The Arcana ~ The Requiem of Lost Memories

VIII - Strength

1. Salty Bitters
A loud knock interrupts my usual morning ritual, pulling me down the stairs of the shop. I wonder who it might be... We haven't been open for days... And it's still early.
Asra's nowhere to be seen, but that's not strange. He's often already gone when I wake.
"Akiko, are you home? It's Portia, we really need to talk!"
Portia? What is she doing here?
I open the door, hesitantly, and move aside to let Portia in.
"There you are! Phew, glad I caught you before you left.
Oh, is this what your shop looks like?
Look at this place!"
Portia peers over a crystal ball, fingers hovering just over the glass, before she quickly pulls them away.
Then she moves to a shelf of herbs and starts examining them.
"Portia... You said we needed to talk?"
"Oh! Sorry, Akiko. You're right.
Milady wanted me to check up on you. Um, see how you were doing in the investigation. You know, with Ily-
...Julian."
Her smile fades as if it has never been there.
"Do you want me to catch him?"
"Me? Why would that matter?"
"He's your brother. And when Nadia catches him, she'll hang him. Are you really alright with that?"
"I-
No. Are you?"
It doesn't need much self-reflection for me to find my answer.
"No."
Tension fades from Portia's shoulders. She let's out a low breath and then smiles brightly at me.
"Great! So we're partners then."
"Partners?"
"Well, we both want the same thing, right?
You don't want my brother to die.
I don't want my brother to die.
Now we just have to work on making sure that my brother doesn't want my brother to die.
We need to get him out of the city.
As long as he's in Vesuvia, he's in danger."
This sounds fairly logical, but...
"... Will he let us help?"
Last night, he didn't seem that interested in letting anyone else close.
I have no reason to believe he has changed his mind since.
"... Sounds like you're talking from experience."
"I am. Last night..."
"Last night?"
"He pushed me away. Said he would have to do this alone."
"That sounds like Ilya, alright. Let me guess, he told you it was to keep you safe? He used to do that a lot when we were younger. He never let me handle anything...
Always shouldering someone else's burden, while lamenting how heavy the load is.
I mean, I'm happy to hear that he's still my same brother. And now that I'm older, maybe I can finally help carrying that weight.
Ilya needs people he can rely on.
He might need you. So let's go find him."
I think back to my last encounters with Julian. All of them were by accident, and more like him finding me, than the other way around.
"Where do we find him?"
"Hmmmmm... I think I know where he might be. Follow me."

The tavern is quiet as we step inside. A few patrons mill around, taking in low murmurs. The burly bartender behind the counter nods at us, and then goes back to cleaning glasses.
We're in The Rowdy Raven.
I've been here before... With him. It's not very busy, but Portia seems so sure. Noticing my concern, she turns to me with a smile.
"Trust me. I know my brother. He'd definitely hang around a place called The Rowdy Raven."
Our eyes wander through the room, looking around, when a flash of auburn catches my eye in the far corner.
Julian. He's slumped over his table, face obscured by his hair.
The stein in his hand isn't the only one near him. Glasses litter the table, in fact.
"Oh boy.
There he is. Listen, when he gets like this, what he really needs is a good boot to his ass.
You want to deliver it, or should I?"
She doesn't have to ask twice.
"I can do it."
There is a wealth of things I'd love to shout at his face, but... let's not overdo it. It's sufficient to pull him out of his misery.
I clear my throat, straightening my back and approach Julian's table with purpose.
"Julian."
Julian jumps a little, nearly dropping his stein. He lifts his head slowly, blinking up at me.
"Akiko!
You, uhhh- You're here. In the Raven. In front of me.
What uh- What are you doing here?"
Portia raises her voice.
"What are YOU doing here? It's the middle of the day!"
"It's never too early for a glass of Salty Bitters. Bartholomew makes a grand one. Barth! Hey Barth! Two more bitters, would you?"
I stare at him, completely not understanding him to the slightest.
"Julian, this is a great way to get yourself caught!"
"Caught? Me, caught?
Hmmm, good. I'd deserve it."
Julian throws his arms out dramatically, knocking a hand into a chair that wobbles precariously then stills.
"You must be relieved. Even if you weren't last night, well. Just look at me now, hmmm?
I'm all... I'm all washed up.
You'd better get out of here, before I drag you both down too."
Oh, please. This is definitely NOT going to happen. There's no way I'd let him sit here alone, drowning his sorrows until he's arrested.
Not until I don't know what makes me feel this way.
"No."
"I- er, what?"
"We aren't leaving."
Julian stares at me for a moment. Then, he groans, dropping his head to the table, and presses his cheek to the wood, eye closing.
His voice comes out muffled and quiet, a reluctant admission.
"I don't want either of you tangled up in this mess. I can't be the reason you get hurt."
"We get to decide that, Ilya, not you! Stop trying to push us away."
"I...
Well you both came all this way...
Why don't you pull off a seat? Take a load off. Have a Salty Bitters.
They're disgusting.
... I've had five."
Julian doesn't look like he will move anytime soon, but...
We can't afford to stay here all day. I clear my throat.
"Well... We have two options. We can either spend the day here, crying into our drinks-"
"You should, they're delicious."
I roll my eyes on his remark but continue:
"Or we can find out the truth, discover what really happened."
"Or, third option, we get Julian out of town now and think about the rest later!"
"I can't just run away, Pasha. I've tried before, and that didn't turn out so well. It's time to face the music."
Portia scoffs, but gives in.
"Fine, fine. So, if you didn't kill the count, someone else must have, right?"
"Hm... I didn't actually think about that. Either I did, or there's another killer on the loose. Which is... Bad. It's bad if there is a murderer out there that's not me.
Though, let's uh, let's be clear here.
All signs point to me."
"And we still don't know that, Ilya!
Shouldn't we find out for sure?"
"... I suppose we should. But...
... I don't think I can do this on my own."
Ah, he's finally coming to his senses!
"You don't have to. We'll figure it out together."
"So, if we can't get Julian out of town, what's our next step?"
Right... We'll need a plan if we want to discover what really happened that night.
Julian's life depends on it. If only he could just remember...
"We should start at the scene of the crime. It might help jog Julian's memories."
"Well, it won't be a problem for us, but how will Ilya get into the palace undetected? If someone sees him, it's all over."
That is a problem. But...
What if they don't see him?
"There is a spell I can use. Something to disguise him."
"What, you mean I'd become another person?
But who would I become?"
There's only one person who would make sense to be traveling with me and Portia.
But... Given his former remarks...
I'm not sure how Julian will feel about it. It might be better not to tell him.
"I think I know. Let's go out into the alley. I'll change you there."
We head out into the alley, Portia and I supporting Julian as he tries valiantly to keep his balance.
We stop in a deluded corner, well away from prying eyes.
I've never done this myself, but I've seen Asra doing it a dozen of times. It should work, I just need to focus.
I gather some dirt from the ground, blowing it on Julian. It shimmers in the air until it settles down on his skin, rippling with magic.
And then, suddenly, he's different.
"Oh, who's that? He's handsome!"
"What, what? How do I look like?"
He glances around, and then scrambles to a puddle, dropping down to his knees to peer at his reflection.
"Oh my god."
May Asra forgive me this someday.
"I'm definitely too drunk for this."