"Then I get there, and the boy has his vine over the commander's head like a stocking. I thought about helping, but he appeared to have it in hand."
Potter was telling Brist how everything had gone down, just as he had told White, Necia, Licht since they had arrived back at the safe zone. In every telling, the details seem to get a little bit more codic and a lot more effective in eliciting laughts.
"That matches with what I saw. Tulland running off like an idiot, you two disappearing, then a few minutes before every one of the earth n fell to the ground covering their ears. Only lasted a few seconds, but a few seconds is a long ti." Brist took a drink of water out of his flask. "Sha about Tryce and Hannibal, though."
"Sha," Potter agreed.
The first battle for the eleventh floor had co with no losses at all, but this battle hadn't been as easy or as to-plan. The enemies were stronger than before, especially since their fighting thods were more varied.
Chasing the pursuing enemy army had worked very well, but it had been disordered. By the ti White and the others forced the enemy troops to stop chasing Tulland and Potter, they had lost order and control of everyone. So the success had co with costs. Two unlucky people had been shaken from the spear formation, overwheld, and didn't make it back.
—
Tulland spent half the night laying awake thinking about the two warriors who hadn't made it. He hadn't known either of them well, but both of them had been big, gruff, capable-looking n. He had been intimidated by them, a week ago. Now those invincible seeming fighters were gone for good.
How fragile am I?
Pardon?
I an… how close did I co to death today?
About the sa as any other day, I suppose. No closer than you ca to death fighting the Forest Duke. Or the Cannian Knight. Or the rogue. Or the chira.
Yes, I understand that part. What I an is, how close was I? Say in seconds. At my most dangerous, how long would it have taken for mistakes to cause my death?
You want to know?
I do.
A single mistake. A split second. You've already been in that much danger more tis than you could easily count, even when you were fighting the motes at the entrance gate. Have you not realized this?
On so level, sure. I don't think it was… real, sohow. It was terrifying. I could feel my heart beating with fear. But why wasn't it real?
You never lost a father.
I did. And why does that matter?
You were too young to rember much when your father passed. Other people spend decades with their fathers. They know them as young, strong n who grow tougher and wiser as they age. And then, one day, they die.
And?
Think about if your uncle died. What would that look like? How would it feel?
That old man would never die. He's leather.
That, Tulland, is my point. You think you are joking, but in so ways, you are as serious as anyone could be. To you, your uncle is immortal. You have no concept of it even being possible for him to die. But he could. His heart could give out. He could have an accident fishing. One day, he would be there, and one day he wouldn't.
I understand that.
Every human thinks they do, until they find out they don't. If your uncle had passed, you would have understood death. That it's real. It would have been part of the texture of your world in a way that would have inford every move you made. What you are experiencing now with the warriors is a smaller version of the sa thing. In so ways, you have just learned you can die.
Tulland wrestled with that idea for a while. It made no sense, except for the part where the passing of a few people he hardly knew had him awake half the night thinking about it. He wouldn't admit the System was quite right, in the sense that it understood all of what Tulland was going through. There was sothing there, though, sothing the System was correct about. It frustrated the hell out of him.
"Tulland, sleep." Necia's voice rang out in the darkness. "You need the rest."
"I could say the sa thing to you," Tulland shot back.
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In the dark, Tulland could swear he could still fear Necia glaring at him.
"I tried. I have too many things to think about."
"The warriors that fell?"
There was a pause. "Yes. You too?"
" too. The System says that it's the first ti I've had to confront death as a real thing."
"Do you think that's right?"
Tulland sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes. It was a long day, and he was tired in every cell of his body whether it was easy to go to sleep or not.
"I don't think it's wrong, exactly. We put them in the dirt. Why did The Infinite send their bodies back? Why not just take them?"
"Courtesy, probably. They say that funerary rites put an end to things. That they close a book that would otherwise stay open in people's hearts. It didn't want to rob us of that, if I had to guess."
"I wish we could have done better for them." Tulland rested his chin in his palms. "Nobody knew them. We couldn't save them or rember them."
"Their families would have had services for them, too. In so ways, I guess they got more than most. But that's not what's bothering either of us. Can I say it, or will you?"
"I can." Tulland gulped. "If they can die, so can you."
"If they can die, so can you," Necia repeated. "I don't think either of us can get by without the other anymore. Why is that?"
"That's easier to answer on my side. You are more than I deserve. Here or anywhere. I'm almost glad I found you here because I don't think I would have had a chance anywhere else."
