the stone, she looked confused. "Aren't we supposed to give it back?" She asked faintly. "Heathcote said to keep it with you." Tressa said. She lost all of her drowsiness and snapped back to reality. "There is no way in Aelfric's name am I going to touch that thing EVER again!" Isla yelled, making them all jump. She put it in her bag, and then gave the bag to therion. "This is your misson, not mine." She said, fuming, but as much as she tried to hide it, there was a little glimmer of fear in her eyes. "What happened?" Primrose asked. Isla glared at her and walked out. "Oooooookkaaayy..." tressa said. "That was odd." Cyrus finished. They walked out, and set towards quarrycrest. The day soon turned into night, and they had set up camp. "Isla, are you okay?" Ophilia asked. Isla looked up. "Yeah, I'm okay." Isla said. "I'm going to turn in for the night." She muttered. She walked into her tent and fell asleep quickly, not noticing the stone in the bag next to her. A younger Isla giggled. "Daddy!" She said as her father walked in. Her father just glared. "What are you doing?" He exclaimed, seeing the young girl with an infant child. "I'm playing with ria!" The girl exclaimed. "No! Isla, she is a baby! You are older than her, she will get hurt. If I have my way, she will be my heir Isla, not you. Go to your room and read or something." He said sternly, picking up the baby. "But I want to play! Tejano is allowed to play!" Isla retorted. Her father left, and out of curiosity, Isla followed. Silently moving past the hallways, she opened the door and slipped past her father, and had behind a curtain. "Isla is supposed to be queen! She will bring greatness! Besides, she is the oldest of everyone!" A voice sounded. "Then it is final. Isla will be queen. No more arguments." Isla's mother nodded and walked out. She didn't care about anyone but herself, Isla knew this. All of the men walked out, and her father beckoned others to come forward. "Your majesty?" One of them asked. "My daughter who is assuming the throne is not going to be able to handle it. I want you to, well, help her." Her father said, waving the men off. "And the boy?" One of them asked. "Throw him out too, but let's have them here for my wife's execution." Her father concluded. Isla was confused. She waited for everyone to leave, and then moved toward her bedroom, and fell asleep. The next morning, Isla woke up to find Otavi, her personal guard, standing above her. "No time Isla, when they come, stand your ground. Can you do that for me?" Otavi asked. "Uh huh." Isla responded. "Good. Let's go." Otavi said. "Tavi? What's wrong?" Isla asked. Otavi turned around. "Baby, I want you to listen to me, and listen well. The day I become loyal to your father, is the day the sacred flame goes out, you hear? My baby is gone, but you always will stick with me, okay?" Otavi always called Isla baby. Isla whimpered knowing something was wrong. "You're my real mama, tavi." Isla whispered. "I know baby, I know." Otavi whispered back.Isla woke up to tressa shaking her. "Hey! Wake up!" She called. "Hm?" Isla muttered. "Get up!" "Fine." "We are all waiting for you!""Chill tressa.""Just get up!" Isla stood up, only to feel the urge to lay back down again. Tressa thrust the bag with the stone in it at her, and Isla flinched. "Can you please just take it?" Tressa asked. Isla just glared and took the bag. Primrose was humming something as they made their way to quarrycrest. Isla recognized the tune, yet still quiet about her dream about Otavi. Rose guard day, she thought. And the burial sight isn't to far from quarrycrest. Hopefully they have flower shops. Isla thought sadly. It had been years since she had visited Otavi's grave, and most of the time, she couldn't pull herself to do it anyways. After a couple hours, the travelers reached quarrycrest. "Business has started!" Tressa exclaimed. "I'm going to take a look around, tell me how business is going, okay?" Isla said quietly. "Okay!" Tressa said. Isla walked around, and then she found a flower vendor. "Can I just have a single rose, please?" Isla asked him. "Yes, of course!" He said, handing her a rose. Isla walked away, and to make sure no one was following her, she turned a couple wrong turns, and then reached the canyon. She used her rope to climb down, and then walked a mile or two to the grave sight. Weaving through the graves, Isla finally found otavi's, surprised that she couldn't find it for a while, she being the one who buried her. Kneeling down and setting the rose at her feet, Isla started to break. "You were always my real mama, tavi." Isla muttered, then let her tears fall.Later, at the inn: "And then alfyn swooshed in with his axe and slammed Omar to the ground! And-" tressa was excitedly reciting the day's events, as Isla listened quietly. "What