Chapter Text
The sailing ship was of moderate size- enough to hold at least twenty soldiers with room to spare for weapons.
But only two took this ship as their vessel from the Moonlit Swamp back to the shores of the Blue Kingdom’s capital, and as they came within sight of the docks, one slipped below decks to avoid notice.
Nom guided the ship into port, letting muscle-memory work the ropes of the sail, his mind absent as he watched the cliffs overhead move to block the sun.
Harbour-hands took the ropes from his gauntleted fingers, offering help and questions and concerned looks.
As Nom stepped off the boat, his boots left scars in the sand, traipses of swamp-marsh and dried blood, and he couldn’t help but feel like he was corrupting the place he called home.
Hands were on his shoulders- the calloused touch of young fishermen, hardened by the sea, a hasten to help their noble knight, the Blue Kingdom’s finest, pride and patriotism in their eagerness to serve him.
“Where are the others?”
“Was the mission a success?”
“Do you need your armour cleaned?”
“Do you need your weapon repaired?”
Nom looked down, only then realising he was gripping the handle of his morningstar, somehow having picked it up and dragged it onto the beach.
“Who do you report to?”
“Do you want our help unloading the ship?”
Somewhere in the back of Nom’s mind, he became dimly aware of the danger he was in.
4CVIT was hiding below the deck. If they searched the ship, they might find him.
They couldn’t. Not yet. Not until Nom was sure it was safe. Otherwise it had all been for nothing.
“I… uhh… N-no” Nom stammered, grasping for some composure to give him some sort of cover, “No. Leave everything here.”
“Are you sure? What about-“
“Leave it all. Do not go below the decks.”
“What happened to the others?”
“I c-can’t-“
“What do you need us to do, Sir?”
Sir.
Nom fought the urge to flinch at the honorific, “Just… Just leave me alone. I will unload what I need first before finding the general and reporting to her. I will let you know if I need help, but for now… leave me alone.”
He felt a weight lift when they withdrew their touch, and set off back down the hatch in the deck, hoisting the morningstar with him, out from under the watchful eye of the cliffside.
The darkness in the underbelly of the ship enveloped him, and Nom felt a sense of relief wash over. This was where he belonged now.
He felt better down here.
Just as long as he ignored the bodies.
He’d had no cloth to wrap them in aside from their own bloodstained capes, and he’d had no better place to put them than their own bunks, so with only the crack of light that came from the closed trapdoor it looked as though they were merely asleep, swaddled in the colours of their kingdom, their dented visors pulled down so that Nom didn’t have to look at their lightless, lifeless eyes.
Back on the soil of their homeland again, at least. That was some small mercy.
There was the sound of movement from behind one of the crates of weapons.
“4CVIT!” Nom hissed.
“Yeah?” The rogue’s face materialised out of the darkness, peeking up over the top of the boxes, “You can call me 4C, by the way.”
“How good are you at hiding, 4C?”
“Pretty damn good,” he replied, “But I’m better at sneaking when it’s dark.”
“I need to get you out of here before people start unloading the ship, and I need you to stay out of sight until I can find a way I can get them to let you stay.”
“What’re you going to tell them about…” 4C glanced at the bodies lying still on the bunks.
Nom felt his stomach turn over, “I… I don’t know.”
“You gotta think of something soon. It’s already starting to smell in here,” 4C took the cloth from his cloak and held it over his nose.
Nom wondered briefly about the anatomy of slime noses- whether their snot was a separate material to the rest of their body- but he didn’t think now would be the best time to ask.
“How small can you make yourself?” Nom asked.
“I don’t really have any bones.”
“Perfect,” Nom grabbed a nearby crate, “Do you think you could fit in h-” he stopped when he saw what was inside.
“Uhh… Nom? You okay?”
Shit.
Nom had only just remembered what these boxes were. Each soldier had been allowed to take one crate of their belongings on the mission- small trinkets and mementos for good luck and to stave off the homesickness.
These were the personal items of someone he’d just killed.
Nom reached in and took out a small, framed portrait. It was of a family- a young, auburn-haired girl holding up a carved wooden horse in a victory cry, next to her a pimply teenage boy in training armour with his hands behind his back, beaming proudly at the portraitist. On his shoulders were the loving hands of an older woman, an expression of utter joy on her face. On the back of the portrait, scrawled in ink, were the words: “First day at The Academy”.
Nom’s hands were shaking. The frame slipped from fingers, the glass shattering as it fell back into the box, leaving broken shards on all the books and diaries and scrolls of lovingly-kept letters.
“Nom?”
“I- uhh…” Nom looked around in dazed confusion, forgetting his surroundings for a second. He took a deep breath, not looking back at that box, “Let’s find a different crate, shall we?”
They went through box after box and Nom was confronted with yet more reminders. Treasured keepsakes from distant homelands given up in servitude to the crown. Medals and trophies, polished proudly. Good luck charms that had failed to keep their owners safe from their own brethren’s wrath. A locket with the portrait of a beautiful girl inside- blonde hair tied back in a loose, low ponytail. Nom didn’t know who they all belonged to- their faces now matched their masks: all the same. Uniformly featureless after he had caved them in.
He couldn’t even remember half their names. He could’ve sworn they’d told him, but his mind came up blank when he’d tried to pull them up.
Nom had learned from the first crate, and refused to let his stained hands tarnish these treasures. He closed all lids and moved on quickly.
After some searching, they managed to find a box of spare swords- of no significance, just backups in case anyone’s main weapon broke- which Nom rather unceremoniously dumped onto the floorboards.
“Get in,” He told 4C, who obliged, wrapping himself in the hemp cloth they used to pack the crates. Nom placed the lid on top and shoved an iron bar through the slats to keep it shut.
He knocked on the lid, “Will you be okay in there?”