"Stupid."
"No, you."
Necia groaned. "Listen, plant man. Do you know when I knew you were right for ? How long ago that happened?"
"No."
"It was when you made that bag. I'm still wearing it. The System keeps giving choices to get a new one and I keep telling it no because I rember this kid with no armor using so of the very first fur from his weird, bizarre tree to make a present when I was trying to keep him safely at arm's length."
"That doesn't make sense. It's not even that good of a bag."
"It's a fine bag. But no, it doesn't make sense. I don't think things like this are supposed to make sense." Tulland heard Necia roll over to face him in the dark. "It's just how it is. You got with that stupid bag. Be happy."
"Oh, I am." Tulland sat for a while, rubbing his face. "Listen. I can't promise to keep you alive. I think you know that. But I promise to try."
"Good."
"That's not all. I think I need to say this." Tulland gulped with a dry mouth. "And if you go first, which I'll try my very hardest to make sure doesn't happen, I promise I'll have things to say when they put you in the dirt. Good things. True things about you."
"Lay back down, Tulland."
Tulland did. There was silence for a bit.
"Tulland?"
"Yes?"
"I'll have things to say about you, too."
Tulland half-smiled in the dark. Then, suddenly and almost ecstatically, he felt sleepy.
—
"Tulland. Wake up. Sothing is happening." Necia shook Tulland awake the next morning.
"Not the next floor. It can't be that fast."
"It's not. It's sothing else. There's too much activity around the village. Get ard. I won't leave until you are ready."
Tulland shrugged into his armor and restocked his plants, letting his Chira Sleeves latch onto his wrists then having them lean back and trace the contours of his arms almost back to his shoulders. He took his Farr's Tool in hand, and checked his status screen. He hadn't been the main contributor to the fight this ti. That had been Potter, and then White. But he had easily taken third, which had co with a lot of experience.
Tulland Lowstreet
Class: Chaos Farr LV. 77
Strength: 60 ( 5)
Agility: 60 ( 5)
Vitality: 60 ( 10)
Spirit: 110 ( 5)
Mind: 70 ( 10)
Force: 170
Skills: Primal Growth LV. 23, Produce Armant LV. 22, Market Wagon LV. 19
Passives: Broadcast LV. 20, Botanical Engineer LV. 21, Strong Back LV. 18, Fruits of the Field LV. 18, Farr's Intuition LV. 20
It was a big jump both in stats and skills, and Tulland was happy with it, if also a little bit bored at not getting a new toy out of the bargain. Necia told him that was normal when he first whined about it. Unfortunately, that didn't take much of the sting out of it.
With his farm still humming along nicely, Tulland felt at least a bit confident to face down whatever was happening. That confidence grew when Necia got in position to his left, ready to protect them both. Together, they strode out of the house and towards whatever new danger faced them.
There were new people in the village. That much was clear the mont they left the house. Licht, White, and Potter were doing their best to keep order as the current residents of the floor lined up against the newcors. They were barely managing to contain aggression, and even the delicate balance they had struck almost fell apart when Tulland ca into view.
"He's there!" one of the new people yelled. They were all identical light-armored warriors, each wearing the sa basic gear as the others. All of them looked young, not just in body but for once, actually feeling that way. In a world where everyone was returned to fighting form on arrival, that was rare. "Tulland Lowstreet. He's there."
"Tos of the ancestors. Tulland, I wish you had not co out. Do you know these people?" White said.
Tulland looked from face to face. Not a single one of them was familiar.
"No? I don't think so, anyway. How do they know ?"
"That, Tulland, is what we've been trying to find out. I'm not even sure if they should have been able to get to our floor, but this one," Licht pointed a thumb at the largest of the young warriors, "claims to have co here looking for you. That The Infinite let them through to find you."
"I have no idea, Licht." Tulland realized with embarrassnt that all the warriors in the village were lined up not to protect themselves, but to keep him from harm. It was more loyalty than he had expected he had built here. "Everyone, calm down. Let see what's going on."
Tulland walked up to the edge of the line with Necia glued to his side. If nothing else, she wouldn't abandon him to so new threat. The newcor warriors stood as still as posts until he got there, seemingly reluctant to change anything they were doing when their goal was so close.
"I'm Tulland," Tulland said as he walked up. "And who are you? How do you know ?"
"I'm cleric trainee Rossi. These are my subordinates. So of them. We had twice this many when we entered. We are here to retrieve you."
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