did you do today, isla?" Tressa asked. "Oh, just walked around, not much really." Isla said. "Really? I thought I saw you buy a rose..." Primrose purred. "Ooooooohhhh..." alfyn said. "Islaaaa! Are you seeing someone?" Tressa squealed. "I want all the details!" Isla rolled her eyes. "There is no boy, guys." Isla said, walking to her room that the girls shared and lied down on her bed. Later in the evening, she went outside to find olberic looking down sadly. "The rose was for a rose guard, was it not?" He asked her. "Yeah." Isla responded "I noticed another rose when I went down." He said. "You knew Otavi?" Isla asked. "Yes. We fought many battles together, I knew her son personally, before he died." He said. "Tavi was around when I was little. She was like my mom." Isla said. "My mother never really cared about me, and I'd say, you are my real mama, tavi, and she'd respond with I know, baby, I know. She always called me baby." Isla was really trying not to break down again. "My mom would always tell me, Isla! Scars are meant to be hidden! Whereas tavi would say, baby, no woman who made history stood still and behaved like they should. Every scar is an adventure, a memory. The men shouldn't have you as a toy or a plaything by their side. You are a person, baby, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise." Isla finished. "She was an amazing fighter. She could take down an entire army single-handedly if she put her mind to it. She was kind too. She'd tell us stories of her and her baby, and when I got to meet the little guy, he was meant to be a fighter. He was funny, calm, and strong. Then the accident happened, and she left." Olberic said. "If you knew her when you were little, wouldn't that make you-" he asked. "Yes." Isla said. Olberic just nodded. "You are a strong one. I noticed otavi's swords and knew exactly who you were." He said. "I-i know tavi would want me to take my home back from my dad, and everyone else too, but i-i" Isla stuttered, literally forcing the tears back. "Its alright. But if you ever change your mind, my blade will be by your side." Olberic finished. Isla smiled. "Thanks. And when you decide to kick Erhardt's butt, I'll be there as well." Isla said. Then they both started to laugh. "And don't just kick his butt, shatter his tailbone." Isla said. They laughed again. "Cyrus is talking to Odette, isn't he?" Isla asked. "Yes." Olberic muttered. "Wanna go get something to eat at the tavern? A drink maybe?" Isla asked. "Yes." He said. Walking away Isla just looked around. "WHAT THE?" She exclaimed upon seeing an agitated Cyrus holding someone by the collar and interrogating them. Isla and the knight rushed over and asked what was going on. "There's been these strange kidnappings going on." Alfyn said. "Found it! We are heading to the sewers!" Cyrus exclaimed. Moving swiftly, the group of people literally ran through the sewers, hoping to find a trace of kidnapped people. Running from some lightning elementals, they ushered everyone in a room to take cover. "Um, guys? I think I found our victims." Isla said, trying not to freak out over all the metallic smell, and the dead people on the torture boards. A red rune thingy spread out in the middle of the room. Tressa was the first to turn around, and then her face went pale. She passed out. "Tressa!" Primrose called. Isla was glad she hadn't eaten anything before this, otherwise it would have made its way onto the red rune in front of her. "This rune, it's crystallized blood!" Cyrus exclaimed. "And this man over here, he's dead! It looks as if all of the blood was sucked out of him!" Isla closed her eyes. "Cyrus, please stop talking, or I'm going to puke." She said. From a cage over in the corner, a young woman stirred. "Someone's alive!" Isla yelped. "Don't worry! I'll get you out!" Cyrus exclaimed to the woman. "And what I owe this pleasure to?" A cold voice rang through the room. Isla froze. She recognized the voice. This man worked for her father. "Gideon." She whimpered. Isla was horrified. "Isla, you know this man?" Primrose asked. "Ah, Isla. I am surprised you are still alive. Find some friends, did you? That was what you always wanted, huh?" He asked. "How do you know this guy?" Alfyn exclaimed. Isla whimpered and pulled out her swords. "Didn't your mother teach you a lady doesn't fight?" Gideon asked. "No, she taught me the exact opposite" Isla said, voice wavering. "Then your blood will be next!" He screamed, lunging at her. Isla flinched, too scared to even move, and put up a pathetic block from Gideon's dagger. He barely missed her. Olberic rushed from behind and slashed at Gideon. Gideon roared and dashed out of the way just in time. Isla, however, wasn't doing so great. She was hyperventilating now, the sheer terror of the event was overwhelming her. Therion