Chapter: 544 – The Story of My Life

Tala was mentally and magically exhausted, having just closed the cell with the seal cleaned and reset for another uncounted span of internment.

Still, she couldn’t just relax as the leader of the Defender unit who had been tasked with helping her—and whom she hadn’t used, nor even informed as to what she was doing—stood behind her.

Tala turned, meeting the woman’s stare. “Can I help you?”

“What. The. Rust.” There was genuine confusion, along with no small amount of budding anger, in the woman’s tone.

Tala lowered her chin a bit, along with her voice. She was in no mood to deal with this sort of thing at the moment. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me. What the rust? Did you just crack open that cell without us? Do you have any idea how risky that was? We need to be here to keep the prisoner back. This isn’t some sort of sightseeing venture for you to go around looking wherever you want.” There was a mixture of frustration, concern, and contempt in the tone, by that point, and Tala was honestly surprised that the woman stopped her mini-tirade to let her respond.

Terry let out a dismissive trill, but Tala ignored the advice to just kill the woman. Terry probably wasn’t actually serious. Instead, she shook her head. “No. I didn’t ‘crack it open.’”

The woman immediately opened her mouth to argue, finger raising to point at the obsidian, which clearly still radiated magic after having been used so extensively.

Tala, however, was done with this conversation. She just wanted it to end. She had a splitting headache, and Alat was mentally drained to the point of only grunting irritatedly at the Refined’s attitude. The Paragon lifted her hand, forestalling the other Archon. “No. You will listen. As I said, I didn’t crack it open. I opened it wide, held the prisoner back, and fixed the seal. The job is done.”

A blank, uncomprehending stare and a once again slack jaw were the only immediate responses. Finally, the woman closed her mouth and huffed, clearly incredibly off balance, but quickly regaining her sense of the situation. “Very well then. I have three things to say.”

Tala cocked an eyebrow but didn’t otherwise respond, willing to allow the woman to say her piece.

“First, thank you for doing the job well. I’m sure it speaks very highly of you and your capabilities that you are able to handle such a thing all on your own. It also explains a bit of your stand-offish nature, earlier. We were not only unnecessary to the task as assigned, we likely slowed you down. Additionally, you are the Paragon on this mission, and thus you have ultimate say on how this cell was to be dealt with. In that vein, you exercised that authority. I don’t happen to agree, but I don’t have to.”

Tala grunted, but nodded in acknowledgement of at least some parts of the rambling ‘first’ point. “You’re welcome. I’m glad that we are agreed on so many points.”

“Second.” The woman’s eyes hardened. “You arrogant bit of slag.”

Tala blinked in surprise, rocking back just a bit at the force and emotion in the words.

“You couldn’t even be bothered to talk to us? To have us ready in case something went wrong? To let us know that something might go wrong? We were already here. Would that have been so difficult? Do you realize that if the prisoner escapes we’re to blame too? The Council won’t care that you went off on your own initiative. That doesn’t even factor in the fact that the prisoner would have escaped, and that’s bad for everyone. We were tasked with this cell, and you were meant to be our aid. You were the final arbiter of the means, but we were still the ones tasked with the job. Instead of honoring that and following even a modicum of protocol, you risked our reputation, along with the horrifying chance of that prisoner escaping? And you couldn’t even have been bothered to let us know? Or give us any sort of indication or warning?” The unit leader shook her head at Tala. “I have no words…”

Tala waited a long moment, fighting back dozens of biting retorts. None of them would be useful, and she didn’t really want to get into a shouting match—or even a longer discussion—with this woman. When nothing more was forthcoming, Tala grimaced and prompted, “What was the third thing?”

“What?” The woman was clearly fuming, and the question just as clearly caught her off guard.

Tala sighed. “You said you had three things to say. You only made two points.”

“Oh…” The woman grimaced, her cheeks reddening a bit. “I… I assumed that I’d think of something else, and I didn’t want you to interrupt.”

Tala chuckled. “But you didn’t think of something else.”

“But I didn’t.”

