Kings Game

Chapter 126 - A New Adventure [End of Kings Game]

"Did you say goodbye to Samwell?"

"Yes, I said goodbye to Samwell."

"What about Lane, and Sasha? They've been busy all week helping Darling."

"I said goodbye to them too. I promise you, I said goodbye to everyone, double checked my pack, I sent off all the necessary letters, I have handled everything that needs to be handled. We're fine."

Matriarch Gwendalyn let out a long sigh. "I just...I'm just...I'm going to miss you, Roran."

Roran smiled back at her. "We'll be back...eventually. We just need to get out of the city, go spend some time on the road, you know?"

She nodded. "I understand. I just hoped that, with all of this nonsense being over with, you would be able to stay and rest for a while."

"I'll do plenty of resting under the open sky on the open road. I promise not to get up early and to spend plenty of time watching the stars."

Matriarch Gwendalyn cupped Roran's face. There were tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry, this whole ordeal has shaken me. We're all struggling to adjust. And poor Darling. She's carrying the weight of a nation on her back. Multiple nations! And now she has to say goodbye to Kell as well."

Roran grabbed the Matriarch's shoulders and squeezed them gently. "I understand. I know that this is hard for everyone, but things are going to work out. I promise. If you ever need anything, simply write a request in the notebook I gave you and the lyhlim will make sure we get the message."

"And you're sure it's a good idea to be working with those people?"

"They're Sarah's people, remember. And now they're mine. I'm one of them. Going out and helping them with their work is the least I can do after all they've done for us."

"Okay, you're right, sorry. I'm just...this feels like a final goodbye. Please take care of yourself, Roran."

Roran hugged the Matriarch. When he first saw her in the Crucible, years ago now, he had no idea how much of an impact she would have on his life. He was grateful for her presence and her guidance, but it was time to go. There were new adventures waiting for them.

Roran hefted his pack and left the house. A small wagon was stationed out front with a pair of horses all ready to go. Nul was in the wagon, adjusting their supplies and making sure a heavy tarp was covering them. A light drizzle was falling from the sky, it was the least rain they'd had all week.

A group of lyhlim sat in the wagon, watching Nul work. In the middle of all of them was Darling, her eyes bloodshot and a thoroughly used handkerchief clutched in her hands. Next to her was Kell's body. Inkala was curled up against Kell, his chin resting on her chest.

Roran went to the wagon and deposited his pack before climbing in. He sat across from Darling. "Hey, how are you holding up?"

"I'm not," she said. "I can't do this without her. It's too much. The Queens keep putting more and more work on me and it's too much. I need Kell, I need her here to support me."

Roran took Darling's hands. "Hey, you managed without her before, you can do it again. You can do this, I promise."

"Are you sure you can't stay?"

Roran gestured to the storm clouds above them. "We need to get Kell's body out of the city. Without Kell to help contain him, Inkala's power will start to tear apart the city. There have already been two flash floods in the city streets, we need to get her body away from here until we can patch her up."

"And you're sure she's...she's...she's alive?"

Roran shook his head. "She's neither dead nor alive. The lyhlim have her caught in a middle state. Her soul is still there but her body can't survive on its own. We need to put her back together, but that's going to take time."

"A lot of time," said Nul, tying down a tarp and joining them in the wagon. "I have to repair all of Kell's organs, most of them from scratch. It's going to take a lot of trial and error, and even then we are talking about months before she's stable again."

A fresh batch of tears began running down Darling's face.

"It's going to be okay," said Roran for the umpteenth time. "You will see her again."

"You're sure?"

Roran nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure."

"Okay, I'll trust you. But you three better come back. If you don't, I'll put out a bounty on you and drag you back by force."

Nul rolled their eyes and muttered, "Good luck with that."

Roran simply smiled and said, "Understood."

With a little more encouragement from Roran, Darling pressed a final kiss to Kell's forehead and climbed out of the wagon.

Nul climbed into the lead and took up the reins, urging the horses into motion. Darling's entire house was out on the front lawn, watching them depart, waving and crying. Roran waved back before returning his focus back to the wagon.

Kell's body was safely tucked into blankets and tarps, hiding the worst of the damage. Nul had done what they could, but the fight with Tasos had been brutal. Kell's body would need a lot of healing before she could be brought back to consciousness.

One of the lyhlim sitting next to Kell rose to their feet and dissipated into the air. Another lyhlim appeared in its place to take over for it. This had been going on since the day the Kings fell. An honor guard of lyhlim had constantly surrounded Kell, keeping just enough of her alive so her soul would remain within its body. Theoretically, all they had to do was heal her and Kell would come back to them, but that would be a long and difficult process. Mostly for Nul.

Inkala shifted in place and nuzzled in closer to Kell. So long as she lived, he would be bound to her. Unfortunately, his power was no longer contained and he was once more the Eternal Typhoon, wreaking havoc on the local areas through his presence alone. So Roran and Nul had decided to leave the city and take Kell's body with them. One day, all three of them would return, happy and healthy. But until then, they had to leave.

With a flick of the reins, Nul got the wagon into motion, heading towards the western gate of the city.

"Are you sure we shouldn't be taking a flying ship?" asked Nul.

"No more arenas means no more soulstone. Those ships won't be flying for long."

"There is plenty of soulstone in reserve. We could load up a ship and fly it until we run out."

Roran shook his head. "Darling and the Queens will need to keep as much soulstone as they can until it runs out. Besides, I like traveling this way. It's the same way we traveled last time."

"We weren't carrying our weight in gold last time."

Roran shrugged. "Details."

As Nul steered the wagon through the streets, Rath appeared next to them.

"Finally off?" he asked.

"Finally," said Roran.

"Excellent, we have plenty of work for you."

"It has to be away from cities," Nul said.

"I've taken that into consideration. There are two remnants to the south, along the coast. They're in rural areas, both of them completely insane, poor things. Once you've dealt with those two, there are several more in the outlands."

"Are remnants common in the outlands?" asked Roran.

"They're abundant. Due to the amount of powerful remnants here, we haven't been able to spare resources to deal with them. We'll need you three to spend a few years working your way through the various outland continents to get them all."

Roran settled back into the wagon and raised his face to the sky. Gentle droplets of rain fell down to kiss his forehead and cheeks.

"That sounds like quite an adventure."