“Yeah,” 4C’s voice was muffled, “I have air. It’s fine.”
“If you need anything, knock.”
There was a dulled sound of a fist on wood.
“Just a test,” 4C called, “Can you hear it okay?”
“Yup.”
“Good.”
Nom picked up the box and tested the weight. It felt like lead in his arms, but Nom was used to carrying heavy objects.
He opened the trapdoor and pushed the box up the ladder onto the deck above, and climbed up after it.
Onwards, brave knight.
Nom was thankful for how complex a mission smuggling a slime boy into the Blue Kingdom turned out to be, as it kept his brain focused on the smaller problems at hand.
First, there was the cliffside. Nom had trouble scaling that on the best of days, he had no idea how to manage it while carrying a box full of 4CVIT.
Luckily for him, the kingdom hadn’t exiled him yet. Word had spread across the dock that Nom had returned alone, and a kind ferryman had offered to take him up the river free of charge.
Nom could’ve paid. Nom should’ve paid, but when he’d dug into his pockets and pulled out his moneybag he’d been met with a shake of the head and an “anything for the good of the kingdom’s brave knights.”
Nom tried to ignore how his stomach squirmed at that.
With a boost from the over-eager water mage that worked the docks, Nom was in view of the Blue Kingdom’s gates before he could blink, and the sight of it hit him like a brick.
“Welcome home, Sir Nom,” the ferryman announced.
Nom’s chest constricted.
Home.
As Nom stumbled off the boat, he felt like he was going to throw up, and only partly because of motion sickness (he wondered how 4C was holding up, but he didn’t hear anything from the box).
He turned to the ferryman, trying not to show on his face how much it felt like he couldn’t breathe, “C-can I ask- how have things been politically while I’ve been gone? Has the Red Kingdom-“
”No battles since you left,” The ferryman said.
Good. Katie was safe.
“But there is a new monarch in the Blue Kingdom.”
Nom froze, “What happened to the old one?”
“Assassination, I believe. Although they haven’t confirmed it. Either way, tensions are rising. And if we’re down a dozen knights…” he trailed off when he saw Nom’s face, and decided to rephrase, “I’m glad you made it back, Sir Nom. You’re one of our best. We need you right now.”
Nom tried to shake off that comment, and assess what this new information meant to him.
A new monarch might mean he could get 4C’s name cleared. But an assassination might make trust fraught.
They needed him. Nom couldn’t tell them about the oathbreak and risk exile when the kingdom needed him.
His spiralling wasn’t helped by his surroundings. The riverside was packed with citizens of Blue and Red kingdom alike, trading with merchants, watching the jesters, flying their flags with pride. People smiled and waved, pointed him out to their children- Look at our brave knight, returning from a valiant mission to serve our kingdom. He helps protect us, you know?
Beyond them the mountains stood tall. Blue-roofed houses littered the cliffsides, their gardens teaming with blooming flowers. Tavern-signs swayed in the wind, storefront windows welcomed their customers.
It was exactly the same as it was when he’d left.
And yet, everything was different.
Nom set the crate down and waited until the world stopped spinning. He took a deep breath of crisp Blue Kingdom air, fighting back the thoughts that told him he didn’t deserve to have it in his lungs.
Right. Task at hand. Task at hand.
He managed to find a small cave nestled a little ways up the cliffside near the arena, and set 4C back down, taking out the iron bar that sealed the crate, and watching as the rogue unsquished himself and looked around.
“Are you okay?”
4C straightened his back and stretched, his slime arms elongating inhumanly and then bouncing back into place, “Mmmh, yeah, I mean- It’s not the first time I’ve done that.”
Nom wanted to ask, but now wasn’t the time.
“So, this is the Blue Kingdom, huh?” 4C asked, walking to the mouth of the cave and staring out, keeping his hood close to him so as not to be seen, “It’s… beautiful.”
The river glistened in the sun, ships waving flags of all colours, merchant boats decked with vibrant bunting and bouquets, selling spices and wares from overseas. Guards stood at each end of the bridge, their armour polished and gleaming. People laughed at boardwalk jesters with their juggling acts, people smiled at strangers, adorned their loved ones with haggled-down jewellery, nibbled at their local delicacies, and gasped at the air mages floating in the clouds overhead.
Nom watched from the mountain. Away. Detached.
“It’s home,” Nom remarked, ignoring the spike of pain that pressed against his chest.
4C turned back to Nom, “So what’s the plan?”
“You stay here,” Nom told him, “There’s woods above this mountain that don’t get patrolled very often, so you might be able to hang out there. I will go to my commanding officer and report, try to find out the situation with the monarch. I’ll meet you at sundown over there,” Nom pointed at the mountain above the city walls, where a statue of a horse reared its forelegs before the kingdom.
“What if it’s not safe for me here?” 4C asked, “What do we do then?”
Nom rubbed his forehead, “I don’t know. I’ll keep you alive- that much I promise.”
From here, the bridge and the borders of the Red Kingdom beyond shone in the afternoon sun.
He couldn’t go. He could get 4C out if he had to, but he couldn’t go. He’d done so much for this stranger, but he couldn’t leave behind his family.
But he was facing the risk of exile anyway- it might already be too late for him.
Nom took a deep breath, fighting harder against this new layer of panic that he’d been trying to offset since he’d broken the bars of that cage two days ago.
He hadn’t slept since then.
He felt 4C’s hand on his shoulder, his touch comforting in an odd, sticky way.
“You okay, Nom?”
Focus on the task at hand.
“I’m going to go report to the general,” Nom said, “You’ll be safe here?”
4C nodded.
“Good.”
“See you at sundown.”
”At sundown,” Nom repeated.
With a final nod, Nom turned and made his way back down the mountain towards the gates of the Blue kingdom.