Kage spent the rest of the day in the infirmary after having her wound tended. Sped along by the Ra'bac's efforts, she could already feel the muscle beginning to stitch back together as her own healing kicked in.
They had given her the spiel, how often she'd need to change the bandages and so on, while in her own head, she was calculating how long that would translate to for her body.
For a single wound like that, the answer was "not long", a couple weeks at most.
The sun was beginning to set when a Ra'bac named Kam came to fetch her. Whatever salve they had used to bandage her wound had made it feel much better, but moving it was still painful.
"I dont know how I'm going to climb up these with one arm," Kage thought, looking up as they reached the base of one of the massive trees.
The Ra'bac reached into a hole in the trunk, felt around a bit, and pulled. A chunk of the tree popped open with a "thunk", a doorway leading to the hollowed inside.
"After you," he smiled, pulling the door open.
The doorway was significantly taller than Kage, but she craned her head as she entered to see around her.
The inside of the trunk was a smooth, golden wood. The strangest part was the glow coming from the sides, allowing her to see clearly as if it were a bright day. There were no furnishings, just the walled spiral staircase that followed the curve of the room.
"What makes it glow like that?" Kage asked as she began to climb the staircase.
"It's a kind of sap, we get it from the Brightbark trees we cultivate near here."
"All the trees are painted like this? On the inside, I mean."
"Most rooms are, but higher up, we just use windows."
Kage nodded. "To keep it secure on the lower layers?"
He gave a wry smile. "We like to play it safe. History hasn't been the kindest to our people."
Kage glanced back, and he must have seen the curiosity on her face.
"Well, we used to be frequently targeted by slavers. I guess you're not from around here?"
"No," Kage shook her head.
"That is quite far in the past now. But we learned, and we never went back. The Contract is like a smaller remenant of those days, so I'm sure you can understand why we're eager to be rid of it."
She nodded.
"Should be the next one," he said.
"Huh?"
"The next door. Your friends are waiting."
"Oh."
Kage grabbed the carved handle on the door.
"Thank you," she said.
"My pleasure," he smiled.
Kage pushed open the door and went in.
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"Kage, good to see you!" Shole said, noticing Kage's inquisitive glance, he continued. "This is Sephria," he introduced the figure sitting on a stool in front of the cushioned wood benches where he, Artlem, and Bard were sitting.
A beautiful Ra'bac woman, Kage guessed in her early 20s, with angled green eyes and hair that was a gradient of black to gold cut off at the shoulders. Her wings and protective elytra hung behind her, like she was wearing a giant shield on her back. She wore a simple blue dress, and sat up straight and proud.
"She's going to be accompanying us the rest of the way," Shole explained, "to help guide us up to Mainspring. And she's a friend of ours."
"Nice to meet you," Sephria said, with a voice that suggested it was not nice at all, giving a small upward nod. Kage nodded in return, feeling uncomfortable under her gaze, like she was being sized up.
There was an awkward silence for a minute, until Artlem broke it.
"Well, Kage, we're gonna need an explanation."
Kage swallowed and glanced around, eyes lingering on Sephria. She had not been prepared for this strange person to be listening. "Does she have to be here?"
Sephria looked downright livid at the suggestion, so Kage added, "I'm just meeting you for the first time."
"Well, she's going to be coming with us, so no sense in leaving her out," Artlem said.
Kage sighed. "Someone once said, "truth is stranger than fiction. You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
“Well then maybe start with the actual truth this time?” Artlem grumbled.
“Artlem,” Shole chided, and looked back to Kage. "We'll see," he said. "We live in a strange world, Kage."
"Bad things happen when people find out," one part of her brain whispered.
"That wasn't because people found out, it was because he was a psycho!" Another part retorted.
"If he hadn't found out, we would have been out of there. It wouldn't have been good, but it would have been so much better than-"
"But I didn't have any control over that. I do now."
"And should you tell them? They don't trust you anymore."
"I think they want to."
"Maybe they just need to."