ran over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "I get it, you're scared right now, this event is disturbing, but isla, you have got to pull it together, okay? Make your mom proud or something." He said. Isla trembled and nodded. She pulled up her swords again and screamed, "cyrus! Fireball!" Cyrus nodded and pulled out his hands. A giant ball of fire was created, but before he could throw it, Isla ran forward and kicked it towards Gideon. Gideon yelped and let out a growl. Isla squeaked. Gideon rushed forward, and let out a creepy laugh. Primrose was in a corner, protecting an unconscious tressa. Isla shivered, trying not to think about what would happen if Gideon got to tressa. Sadly, her thoughts were interrupted by therion, who was flying headfirst into her. "Oof!" He grunted, getting back up off the ground. Gideon had charged into therion, and olberic pushed him out of the way, hence leading him to crash into Isla. "Isla! I know you don't really like it, but the stone would be very helpful right now!" Alfyn called. Isla squeaked, and obediently pulled out the stone, feeling the searing pain that came with the heat. She tried to ignore it. She pulled her hand forward to unleash a blast of fire, but was stopped by a soft voice in her head. Control him, it whispered. Isla raised a had in front of her face, turning it sideways. Focus on his mind, inhale, exhale. Don't let the voices on the outside get to you, the voice whispered in Isla's head. She obeyed. Ignoring the yells from her companions, she glimpsed something. Gideon turned towards her, fear striking in his eyes as his hand with his dagger raised at his throat. The more she tried to force him, the more energy she wasted. After a minute, she ran out of energy, leaving gideon to strike a blow to his own chest. Isla could hardly breathe as the hooded man let out a bloodcurdling screech. Isla tried to stand up on shaky legs to do it again, but could only get him to stand still, and not for very long. Everyone else saw this, and took the chance to attack, including a now conscious tressa. "I WILL NOT LOSE TO YOU!""WATCH ME NOW!""YOU WONT FEEL A THING!""MY BLADE IS UNBENDING!""LET MY ARROW FLYEN TRUE!""The winds of fortune are howling!""LETS DO THIS!""MY FOCUS IS UNPARALLELED!"Isla heard one last screech from Gideon before she passed out. -----------------------------------------------------------‐-------------------Isla woke up in the dungeon, panting. She looked up to find that she was restrained on one of the torture boards. She started to struggle. "Oh, I wouldn't do that, child." Gideon appeared in front of her. "Where are-" Isla said, interrupting herself, not being sure that they could really be friends. "They traded you. You, for all of the prisoners. And it was an unfair trade, on their side." Gideon laughed. "I might as well start hooking you up, but my machines were part of the deal. I will have to take your blood myself!" He said, stabbing his dagger in and out of Isla. She screamed."Hey! Its working! Shes waking up!" Isla tried to open her eyes, to see everything as a big blur. "You are one miracle of an apothecary, alfyn." Someone said. "Shucks." Alfyn? mumbled. Isla couldn't be sure. Isla's eyes cleared, and what she saw was not a pretty sight. Tressa looked like she was vomiting her guts out, over in a corner with Primrose. Olberic was on the ground, blood spilling out of many wounds, while haanit and Ophilia fussed over him. Cyrus and Odette were studying some sort of book, and therion was crouched next to alfyn, helping him tend to Isla. "You okay?" Therion asked her. Isla just shook her head and mumbled something. "Lets see then, where does it hurt?" Alfyn asked. "Not like that." Isla muttered. "Oh." Alfyn said. "Phili looks like she needs your help alf." Isla muttered. "I'll leave therion with you then." Alfyn finished, walking towards olberic, who was struggling trying to sit up. "Still scared, huh?" Therion asked her. Isla couldn't hold it back anymore. Her anxiety got the best of her. She started to whimper, then let herself cry. "I-i don't know. I'm just so freaked out now, and-and I never liked Gideon, and now I had to face him again-" Isla started. "Hey, we all have to face our own demons, some quite literally." Therion said, glancing at a now dead Gideon. "I hate this place." Isla muttered. "Sorry, I've been told I cry too much." She added. "Yeah. You do." Therion said. Isla just laughed. "Okay! We have gotten everything taken care of! Let's get out of this Gods forbidden place." Cyrus said. "Tevin shall be waiting upon us!" He said, trying to lighten the mood. Once they got everyone moving, it was only a few minutes until they reached the end of the sewers. A lot of people were outside, hopefully looking for their friends and loved ones. Isla was so