Year 87.3

  *Bohater and the Queen Aphisect continue in their brawl. Emma and the party help get the others to safety from the flood. The last of the Aphisect’s swarm the camp set up by the Gnomish army. Emma turns to the lake to see Bohater starting to show signs of exhaustion again. Hemlock *

  Hemlock: He’s not got much left in him.

  *Emma looks down at Hemlock, then Bohater, before sighing.*

  Emma: Fine.

  *The voice within reaches out to Emma; she can feel them offering to aid her.*

  Emma: I thought you hated humans?

  *The queen rushes Bohater only to be blasted into the shore across the way. Emma stands on the water, skating across the surface using her magic. She rushes to Bohater as he kneels in exhaustion. *

  Emma: Your aunt said you could use some help.

  *Bohater looks up to see the purple hue in her eyes. He smiles as she helps him stand.*

  Bohater: She worries too much.

  Emma:*Turns to the Queen and scowls.* Are you ready to finish this?

  *The Queen cries out, and all the Insects in the area begin charging the camp.*

  Bohater: Any ideas?

  Emma: I might be able to cast a piercing spell. But I’ll need some time to prepare.

  *Bohater raises his eyebrow in confusion before nodding and running toward the queen. Canda and Pts stand on the shore and cast spells to help enhance him before he runs off. As the queen stands, he drops a haymaker, creating an impact point as her body collides with the ground. Emma’s eyes glow a deeper shade of purple.*

  Emma(TL): Lily. I’m gonna need you to reach into your reserves. We need everything for this one.

  *Lily begins focusing, and Emma closes her eyes. She watches the vessel filling with a glowing fluid.*

  *The queen slowly lifts her head against Bohater's fist, as she stands, he unleashes a barrage of punches. The queen stops him, grabs his fist, and lifts him as high as she can while standing by his wrist. Using her other three arms, she begins her own barrage against him, holding him in place as she tenderises her next meal. She starts to laugh when all goes silent. Bohater drops to his knees, bloody and beaten. His eyes barely open, and he looks over toward Emma. Her eyes open, and she vanishes, reappearing behind the queen, her blade tapping against the shell. The queen laughs before a burst of water bursts through her Exoskeleton, creating cracks everywhere.*

  Emma: Still with me, Lily?!

  *Lily stands at the shore, focusing all her strength toward Emma. Her body tenses up as she focuses, making her fur stand on end.*

  Hemlock: You okay, little one?

  *Lily nods*

  Lily: Yeah. I’m fine, Mama.

  *Emma twists the blade, and the entirety of the queen's hard shell shatters. Replaced with an ice shell. Emma leaps back as the queen swings at her.*

  Emma: Replaced one shell with another.

  *Emma clicks her tongue in irritation as Bohater flies past and slams down onto the Queen, shattering her body like a statue. Emma throws her arms up to cheer before throwing up.*

  Emma: I can’t remember the last time I used enough magic to make me sick.

  Bohater: You okay?

  Emma:*Wipes mouth* Yeah, I’ll be a minute, go ahead and help the others.

  Bohater: No can do.

  *Bohater nods before falling onto his back.*

  Bohater: *Smiles* I don’t think I can move either. *Laughs* Ow.

  *Emma smiles, and after a moment, she stands up and begins walking toward the camp.*

  Emma: I’ll be back.

  *She looks at her hand as it shakes.*

  Emma(TL): Hey, Lily.

  Lily: *Sick*ugh. Yeah?

  Emma(TL): I don’t remember anything after hearing the voice again.

  Lily: What do you mean? I didn’t hear anything.

  Emma(TL): It was more like. I felt her. As if asking if I needed aid. One moment, I started to think about agreeing. And then the next, I was throwing up what little bit of lunch I had.

  Lily: But she seemed helpful at least. Before, she was scary, and she’d control me against my will.

  Emma(TL): Either way. I’ll need to start meditating then.

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  Lily: Huh? Why? She’s clearly calmed down since before. The only side effect was that we got a little sick.

  Emma(TL): Yeah…

  Emma thinking: And I lost the time she was here. What if she just took over for a while? Wait. Would Lily even notice then?!

  Lily: She even talked to me this time. *Licks paw* She sounded like you, but more serious.

  Emma: Then there is hope; we can find a way to better tap into it without losing ourselves.

  *As Emma gets back to the camp, the ground shakes as the walls of the once ravine fall in, and the erosion starts from the massive rise in water. The camp manages to avoid the collapse safely, but loses a tent of supplies as it flows out into the muddy lake. Canda runs toward Emma, calling to her.*

  Canda: Emma! *Waving*

  Emma: Uh oh. That looks like I have to explain things again.

  Canda: What the hells was that?

  Emma: That. It’s a long story, but to do that, it uses all my magic reserves.

  Canda: What? No. I mean the flooding?! Grt is not happy. Apparently, the water came from a river.

  Emma: Oh. So even better than.

  Canda:*Shakes her head. *No.

  Grt: You both took all the water from the town. And flooded the majority of it!

  Emma: Okay. do some repairs. At least that long-term pest is now long-term gone.

  Gnome knight: She does have a point, General.

  Grt: Which is why, as punishment, you’ll be helping.

  Emma: And if I disagree?

  Grt: We’ll just tax Griffin.

  Emma: Wait. So, you know who I am? *Pouts* Fine. But I’ll need to rest a bit more before I can use my magic efficiently again.

  Grt: You can rest on the way back. We’ve got things under control here. You two will be heading to town with the injured.

  Canda: *Nodding* Wait?! Two?! Why am I getting roped into this?

  Grt: Because witnesses said you went with her.