Kage glanced up. Artlem, Shole, and Bard were waiting for an explanation. Could she just say "no" and leave? The truth was, she could have left at any time. She could leave now if she wanted, and was confident they would let her go. This wasn't a prison. She was originally here of desperation, sure, but at some point it was of her own volition.
"It's - well" Her heart began to thump, as she pushed down a rising sense of panic.
She looked around, trying to gauge their faces. Between concern and suspicion, she knew she wasn’t going to get any farther unless she told them.
“It’s – I’m – “ she began, than stopped.
“This does not leave this room,” she said, with as much force as she could muster.
“And why’s that?” Artlem questioned.
Kage looked at the floor until she could push the memories back to the back of her head. “Bad things happen when it gets out. Like, I lose an eye, or…other things,” she trailed off. “It stays between the four-five of us,” she glared at Sephria for a moment. The last thing she wanted to do was share this with someone she didn’t know.
Sephria scowled back.
“Fine, it’s between us. But that doesn’t mean it won’t affect what we do from here,” Artlem said.
“Yeah, I know,” Kage said.
“They’ll probably think I’m crazy, and I’ll get kicked out either way," she thought.
“I’m…dammit, this sounds stupid no matter how I put it. I’m from a- different world. Do you know what I mean? So Iebor, this one, is a world. A planet, in space.”
Did this world know anything about astrology?
“They stay the stars are other worlds just like ours, is that true?” Shole said excitedly.
“Well, not quite, but it’s close.” Kage registered Artlem’s unimpressed expression before continuing.
“I’m trying to shorten it,” Kage said. “Long story short, I’m half human half…ghost? My people-well, my people on my father’s side are ghosts who watch other planets and record their history. My mother’s a human, but still from a different world. I spent most of my life with the Mythsians – my father’s people – until they kicked me out for, well, for being too human, I guess. They sent me off into a random world, and I ended up here, in the dust.
She stopped, eyes down at the floor. She didn’t want to look up and see their disbelieving expressions.
“There’s a carriage full of missing information somewhere.” Artlem said. “It doesn’t explain why you heal so fast.”
“Mythsians can appear in physical form when they choose,” Kage explained, “and if we’re ever injured, our body reverts back to it’s “perfect” form.”
“But what about your eye?” Shole asked.
Kage’s hand rose to her empty eye socket.
“That’s…a special circumstance. Like I said, there’s a reason I don’t tell people the truth.”
“If that is the truth,” Artlem said.
“How are we supposed to believe something as ridiculous as that?” Sephria chipped in.
“It’s the truth, whether or not you believe it,” Kage glared, “I don't lie because I want to, I do it to protect myself. And for the record, I don’t know what that seizure was about. It’s never happened before.”
A silence sunk over the group.
“As crazy as it sounds,” Shole ventured, “it does make some sense. How else could someone know so little about the world they live in?”
“It would be a stupid story to make up,” Bard said.
"Is there any way for you to prove it?" Artlem said.
"I don't think so," Kage said. "Since I've lost connection to Islestar - my world - I haven't been able to shift into a ghost."
Their expressions told Kage they still weren't completely convinced. She was going to have to sell it more if she wanted them to believe her.
"I think," she began, "whether or not you choose to believe me, I don't think that changes things. You still need my help, and you certainly have no reason to believe I'm working for the enemy. If I was, I would have come up with a better story."
The room stayed quiet for a moment, everyone glancing around to the others. Kage figured, tapping her fingers against her leg.
"You have a point, " Artlem conceded. His eyes locked with Kage, as he got up and walked over to her, extending his hand. "I don't quite know if I believe all that, but we'll give this another try. But, no more lies, Kage. If you give us another reason not to trust you, you're gone."
Relief washed over her. She stood up and shook Artlem's hand. "Understood. Thanks, Artlem," she finished, a little softer.
He raised one eyebrow and gave a small smile.
"Alright, now that's taken care of, let's get to the real business: how to get up to Mainspring without getting killed."
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