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There was so much blood.
They hadn’t anticipated the gnolls. And, somehow, they had managed to—well, beating them implied they were more victorious than she thought they actually were. There were a lot of dead gnolls, but there were many more dead Tieflings. She was keenly aware of the pretty bard, Alfira, sobbing over her tutor’s body nearby. Lihala had been one of the first to fall.
“Elegis?” One of the men—she didn’t know his name, only his kind eyes—placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Do you need some water?”
“I…” She realized how tightly she was gripping the spear in her hand. Their group weren’t fighters. She wasn’t a fighter, but they gave her one to help defend their kin anyway. Elegis felt utterly useless. If they were trained, if they were better, maybe they could have saved more people…
Maybe if the new High Observer didn’t order us to leave, she thought bitterly to herself. Then they’d be safe in their homes, and maybe she and her boyfriend would still be… Well, no. If she were honest with herself, that relationship was doomed regardless of whether they stayed.
“Elegis?” the man asked again, concern heavy in his voice.
You’re losing it, she chided herself. “I’m fine.”
She wasn’t fine, but she’d didn’t have the luxury of falling apart. Gathering herself, she mutely followed the group. Elegis was scarcely aware of what was happening around her as she did so—the next time she came fully into awareness, the group was being led through a gate. The Emerald Grove, someone supplied.
Druids lived here. And they were meant to be safe from attacks while they gathered themselves. She would cling to safe hard.
Her feet were moving of their own accord. Her instinct was to seek out the younger of the two Hellriders on their journey. Only when she was physically in front of Tilses did she realize her body moved on its own toward the woman.
“How are you, Elegis?” Tilses asked warmly, holding her hands out to the other woman. And Elegis, stressed and exhausted from everything that happened, burst into tears. Tilses’s eyes widened. “Hey, hey,” she soothed, pulling the woman into the hug. She seemed unaware of the viscera they both were covered in.
But Elegis was aware. The gnoll guts made an unpleasant squelching sound as they embraced that she was trying very hard to ignore. But the embrace felt good—she needed to focus on that. Hiccupping, she pulled back from the hug after a long moment and gave Tilses a watery smile she wasn’t feeling. “This is,” she began, “bloody awful, Tilses.”
“I know,” Tilses soothed, smoothing her hand over Elegis’s hair, inadvertently smearing more blood over short locks. “None of you should have had to deal with any of this. We became Hellriders so you didn’t have to.”
“Neither of you should deal with this either,” Elegis argued quietly.
“Perhaps,” Tilses conceded, “but we knew what we signed up for.”
“How are you so calm?” Elegis whispered.
Tilses smiled. “Lots and lots of practice,” she promised. “I’ll tell you what. The druids are showing us where we can clean off, and that bear druid said something about making us food. Let’s go get wash up, and we can talk and process what’s going on a little better after we’re clean and fed. How does that sound?”
It sounded like being at home and not covered in the gods knew what was a nicer option, but it wasn’t one that she had anymore. This was a good alternative. Elegis nodded mutely. “Don’t go far from me?” she asked, hating how small her voice sounded.
Tilses squeezed her hand. “I’ll stay as close as you need,” she promised.
Side by side, they headed down the hill and toward a small beach. For months, Tilses kept her promise. Things were looking hopeful as they left the Emerald Grove to embark toward Baldur’s Gate. Elegis dared to let herself dream of a future with the Hellrider.
But fate would have other plans for them. And, as Elegis stared down a possessed ox, she accepted her fate.