happy to see the sunshine again, and once they got to the inn, Ophilia, Primrose, and Haanit decided to go get something to eat and bring it back. Tevin chattered and leaped into isla's lap, who was ecstatic to see her platypus. Linde and hagen seemed to want the attention as well, so Isla patted the empty spaces by her, and they happily obliged to jump up on the bed. "Isla, I didn have known thy were a animal type!" Haanit chuckled. "I have a platypus. That didn't explain anything?" Isla responded, happier than ever to see that the snow leopard and the direwolf had taken a liking to her. Tressa, however, wasn't really as happy about this. "I don't know how you are enjoying this, isla." She mumbled. "I don't know why either, I just really, really hate the sewer place." Isla responded. Isla patted the spot next to her. Tressa obediently sat down, while all of the animals shifted over. "Do you want to share a room with me tonight?" Isla asked. Tressa looked surprised. "Sure." She responded. Isla smiled. Isla and tressa talked, mostly about tressa's complaints about not being allowed to drink, therion, missing her parents, therion, and therion, were most of her favorite subjects to bring up. The day turned to night, when alfyn came in to check in on everybody, about the terrors earlier. Isla didn't expect herself to get any sleep, but she tried anyways. Isla woke up to a sound of a strangled whimper. Tressa was on her bed, curled in a fetal position. "Tressa?" Isla asked. "Tress, you okay?" Another whimper. "Isla, it's scary." Tressa mumbled. "We were late, weren't we?" She asked. Isla wanted to agree, but stopped herself. "Hey, we couldn't have been on time, tressa." Isla said, sitting next to tressa and putting an arm around her shoulder. "Someone once told me, heroes can't always be there on time. A disaster strikes, and some people would have to end up dying. It's sad, but really, we did the best that we could to help people tressa. Think about what would happen if we just ignored the kidnappings. We would be dead as well. Now, enough talk about evil, let's talk about something else." Isla said, trying to comfort the girl. "Y-yeah." Tressa mumbled. "You're kind of confusing, Isla. One minute you're mean and ornery, and another your like this." She said. "Yup. That's me. I know that I don't really talk a lot, but I can tell you this. I had a little sister once, and she'd be about your age. I never got to really meet her much, since we were both really little." Isla said. "Hey! Let's not get sad now. We are companions, so I have to know about the present you, isla!" Tressa said. Isla smiled, as a knock sounded at the door. "Come in." Isla said. It was Ophilia. "S-sorry, I w-was just wondering if anyone was awake." She said. "Its okay! Come on in!" Isla said. An hour passed, and all of the girls ended up in Isla and tressa's room. "So, your favorite color is orange? What was your original hair color like?" Tressa asked excitedly. "It was dark brown and curly. Very curly." Isla answered. "Speaking of hair, do you guys want to give each other makeovers? Please, it will be fun!" Tressa said. "Tressa, it's like three in the morning, are you sure?" Primrose asked. "I say its a good idea." Isla pointed. "Is this being like the girl time, you have talketh about, Ophilia?" Haanit added. Ophilia blushed. "Yeah." She said quietly. They all laughed. "I have some hair and makeup stuff in me and phili's room!" Primrose said. "And I have some playing cards in my backpack! But it's in alfyn and therion's room." tressa added. Isla blushed and said, "I have temporary hair dye?" She was holding up some boxes. "That would be soooooo fun!" Tressa squealed. She was a little loud. Cyrus knocked. "Sorry professor!" Tressa said. "Its alright. I done think any of us are asleep anyways." Cyrus replied. Isla scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to Cyrus. "Can you give this to alfyn and therion? And get prim's makeup kit from her room? And can you get us some blankets and towels too?" She asked. "O-of course." Cyrus responded. He left the room, and about twenty minutes later, therion knocked, holding tressa's backpack, Cyrus with the makeup kit, and alfyn with the towels and blankets. "Might I come in to see what you five are up to?" Cyrus asked. "Nope, just want the stuff bye!" Isla blurted, taking all of the items and slamming the door in their faces. Primrose was rolling on the floor, laughing. The men heard the laughing and looked at each other, bewildered. Finally, alfyn spoke. "Women are weird." He mumbled, while the others nodded in agreement. "EEE! This is so exciting!" Tressa said, as everyone started unpacking their things. They spent their last night in quarrycrest laughing and messing around with each other's