I was still a little sore from Oaxaca's crashing into me, but I was healing up well. The pain subsided over time. The coach driver knew where to go from here, back to Tantallon. When we reached Tantallon Oaxaca and I would split up then. I would go back to Nepeth and report to the Knights while Oaxaca would further her Cleric stuides.
I mostly sat by the window, looking out into the wild. Trees upon more trees were in my view, with the animal or crazed orc every so often to change the scene. Oaxaca probably occupied herself with something else, I hadn't spoken since we left Duender. The silence only lasted so long. I started to think about Kushana.
What could have happened to turn her into such a vile demon? Was it because of her friend, the "who" I kept asking her about? Whatever happened to the person I fell in love with at the beginning?
Flashbacks appeared in my mind. Seeing her in the Nepeth bar. Her confronting of me in the Eldar manor. Her vow to kill me in front of an angry crowd.
All negative. No trace of the friendly Kushana showed through. Yet I still denied that the person I saw was Kushana. Even with the proof she showed me. I would not believe it.
So many questions, but no answers. There were unanswered questions before, now there were a lot more to pile on.
Eventually, Oaxaca broke my train of thought.
"Knight, you look worried." she said to me.
I let out a quiet chuckle to dispel the serious tone of her voice. "Not worried...just thinking hard." I told her.
"Who was that woman?" she asked me.
"Which?" I said, even though I knew who she meant.
"That one who was leading all the villagers against you. That other Knight."
"Well, she is, or was, a Knight. I know that. Really though, she was someone I cared about deeply. She is the reason I went far as I did. And I loved her. But now, I don't know what's going on. It's all going crazy, ever since she became what she did."
"How could you care about something as demonic as her?"
"No, she never was like that. At least before. She was sweet and kind. Not spiteful. An angel all the way. But on the mortal plane." I truly believed what I said.
"Until now?"
"Well, I have a story to tell you, if you are willing to listen."
"Nothing else to do. I'm all ears." Oaxaca began to listen intently.
I told her the whole story. The first meeting in the manor. The conversations with Kushana. The request (or requirement) for me to become a Prince. The signature in the church. The disappearance. Each part of my story challenged my sanity. I bordered on breaking down in front of Oaxaca. I just hoped I could get through it all. Telling the story left me sad, but I didn't shed any tears. I had used them all up already.
Oaxaca had appearently listened. She looked a little bit sad. She began to comfort me.
"What a sad story." she said.
"You mean it?" I said back.
"Of course."
"Thanks. I feel better talking about it." I looked out the window again. I saw familiar surroundings. We were getting closer to Tantallon. I started seeing the beach south of Tantallon. Unmistakeable. The same beach where I sat, watching the stars, thinking of whether I should bring Kushana to watch with me. Just so I would have another excuse to be with Kushana. I never could coax her to come, so I usually just stood at the shore, skipping rocks, and wondering why.
The old Kushana. Not the wicked one I've seen recently. I sighed. I pondering over the many questions in my mind. But, there was little time left, the coach was nearing Tantallon.
"Almost in Tantallon." I said. "You all ready?" I asked Oaxaca.
"Yeah, just about." Oaxaca was fooling around with some items in her sack. "Oh, I have something of yours by the way." Oaxaca plunged her hand deeper into the sack. I wondered what she could have of mine. When her hand reappeared, it held a crossbow.
The same one KSki gave me. She handed it over to me. Then, Oaxaca dove into the pack deep again. She probably had another suprise for me. Oaxaca pulled out a fish and gave it to me. The same one Caryn had dropped. Although, this was now cooked.
"Took the time to fix that crossbow for you and cook your fish." she said.
"When?" I asked, wondering.
"While you were sleeping."
"You didn't have to do this you know."
"Like I had little choice. The fish was starting to spoil, and I had nothing else to do."
"Is there anything you can't do?"
"Probably. But I haven't found it out yet." She started laughing out loud and I laughed with her.
The coach finally starting to slow from its normal pace. It suddenly stopped in front of the inn. Oaxaca and I got out. I saw familar surroundings. I was back in Tantallon.
"I guess this is where we split up?" I said to Oaxaca. "Very nice to see you again though."
Oaxaca gave me a tight hug. "Anytime! Make sure to keep in touch."
"I'll make sure of it." With that, Oaxaca ran towards the Cleric's Common church, probably eager to study and learn new spells. A person eager to study? The most studying I ever did was for my brawl skill. Like I used that.
In any case, I had to get back to Nepeth. I had enough adventuring for a long time. I probably needed to explain my absence to them. And, I had to see if the Knights knew anything about Kushana.
