A story about the decision to walk the path of destiny.
Cidolfus Telamon x OFC
- Erie Murdoch has witnessed the power that has brought the Duchy to ruin and plunged Rosaria into political turmoil. Stripped of everything she once knew, now a fallen p...
"I've never been to the Greatwood before. Real nice here. So many plants and animals." Those were Glenn's words, who had also decided to accompany the group to the hideaway as they wandered through the woods. Of course, with the Bearers at their side, they could no longer use the Crystal Road, but had to take the cross-country route. Erie agreed with him. This was her first time in the Greatwood in Sanbreque, but she had already read a lot about this huge forest. A beautiful nature reserve, untouched by the Blight, diverse in flora and fauna. You had to hand it to Sanbreque, nature in the Empire was beautiful.
"If only those pesky bloodflies weren't buzzing around everywhere," Gav commented, waving his arms wildly in the air to shoo away the flies that had gathered around him. "Stay close to Erie and me and don't use magic, capiche?"
"Yes, sir!" Hortense proclaimed, saluting gleefully. Their journey through the forest was uneventful apart from a few encounters with wolves and other small monsters, which Erie and Gav managed to take down with ease, and they were able to spend most of their time comfortably chatting with each other.
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Erie never expected it to feel like coming home, as it did the moment they finally set foot back in the hideaway. The familiar sounds of people chatting, Blackthorne's hammer on metal, the crackling of the fire in Kenneth's stove, Charon's loud voice shouting orders to Goetz, all instantly calmed Erie down. Sighing, she plopped down where she stood, heedless of her clothes, whose final hour had long since struck.
"You're back." Otto approached the arrivals, greeted Hortense and Glenn and instructed them to get something to eat and familiarize themselves with the hideaway. Erie raised her hand to wave goodbye to them, hoping they found a new home.
"I need a bath," she announced, "can Blackthorne heat up some water for me? Ah wait, I'll ask him myself or he'll get mad at me and call me a princess." Erie scrambled to her feet.
"You are one after all." Otto grinned at his little joke while Erie stuck her tongue out at him. "Well, that's not very princess-like." And so, Otto made himself laugh, whereupon Erie laughed too, for Otto was so rarely heard laughing that the few occasions were particularly catching.
"Oh Blackthorne!" Erie fluted, sauntering towards the blacksmith where one of the hideaway's two fireplaces burned. That's where she liked to heat water for a bath.
"Not again Erie." Blackthorne's voice always sounded very emotionless, usually rather annoyed, and that was the case every time Erie wanted something from him. Yet she had learnt that with a little persuasion, he could often be convinced to comply with her requests as long as they weren't too demanding. Besides, the water for everyone's occasional bath had to be heated somewhere, and Cid hadn't yet designed or built a boiler near the water intake.
"But look how dirty and ragged I am, have mercy on me. Gav can use the water afterwards."
"Cool, thanks for your generosity," Gav was heard to say wryly, who had moved to stand in front of Charon's stall to talk to her about the last mission and the new wares Erie and he had been able to inspect at the market outside Northreach.
