Part 35: ARC III: Part 12: Cade and Auburn.

ARC III: Part 12: Cade and Auburn.

Back at the inn, after locking up Grinfrak...


Like it always does. Why do you ask?

Just looking for some feedback, that's all.

I'm not sure it was such a good idea for us to stay here tonight. Anyone might see us leave the room tomorrow out of costume and find us out.

I wouldn't worry. We're far from Port Arianna, and with all the telepaths that live here, most people may already know.

Speaking of telepaths... who was this Dasani woman? I heard her name a few times in class, but I wasn't aware you knew her.

I know who she is! Er... was. The woman with the wings!

Wings? What do you mean? Was she some kind of angel?

Close enough. She always said her wings were a gift from Arcadius to help her spread her message.
Her enemies would tell you she mutated her body with powerful holy magic. I suppose only she knew for sure.

So she's not like one of those creatures Ercello summoned.

Certainly not. Summoners conjure creatures from some netherworld which is separate from Solest.
Dasani was nobody's minion. She was a leader... and the world is a lot less friendly without her in it.
I can't believe she died so long ago and I didn't even know about it. Have I really become so detached from everyone I once knew?
Even Lily... I can't believe how much older she is. She was quite a looker during the war.

She couldn't have been nearly as cute as that new apprentice of hers!

Really? I'm not so crazy about that little doll look.

Good! You're finally leaving some girls for the rest of us!

Ah ha ha ha! Point taken.

I really need to visit that shrine. I suppose I'll go tomorrow.

We should all go!

I would prefer to go alone.

I have to meet up with Auburn anyway. Finley, you should take Laurel out too!

I don't know about that... I only just met her today.

Well, I won't pressure you. I'm pretty tired, though. Carrying a fat ogre like Grinfrak will do that to you.

Agreed. It has been a while since I was that afraid of my bones breaking.

I guess we'll have to ask about Cole Marin sometime tomorrow. I didn't even think of it today.

We got plenty of time.

And with that, they settle in for the night, and in the morning Cade awakens to empty room. Bones and Lily are nowhere in town, and speaking with Auburn will progress the story... so let's go to the mayoral residence and speak to the two people we CAN find.



Wha?

Telepath.

Oh... right. That's a bit disconcerting, but we are looking for him. Do you know where he is?

No... sorry. There are a lot of records here I haven't had the chance to look at yet! Lily would probably know, I bet.
You're welcome to look through everything here too, if you want.

Thanks, but I probably shouldn't I'm supposed to meet someone soon.

A red-haired girl.

... Please don't do that.

Sorry.

I guess Lily can just tell me later. Enjoy your chat with my pal here. He's a real stand up guy.

Cade, come on!

Learn to take a compliment. Sheesh. All right, I'm gone.
And if you talk to her again...





Guess there's nothing for it but to have that date with Auburn. Cade refuses to head in the direction of the shrine to Dasani, after all.



But then we transition to a different scene instead.


https://youtu.be/K7rWok1ctzo This track is labelled 'Dasani's Grave' and the file information names it White Cap by Rob King but I couldn't find what that actually is so I had to upload it myself.








Stoic hesitates, and then slowly advances the rest of the way to the memorial.



"You did more good in your brief human life than I could do in a thousand years."





You don't need to feel guilty. She knew you loved her. That's one of the nice things about being a telepath.

What was the funeral like?



Did all the other leaders from the Rebellion come?

Most of them. Arius and Nova Sherron came with their daughter. Galdar De Naren, Turnus and Shurikra Worrell, Mina Lolian, Ivory Aleska, Britsus Konne.
Turnus and Shurikra got married in the end. Wonder how Lily felt about that.

Zala too?

No. We couldn't find her either. Perhaps that was for the best.
No one cares about Alko.

How about Sarnath and the rest of the new Gallian Council?

He came too. Along with Felicia Stormblade. It was an enormous crowd. Arius gave a beautiful eulogy.

How did your apprentice take it?

It was hard for her. She hasn't known Dasani very long.





That'd be Nova and her griffin friend 'Griff' on the top right... Maybe the top of Turnus and Arius's heads beneath her? Galdar is obvious... so is Zala over on the left... Kobold could be Britsus Konne or someone else that'll come up... Elf woman is Arianna maybe? Don't know about the rest!

There's so much I still don't understand about this. Both you and the Gallians claim to speak for Arcadius, yet you are opposed to one another.
How can you know you are right and they are wrong... especially when we know nothing of Arcadius? To be honest... I'm more familiar with Perditia.