hair. -----------------‐-------------------------------------------------------------They gave one last farewell to the people of quarrycrest and jumbled forward towards their next location. "So, what's next?" Isla asked. "I sent a letter in advance to the bishop of Saintsbridge, and he said they weren't quite prepared for the kindling." Ophilia said. "Say that we go whispermill, then to stillsnow, then Victor's hollow." She finished. "Good plan." Cyrus added. "But It's a really long way to whispermill, isn't it?" Isla asked. "We coulde taken a carriage?" Haanit suggested. "Then it is agreed. We will take a carriage to whispermill, then go make our rounds to everywhere else." Olberic finished. The carriage ride was only a couple of days long, better than being on foot. It was morning, and Isla walked up and decided it was best to ask around. She walked up to a woman and asked, "do you know of a Tejano?" The woman stayed silent and then walked inside. Isla got the same reaction from the other villagers as well. "That was weird." She mumbled, looking for the others. Afterwards, she found them all looking at a certain structure. "This place feels off." Tressa mumbled. "Yes. There is something dark about this place." Primrose muttered. "Then let's find this man isla's looking for, and get out of here." Cyrus said. "Bad news. The folks around here aren't very talkative." Isla said. "I noticed that when we were setting up reservations at the inn." Alfyn muttered. "Hmm. Professor, can you find him maybe?" Isla asked. "He shouldn't be that hard to find." Cyrus thought it through. "Yes. Probably. Let's ask the innkeeper if he is staying there." Cyrus finished. They walked in. "Please, dear, could you tell me more about a man named tejano?" Cyrus asked the innkeeper. "Tej-tejano?" She squeaked. Isla looked around at her companions. Urgh, they'll just find out sooner or later, Isla thought. She sighed. "Look, Tejano's my brother. I need to find him." Isla said. All of the others just stared in confusion. At that, the innkeeper squealed. "You and I are going to be sisters!" She said. "Wha-what?" Isla exclaimed. "Sorry. Tejano was my boyfriend, but he proposed three days ago!" The innkeeper said, showing Isla her hand with a ring on it. "I'm Lona!" She giggled. "I'm isla." Isla said. "So where is tejano?" She asked. "He went to go pick me some flowers in that cave over the there." Lona said. "Thanks, Lona." Isla said. Urgh, if I had only come four days ago, Isla thought. "Wait. Was that just an act to find Tejano? He's not really your brother, right?" Alfyn asked. Isla had alfyn, therion, Cyrus, and olberic with her. Isla was quiet. "The real question is, brother or not, why are you looking for him?" Cyrus asked. "Don't ask me anything right now." Isla stated. Peering around a corner, she found him, kneeling down in front of an area of flowers. "Tej. Fancy seeing you here." Isla said. Tejano flipped around. "Isla?" He asked, smiling. "Its so good to see you!" He stood up and ran towards her, arms open for a hug. Isla blocked him with one of her swords. "I wouldn't be so happy to see me if I were you." Isla growled. "I want an explanation. I'd usually kill you where you stand, but since I met your fiancé, I'll give you a chance to explain yourself." She said, voice still in a low growl. Tejano froze. "Isla, I just wanted to go home! Dad was welcoming me back! After he was told that you were alive, he threw me out again. I know I should have listened to you!" Tejano exclaimed. Isla just glared. "That's not what you were talking about, wasn't it?" He asked. "I'm so sorry about tavi, I know how special she was to you, she would have protected you. I know, I was an idiot. I'm so sorry." Tejano confessed. "Both of the siblings at once. It really is my lucky day, isn't it?" Lona's voice echoed through the empty cavern. Isla and Tejano turned. "So wait, he really is your sibling?" Alfyn asked. Isla just ignored him. "Lona?" Tejano asked. "Hehe. Yes. Finally. I can finally get this job done!" Lona laughed, pulling out a poison covered dagger. Tejano looked at Isla. "Just because your fiancé is a mercenary, doesn't mean you're off the hook, Tej." Isla said. "So, Isla, didn't know you had four boyfriends." Tejano said, dodging an attack from lona. "Shut up." Isla responded. "Isla! We are all generally confused, is this guy your brother, or not?" Alfyn said. Isla just kept ignoring him. "Shes in a bad mood. Hi, names Tejano, I'm isla's twin brother." Tejano said. "I think we'll be good friends." Alfyn smiled. "Heck no. I'm not letting you go ahead and find out a good reason to hurt me, or these guys." Isla said. Therion gasped, and put a hand to his chest in false surprise. "You care!" He said. Isla just glared at him. "And I'm not talking about you therion. If my brother lays a finger on the ladies, he'll be