  Canda: *Sigh* Okay. Let me inform the others.

  Grt: Be quick about it. They’re leaving soon.

  *One of the nights, as the party sits around the fire. Hemlock asks to talk with Emma in private. Following her, she casts a weakened privacy spell, mumbling their words to others.*

  Hemlock: The boy and I were going to head out soon.

  Emma: Oh. Where are you headed?

  Hemlock: *Smiles* Don’t worry. He just wants to go ask your boyfriend.

  Emma: Okay, make sure to avoid the forest.

  Hemlock: Why’s that? I know it’s dangerous now, but the boy is plenty strong.

  Emma: I was born there, and I won’t return. That mist is not safe.

  Hemlock: How did you get here then?

  Emma: You can skirt the southern edge. I’d recommend you try someone else first, though. I’m. *Exhale* I’m not as strong as I was before. Or at least my magic reserves are weaker. I haven’t needed to use strong magic for a while now. That fight back then took more than I knew I had.

  Hemlock: I understand. *Pause* But I also know that Bohater won’t move on until he gets a yes. He wants me to get home. *Scoffs* Says I‘m startin to remind him of his Mah.

  Emma: Another reason he won’t want me around.

  Hemlock: *Smiles* I have two youngins of my own. Because of me. Bohater hasn’t gone out of the western territories. He wants to go back so I can visit on their birthdays. That’s our first stop and why we’re leaving.

  Emma: Dwarves celebrate birthdays?

  Hemlock: Until they’re old enough to ask us to stop. Half our holidays are previous royalty birthdays. Ever since the first king forgot his wife's birthday.

  Emma: Also. Sorry about that before.

  Hemlock: No reason to. Elves have been given a bad rap for a while now. You won't find any in Mithrun or Glimmerfell.

  Emma: Inferna has a few settlements, although I hear they don’t have spirit bonds. I presume some are hidden in Lycaris as well.

  *As the last of the structures are built, Emma and the party finally have a place to rest with the finalisation of an Inn large enough to accommodate the taller folk. *

  Emma: This is stupid! We’ve already rebuilt everything. The only stuff left is the furniture and things.

  Pts: They said we might get to go soon. They just need to clear it with the higher-ups.

  Rodrick: Then I say the rest of us head out. We can start gathering intel in the city nearby. You two can catch up later.

  Canda: I’m going to bug Grt until he sees reason.

  Emma: I’m going to go to bed. Wake me up tomorrow.

  *Emma heads upstairs, exhausted as she enters the room, Lily leaps down and uses the floor to sharpen her claws. Emma sits down to write a letter to Griffin, sealing it with a kiss. She lies it down before walking over to the bed, falling back from exhaustion.*

  Emma: This is taking too long. At this rate, we’ll have to head back before we find the damn thing.

  Lily: At least we have a bed now.

  Emma: *Sigh* Yeah.

  *As Emma hears a knock at the door, she sits up.*

  Canda: Emma! It’s time to go!

  *Emma opens the door to a smiling Canda.*

  Canda: The mayor said since we’ve helped them so much already, they can handle the rest of the repairs now that everyone’s home is built.

  Emma: *Rapid blinking* But. Bed.*Emma turns to the bed behind her. *deep breath.* Okay. But I get to choose the next stop.

  Canda: *Embarrassed* Of course! *Softly* Right after our next stop. *Emma squints* We still have to meet Lord Gik. Apparently, he also has information on the flower we’re looking for.

  Emma: *Points at Canda* That! That’s my next choice then. *Laughs and sighs.* Okay, I’ll be down in a minute.

  Canda: ‘Kay!

  *Canda runs off, and Emma grabs her things, and lifts her wrists in front of her mouth, the band turns to the Yellow of Elizabeth’s gem.*

  Emma: Are you there, Elizabeth?

  *The door opens, and Elizabeth steps into the room. The door seals behind them, glowing for a moment as it turns back to normal.*

  Elizabeth: How may I help you?

  Emma: We’re going to see Gik again. I don’t know much, but they want to run some tests, and from what I’ve heard, they should be noninvasive.

  Elizabeth: Oh, Arthur and Griffin made this for you.

  *Elizabeth pulls out a packed meal with a note on top and hands it to Emma.*

  Emma: *Confused* Where did you pull that from?You what. Nevermind. How are they?

  Elizabeth: Everyone wishes the best for you. Kimmy and Haze stopped by for dinner as they’ve been doing once a week.

  Emma: What?! She never wanted to join me. And when talking to Haze, he said she wasn’t free. I’ve been seeing less and less of her since...*deep breath* At least now I don’t have a time limit with her. Oh!

  *Emma quickly grabs the letter. And hands it to Elizabeth.*

  Emma: Can you deliver this to Griffin for me? I’ll call for you when we get closer.

  Elizabeth: Of course. If you have nothing

  *Elizabeth bows and heads back through the door as it glows. As they leave the town, Emma’s head bobs with the bumps as she looks back and smiles.*

  Emma(TL): I hope Griffin says yes to them.

  Lily: Really?! You seemed genuinely bothered by the request before.

  Emma(TL): Yeah, I know. But I missed this. And he seems pure in his goal. Would be nice to see the world again.

  Lily: Say that again in two or three centuries.

  *Emma speaks along with Lily*

  Emma(TL): *Smiles* I miss Dad, and Keya… I miss everyone.

  Lily: Me too. Isabella was starting to get good at baking.

  Emma(TL): Yeah, thinking about it, you definitely lost weight since then.

  Lily: Are you calling me fat?

  *Emma struggles to hold back her laughter. Pts raises an eyebrow.*

  Emma(TL): Were fat. There is a difference.