*chuckle* I hear this one often.

How do you respond?

I hold no claim that my faith is inherently superior to theirs... or that of anyone else. They claim exclusivity to our creator because of their own doubts.
Faith is not about certainty, Stoic. It's about belief. You are right that we can not truly know the will of Arcadius. All we can do is act on the values that we hold dear. This is why I can not let Gallia continue their wars and their bloodshed. I have made it my mission to try and unite all those who share our world.
My own strength comes from my faith that Arcadius truly does want all of us to come together for a better life.

I... I've never heard anybody speak of it that way. In fact, most of the time I hear that Arcadius hates me.

I refuse to believe Arcadius hates anyone. Your origins do not matter. Your race does not matter. All that matters is what you do with the time you have.
Faith shouldn't be about deciding who is "good" and who is not. It serves no purpose at all except to keep us all stuck in the past.
Nobody will judge you here. You are one of us. Together... we will change the world.

Well said. I hope you're right.

I am glad you said that. Because hope...







I had always hated Gallia... But she made me realize how high the stakes really were.

We weren't fighting just for us. We were fighting for the future of our god. That was how she always saw it, at least. I was never quite as sure.
Perhaps that's why I never found myself gifted with those strange wings. Laurel seems to have the same skepticism, which is unfortunate.
She has so much potential. That was why Dasani chose her.

Who knows where I would be now if it wasn't for her.

She's at peace now, Stoic. All we can do now is pay our respects.

I'm glad I saw this. The mission I have now may lead to hard times like those I remember from Gallia's rule. I can't forget what she stood for.

Your new mission? Tell me more.



And now, up next, we have a timed cutscene set to music so to save myself the grief of transcribing a few minutes of dialogue while trying to somehow keep the same impact... I just recorded and uploaded it! So watch it below!


https://youtu.be/DFboWyB7LN0


The track, labelled as 'Cade and Auburn's Song' in the BGM folder, is Faraway by Apocalyptica.

After the kidnapping...




"However, we have a much more serious problem on our hands."

I'll say! Who are those guys?

They are the Ember Mages.

Some mage. One of them shot at me with what was clearly a gun from Donner Range weapons. Modified, but still unmistakable.

I have heard that their current leader is very attuned to new technology, but unfortunately this problem is much older than your family's inventions.

What do you mean, Lily?

Before it became Boreal, this land was just a small settlement mostly comprised of people living in tents. The Ember Mages, who lived inside the nearby volcano, bullied the people there into submission. My parents had some truly grisly stories about things they had seen in those days.
That was before Dasani. She first came to the area as a young warrior hoping to build a peaceful haven for those oppressed by Gallia.
She rallied the people around her against the Ember Mages. When the two groups came to blows, the mages were so decisively defeated that they vacated the area for good. That was the first step towards Boreal, and as the decades rolled on we saw neither hide nor hair of those thugs.

But now Dasani is gone...



There have been several instances where they have been caught prowling around and trying to incite some violence. I tried to fortify Boreal further with the walls and more guards on patrol, but that may not be enough. They are so dedicated to violence that I have been reluctant to react to them with force.
I did not want to start a cycle of violence between them and us. I hoped they could just live in the mountain peacefully.
But now it seems clear they will not quit until Boreal fears them again... Or until they are stopped.

That's where we come in!

Yes. We will teach those brigands a painful lesson.

I have no doubt you could... But I do not want them slaughtered. I merely want them to be taught once again that Boreal will not roll over.



Wh-what?! Me?! I don't fight! I hardly know anything aside from healing spells!

That is why you must go. You have been a good student, and you have proven yourself as a natural healer. However, if you will one day watch over Boreal, you will need more. You must know how to heal, but you must also learn how to defend the people who will look to you for strength.
It won't be easy, but you won't have to go it alone. You have three warriors to come to your aid if need be.

Yep, it's hard to find better backup then (SIC) the team we got here.

But I don't have the experience that they have...

Dasani chose you because she knew what you were capable of. You won't find your strength sitting around here.

It's not as hard as you think, Laurel! I only started this a week ago!
Not helping, Finster.

I will try.

So where is this cave?

We'll have to leave Boreal and follow the gate east until we find the path going north along the town's borders.

Okay, let's go!





And we finally have a full party. But will it stay that way...? Anyway, Laurel's our main healer as of right now, which frees Cade up to focus on magical offense. Also she doesn't dual wield, incredibly enough.

Next time, we'll be tackling the main dungeon of this half of Arc III, but there's also some other stuff besides that before we're done with Arc III.

the end