I stepped out of Tantallon town limits. I began walking the path to Nepeth. It would have been a time for good reflection.
If the sky wasn't dropping people on me.
I heard the sound of something falling. I looked around, but I didn't see anything. The sound got louder. I ducked, hoping to avoid getting hit by whatever was coming.
Ducked was a good choice of words.
Right in front of me, something fell. Dust came from the site of impact. When the dust cleared, a figure was sitting in a hole made in the ground. Probably from the impact.
It was a half-elf, I knew that. She had long, curly, nightblack hair, as well as a scarf around her neck. She looked a bit dazed. I would think so, after falling from the sky and all.
"Excuse me, what happened?" I asked her.
"Huh? Oh, sorry for dropping in." the half-elf said.
"Hmm. You okay?" If she was hurting from falling, she didn't show it.
"Nah, i'm okay. I do it all the time."
"Half-elves flying around, what's next?"
"Half-elves." The half-elf looked over herself. "Oops! I'm in my mortal form."
I knew I was dealing with a wizard now. The half-elf in front of me starting changing. Her long black hair slowly disappeared into her head. The legs and arms were getting much shorter. Her hands got a bit larger, somewhat looking like wings. The mouth moved around and got much longer, stretching out from her face. The eyes moved to the sides of her head. If you could still call it a head. The head was slowly becoming smaller and rounder. And yellow colored feathers started to appear all over her body.
In a small amount of time, a half elf (who fell in front of me) turned into a duck.
Not any duck. Just Duck.
Duck was one of my few wizard friends. Probably because I got on her good side when she a mortal. Good thing too, she sure could fight. Went around, bashing heads and taking names. She always did seem like a different person from the rest. Now I knew why.
(Know me now?) Duck said. I nodded. I was a bit amazed by the wizard powers of Duck. Duck quacked at me.
(Good. Much better.) Duck said again. She flew over to me, and landed on my shoulder. (How is it going?) she asked.
I smiled at Duck. "Sorry, don't have any bread today."
Duck quacked at me. (Forget about it.) she said.
I started walking on the path back. (Heading back to Nepeth eh?) she asked. I nodded at her. (Good, they were wondering where you were.) Duck stayed on my shoulder. It would have looked a bit silly to someone, a duck on a person's shoulder. Not to mention the person talking to the duck.
"Duck?" I started to ask her, "When you were in Nepeth, did you see Kushana anywhere?"
Duck shook her head. (I'd be suprised if I saw her too. She has been missing for awhile.)
"Well, I just saw her, when I was away."
(You did? Did you get to talk to her then?)
"Oh. I talked to her alright." I pondered about telling her turn for the worse. I decided not. I didn't feel like giving her my burden. "She's...she's...alive." I said.
(Wow! You must be happy then!)
"I guess I am. To a certain extent."
Duck looked at me with a weird look in her eyes. (Um...to a certain extent?)
"Well, I mean, she ran away when I saw her. I couldn't get any real answers."
(Oh.) Duck understood. (Well, she always was running away.)
"What ya mean by that?" I asked.
(I helped her when she became a Knight. I remember, she was a very curious girl when she was around. Always poking about, getting in trouble.)
Young Kushana. The Kushana I never knew. When I first saw her, she was already set up in the world. I was the new one around.
(When Kushana started thinking about getting married,) Duck started, (She wanted me to do the marriage! I guess I'll have to do it for you and her then, since she saw her.) Duck gave me a smile only she could do.
"Huh...I guess so." I let out a slight frown.
(Humph. You don't look happy about it.)
"I am! Just that...well..."
(Can't say eh?) I shook my head. (Well...I could just scan your mind, but that would be too easy.) I gave her an odd look. She just winked at me.
"You remind her then. When you see Kushana again, tell her I love her. And if she says something different...oh well." I sighed.
(Whatever. I'm sure she still does!) Duck said, to cheer me up. (Besides. Don't worry about it. If she doesn't like you anymore, i'm sure you could find someone else.)
I chuckled. I hoped so. "Thank you. You've made me feel a lot better."
(Anytime!) Duck said. (I got to go, i'll see you around.) Duck started to flap her wings and fly away, into the sunset.
I reached the Nepeth town limits. But, something was amiss. The town had a darker feel. It was odd. All houses and stores were closed and locked. Torches remained unlit. It was hard to see. I saw some shadows moving about, and heard some screaming coming from the castle.
Did Kushana drop in to visit? Or was something more evil at work here?