dead before he notices." Isla said. "What ladies?" Tejano asked. "These ladies!" Tressa said, throwing a spear at lona. "Good timing tress." Isla said with a smile. "You're smiling at her?" Tejano exclaimed. "Yes. I am. I don't forgive easy tej." Isla said. "I said I'm sorry!" Tejano said. "You stabbed me, poisoned me, and tried to drown me." Isla muttered. "WHAT?" all of the travelers exclaimed at once. "Heh. If you think that's surprising, just you wait. Also ise, the pink does nothing to your appearance." Tejano replied. "Shut up teja!" Isla said, throwing a punch at Lona. "Fun conversation going on here." Primrose said. Lona was having a hard time keeping up with the group, and she finally managed a slash at Tejano before falling off a ledge. "Ragh!" She screamed. "Well, at least that's over." Ophilia muttered. Tejano was on his knees, holding his stomach wound. "He's poisoned!" Alfyn exclaimed, rushing towards Tejano to help. Isla and therion both put out their hands to stop the apothecary. "What?" Alfyn asked. Isla looked at therion and pushed alfyn in his way. Isla walked up to her brother. "I'm sorry Tejano. I won't hurt you, but I won't help you either. You're still with father." She said. "Please, Isla! Remember when we were little, and when we'd play together? What happened to that?" Tejano asked. "He's your brother Isla! You can't just leave him to die!" Alfyn exclaimed. Isla turned and walked away. "I grew up, Tejano. My childhood is over." She said, grabbing alfyn by the shoulder, and despite his protests, he was outmatched. Isla slung him over her shoulder, which was quite a feat, considering that alfyn was taller than she was. And heavier. "Isla, I don't want to oppose your judgment, but are you sure about this?" Olberic asked. "Yes." She finished, walking out. "Let me help him! Let me go! Someone help him!" Alfyn screamed over isla's shoulder. Everyone followed nervously. "Isla, please come back! There's an albino bat and a snake! Isla, please! Please!" Tejano yelled. Isla ignored his pained screams as she left the cave. "Are you going anywhere after this?" Cyrus asked. "Saintsbridge. Someone was waiting for Tejano there." Isla said. "How do you know?" Tressa asked. Isla just tapped one of her temples twice. "Oh." Tressa replied. "To stillsnow, then." Isla said. "Wait. I think we should go to goldshore first, and wait for the letter from the bishop, telling ophilia go ahead. Besides, phili needs to complete the kindling, she has the most important mission out of all of us." Primrose said. "That sounds good." Cyrus said. All of them were ignoring alfyn's screams, yells, and protests. Finally, Isla had enough. She set alfyn down. There were tears in his eyes. He grabbed his satchel and ran off. Primrose tried to go after him, but Isla stopped her. "He'll come back." She said. "But-" Primrose started. "He just needs to cool off right now, okay?" Isla said. They trudged their way back to the inn, and by nightfall, alfyn still wasn't back. "What could have happened?" Primrose asked. "I don't know. I'll go look for him, you guys go to sleep. I'm the reason he ran off. I'll explain." Isla said, setting off. Trudging off into the distance, she finally found alfyn, curled up against a rock. "Hey." She said. Alfyn looked up at her with wide, puffy eyes. "Why?" He asked. "Look, alfyn. My brother and I, we, he isn't a good person anymore. He would have killed us all. I wouldn't have been able to stop it, alfyn. It hurt me to walk away too. I'm not some heartless monster, but I can't risk it anymore. I just don't want anyone to get hurt." Isla said. "If you regret it, maybe it's not too late to go help him?" Alfyn said. "Alf, he's gone." Isla said, voice cracking. "So you abandoned your brother to keep us safe?" Alfyn asked. "You sure you didn't do it for a certain someone? " he asked, winking. Isla rolled her eyes. "Nope. Come on. You're not getting off so easily. Primrose is very pretty, isn't she?" Isla asked, a glint in her eye. "Hey! Y-you won't tell her, will you?" Alfyn asked. "Let me tell you a bit about me. You know my bones are weak, I have anxiety, but I have several breathing disorders and hallucinate a lot, all thanks to Tejano. When he stabbed me, he injected some sort of poison, making me like this. So basically, I keep my mouth shut. It's safe with me." Isla finished with a grin. "Thanks." Alfyn replied. "Anyways, we got to get to goldshore, don't we?" Isla asked. "Yep." Alfyn replied. They chatted silently while they made they're way back to the inn. Therion was watching them, a sad expression on his face. "Alfyn!" Primrose said, pulling alfyn into a hug. "Dont scare me like that!" Alfyn blushed and glanced at Isla, who grinned and gave him a thumbs up. "What was that about?" Therion asked. "My mouth is shut." Isla responded.