Chapter 6

After talking with Irabeth, I went to find the Queen to see how I could help the city post-battle. She was in her war tent, talking strategy with Arueshalae, Vincent, and Hulrun; the four of them grew silent as I approached. I greeted them, hoping to simply get back to business, but the Queen insisted on making sure I was in the right mental state to work. I assured her that I had no problem being here, so we got back to business. Galfrey sent Arueshalae and Hulrun to pick off demon stragglers who were still outside the city, and sent Vincent to round up paladins to assist with the healing effort. Which left me.

Galfrey was apparently still upset with the way I had exercised my duty earlier, because she said I should get help with my “anger issues”. I responded that I did not lose my temper during the Saggaroth incident, and she mercifully dropped the issue. She suggested that I get some rest, but I did not want to feel useless after the battle, so she said I could go help repair the temple Saggaroth damaged. Then she left to go rally some more troops, and I headed over to the temple.

When I got there, Saggaroth was using his magic to make repairs - using his powers for something constructive for a change - and Fay, Felix, and Wynn were standing around. I hadn’t seen much of Fay in a while, so I made sure she was doing alright with her damaged ankle. Then I noticed a priest I hadn’t seen there earlier watching Saggaroth as well - I surmised that he was the one who was murdered, and I went up to speak with him. What was meant to be a simple greeting to make sure he was doing alright after coming back to life turned into a long conversation about a number of topics. Somehow I felt… comfortable talking with him. He struck me as a good man, if a bit awkward and socially unpracticed, and since he was complaining about never getting out of the temple, I offered him service in my personal retinue. He jumped at the opportunity, and went and fetched a strange device he called a “firearm” to show me. I had seen them before briefly, but never so close up. Fay was quite fascinated by it as well, so the priest - his name was Volley - went out back to demonstrate it to her.

After I finished helping repair the temple, I started walking around the city to see how things were going elsewhere. As I passed through the wrecked marketplace, I caught a glimpse of Vincent comforting a little girl. I’m afraid I watched a bit longer than I should’ve, admiring his compassion, and though I tried to leave before he saw me staring, he caught me nonetheless. I slightly awkwardly greeted him, a bit flustered at having been caught.

“Casimir, is there something you want to tell me?” he said with a wry smile.

“I, uh… n-no. I… have to go.” Blast my indecisiveness. Though feelings rise up in me every time I see Vincent, they’re complicated and strange; after these difficult few weeks, I’m not sure I can trust my emotions. I made a mental note to think on this further.

I got back to the palace where my companions and I were staying. Felix could tell something was up with me, unfortunately, but I excused myself to bed without explaining. If I were to talk about Vincent with anyone, it certainly wouldn’t be that chef.

The next morning, I received a summons to see the Queen. Apparently my companions - oddly including Saggaroth - as well as Vincent and Hulrun received the same letter. We were escorted to the Queen’s presence, where we were told we had been selected to lead a council to decide how to rebuild the city. It was a great honor, and though I am no civil engineer, Felix was oddly adept at allocating funds. It took eight hours, but we hatched out a six-week repair plan, leaving some funds for the military as well. At the end of the meeting, though, Hulrun insisted on building his own barracks for his demon-hunting inquisitor regiment. Although I couldn’t see the harm in it, Hulrun still strikes me as untrustworthy; I must make sure to keep an eye on him.

It was late at night by the time we were finished, so I went straight to bed after that exhausting day of business. The next morning, Felix made the most amazing pancakes I’d ever smelled, a welcome treat after the events of the past few days in our war-torn city. The heavenly breakfast inspired me to seek out Irabeth, since I hadn’t seen her in a couple days, not since our tense discussion. I found her not far outside the palace, still busy helping people. I’ve always admired her compassion. I invited her to breakfast with me, and she accepted, though she made sure to emphasize that it was only breakfast. Fine, I could deal with that.

Though our conversation started off somewhat awkwardly, the discussion quickly got easier. During breakfast, she mentioned that Vincent had asked her earlier about flowers; she’d given her personal opinion that lilies were the best. We also discussed Hulrun; Irabeth didn’t trust him either, and I asked her to help me keep tabs on him. We got back into our old rapport; I’ve always got along great with Irabeth, and she’s always made me feel at ease when I’m around her, like her empathy and understanding dispel any hardness in the air. Dammit, there are more important things going on than personal relationships; why must I be so distracted with sentimental feelings for not one, but two people? My relationships in the past have never been so… juvenile.

Just as I was thinking that, I felt a tap on my shoulder, and Irabeth’s eyes widened across from me. I turned around, and there was none other than Vincent - holding a handful of lilies. “Casimir. These are for you.”

“I… don’t know what to say,” I responded honestly.

“Well, say something, please.”

I turned around to Irabeth. “Can you give us a moment?”

“Take all the time you want,” she said, and got up and left.

I turned back around to Vincent and stood up. This was going to be difficult. “Vincent… thank you. I’ve had a very stressful few weeks, and I’m not sure how I feel about anything at the moment. I’m not saying no… but I can’t say yes right now, either.”

“If it’s not yes, than it’s no. I’m not going to wait around.” He was acting like he was unfazed, but I could see the hurt in his eyes.

“I’m sorry.”

He left the lilies on the table and walked away without a word. I stood there a moment, feeling awful about myself, then I went to go find Irabeth.

Before I could, however, Fay ran up to me, shouting something about Saggaroth being dead and Felix being catatonic and something about Nocticula’s mark. I followed her with haste back to the small temple of Shelyn, where I found Saggaroth’s body, as well as Felix, who had been the victim of what some call “Charisma drain”. I calmed Fay down and reminded her that she could cure Felix, though there was likely nothing we could do for poor Saggaroth. Perhaps I was wrong about him… though he was impulsive, trigger-happy, vain, selfish, and somewhat dangerous, he did die trying to help someone, trying to do good. Perhaps he truly redeemed himself in his final moments. I never thought I’d say this, but… I’m going to miss him.