The humor of the non-sequitur broke some of the tension, but not much. On Tala’s part, she actually remembered being in an almost identical situation, but from the other side. Not that she was about to share that with this woman…

Tala grimaced, sighed, and nodded. “You’re right. I should have been better… been more communicative.” Dozens of excuses flashed through her mind yet again, but she put them aside. “I could make excuses, or give my reasons, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re right. You have my apology.”

The other woman grunted. “Well, that’s a pleasant surprise. Thank you for that, at least… I’m still not gilding this in my report. If I’m honest, you’ll likely be reprimanded then promoted.”

Tala laughed again. “That is just about the story of my life.”

The Refined regarded her for a long moment before grunting again, this one sounding more exhausted than the first. “You know, somehow that doesn’t surprise me.”

* * *

The return trip was… unpleasant without being actually hostile.

The other members of the Defender unit were similarly shocked and irritated with Tala’s means of closing the cell, but thankfully, none of them were as enraged or vocal about their feelings as their leader had been.

Even though it was night by that point, no one mentioned delaying their return to Alefast.

They quickly put out the remnants of the fire and otherwise made the evidence of their presence fade away. They were all eager to get back home, it seemed.

Still, Tala deeply wished to just leave them to it and return to Alefast on her own. She almost even offered to take them, but something told her that the offer wouldn’t be well received, let alone accepted.

Instead, she did as she’d been bid and stuck with them until they reached the city gates and were let inside.

She exchanged terse goodbyes with them just inside the gate, and moved herself into Kit, where she promptly flopped down on the grass near where Rane was tinkering with something.

She groaned, and he glanced her way, a smile tugging at the edge of his lips. “That bad, eh?”

“Yes and no…”

Something in her tone must have been telling, because he hesitated for only a moment before quickly tightening the part he was working on and willing himself over to sit by her side. “Do you want to talk about it?”

She laid her forearm over her eyes and sighed. “No… Yes? I don’t know.”

He chuckled. “Those are the options, yes.”

She lifted her arm to give him a fake glare beneath the starry sky.

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The look had no effect on him—even though she knew he had no trouble seeing it—and he just shrugged. “I’m here either way.”

With that, they fell into silence.

That silence only lasted about two minutes before Tala groaned in frustration yet again and began speaking.

She told him about the whole experience. She didn’t gild any part of it, laying the truth of things bare before her husband.

During the retelling, Terry flickered into being, curled up beside her neck and shoulder, and she absently scratched at his head and neck, exactly how he liked it, while continuing the tale.

When she was done, Rane simply continued to sit with her in silence, and while she was initially irritated, after a lengthy pause, she realized that she actually really appreciated the lack of pressure to continue or do anything else.

He had simply listened to her attentively, and he was now simply being with her.

Part of her positive reception of his silence was likely due to her threefold sight, which assured her that he wasn’t distracted by other things, or lost in thought, or anything of the sort.

She wasn’t sure if he would ever have broken the silence, as before he did, there came the willful, mental equivalent of a knock on their door.

Master Grediv had entered the range of Kit’s reach, and somehow extended his authority outward until he brushed against their sanctum, allowing the action which drew their attention.

Rane raised an eyebrow at Tala, and she sighed.

A moment later, she’d willed them both into chairs, a small table before them and a third chair set opposite.

Terry flickered to her shoulder, still maintaining the act of sleep, though the very act of his flicker—and the precision of his landing—meant he was well aware of what was going on around him.

With things set and ready, Tala opened a portal for the Paragon, the human leader of this city.

She could have just pulled him in—and he likely would even have let her—but she felt like it would be more polite to open a way and allow him to step through under his own power.

Once inside, and after the portal closed behind him, Master Grediv gave a shallow bow. “Mistress Tala, Rane, Terry, it is good to see you all.”

They returned the greetings, Terry even giving a low trill of acknowledgement though he didn’t open his eyes.

That drew a smile from the older man, but it quickly faded. “I suppose you’re likely aware of why I am here?”