Sulaiman had gathered up the various belongings of the cultists by the time they got back and had everything organized in neat piles. There was a small stack of books, a pile of weapons, and a folded piece of clothing with a shining necklace atop it.
Kavil had been given a pillow that looked soft and was hugging it, his eyelids looking like they held the weight of the world based on how he was struggling to keep them open. Sulaiman was sitting next to Kavil, frowning as Kavil drifted closer to lean his head against his shoulder but Sulaiman didn't actually do anything to stop it from happening even though it made it harder to look at their bounty. Sulaiman stifled a sigh, eyeing the books that were just out of reach like he was attempting to summon them with his mind.
It was frankly adorable and Priscilla took a moment to commit the scene to memory.
"Add that to the pile," Priscilla said, nodding her head towards the hook in Illnyea's hands as she put out the torch, letting the burning tip balance over the brazier.
Sulaiman took it from Illnyea when she came close, frowning as he ran his fingers along it while Kavil made a sleepy noise and leaned further into him, nuzzling into Sulaiman's shoulder. Sulaiman moved very slowly to not dislodge Kavil as he placed the hook alongside a collection of daggers, the metal club Beowulf had wielded, and several swords and bows of varying sizes. Priscilla's bat had been recovered and placed near her pack, and only looked mildly dented to her relief.
"What's this?" Priscilla asked, pointing towards the necklace. The outfit looked to be a light purple dress of a similar material The Starving One had been wearing, but there was no way in hell that would fit Priscilla — she was both taller and had a larger ribcage than the now dead woman. She might be able to undo the seams to rescue the fabric itself to maybe make it into a flowing shirt or skirt but that'd take a while without a seam-ripper.
"I found it in a bag the villagers said was the cannibal's leader's," Sulaiman said.
Priscilla hummed as she picked up the necklace to see it better in the firelight. It was a thin, dainty gold chain threaded with five silver pearls. As it tangled with her fingers, Priscilla was surprised to feel a tingle of magic zap her skin and Asha's focus sharpened.
Sulaiman murmured something but Priscilla was distracted by the humming magical energy. It didn't feel aggressive or similar to the divine energy from earlier, and Asha didn't seem to be alarmed, so it should be fine to keep. It was a rather pretty necklace, finding beauty in simplicity, and would go well with most dresses. Priscilla didn't usually like wearing accessories, but if Illnyea didn't want it, she supposed she could keep it.
Priscilla looked up to see Illnyea had sat down across from Sulaiman, her eyebrows threatening to join her hairline as she stared at him. Sulaiman was now looking at the weapons, face pinched in a way that suggested he was annoyed.
"What?" Priscilla said, sensing she obviously missed something.
"Nothing," Sulaiman said firmly. Illnyea's look of astonishment slowly morphed into something more thoughtful, glancing between Sulaiman and Priscilla.
"I want the books," Illnyea said instead of enlightening Priscilla.
"Since when do you read?" Sulaiman asked, voice disbelieving.
Illnyea rolled her eyes, putting her whole body into the movement.
"You don't have to sound so judgmental," Illnyea said, picking up the nearest book and thumbing through it. She nodded, as if satisfied by what she saw before closing it. "After traveling with Mishra and Marsha, I realized just how little I knew about magic, so I decided I want to learn more."
Sulaiman gave her a dry look. "Those books are about creating magical artifacts. It's all rather technical, and if you get past more than five pages, I'll be surprised."
"Don't be so pessimistic," Priscilla said, giving Sulaiman the stink eye before giving Illnyea an encouraging smile. "I think it's a great idea – maybe we'll end up with our very own magical engineer by the end of it!"
Illnyea beamed before shooting Sulaiman a smug look, saying, "I'm glad at least someone believes in me."
Sulaiman let out an outraged huff, eyebrows furrowed and mouth opening, no doubt about to shoot back a cutting remark when Kavil shifted and mumbled, "You're gonna do great, get all that knowledge, Illn…nyea."
Priscilla didn't bother to hide her laughter as Sulaiman gave Kavil a betrayed look. Kavil did not seem to be on the same plane of reality as them and if he remembered saying that in the morning, Priscilla would eat her ribbon. Illnyea looked pleased by the unexpected support.
"So tell me more about this Mishra and Marsha fellows who inspired you to learn more," Priscilla said as she sat down more comfortably. "Who are they and how'd you meet?"
Illnyea lit up at the question and began to animatedly share the daring story of how she saved the royal wizards from certain doom. Illnyea didn't shy away from using sound effects and her hands were constantly moving as she used them for emphasis. Priscilla listened intently with a nostalgic smile that refused to leave her face. It was almost like she was thirteen again, reading stories about Illnyea's adventures and marveling at her tenacity and bravery.
But just as Illnyea finished telling them about how Marsha put the bastard Rudy in his place, Holly stepped forward, hands clasped behind her.
"We're about to start," Holly said softly and that sucked away the jovial atmosphere.
"Time to wake up," Sulaiman said, jostling Kavil into something resembling wakefulness as he took away the pillow. Kavil blinked and Priscilla took pity on him, helping him to his feet and then they followed the somber pre-teen.
When it was all said and done, the pyre the villagers created was, frankly, a fire hazard. But considering how many bodies they were trying to burn and the limited resources they were working with, Priscilla understood why they did it that way. Hopefully the wetness of the fens would ensure it didn't turn into a forest fire because Priscilla was too tired to deal with that.
The villagers had dragged five of the six braziers in a circle roughly fifteen feet in diameter, a villager standing grim-faced behind it. The cultist's bodies were piled atop each other carelessly, a tangle of limbs with large piles of animal skins covering their faces. They stank of oil and Priscilla watched as a man shook out the last droplets from a flask before stepping behind a brazier.
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
Priscilla and her friends stood silently a few steps behind Holly and Tabitha, who had Beowulf's head wrapped in the torn wolf skin at her feet. Priscilla stood in between Illnyea and Kavil, with Sulaiman on the other side of Kavil. Kavil had regained a semblance of wakefulness, standing straight with his hands crossed in front of him, gaze unreadable as he stared at the pile of bodies. Illnyea had a somber expression, lips pinched tight, and Sulaiman's face had returned to marble stillness, his posture rigid. Priscilla tried to keep her face similarly blank, not looking forward to once again smelling burning human flesh. Her stomach went queasy at the thought, making her regret having a bite to eat earlier, but Priscilla was able to bear it as Asha squeezed her hand comfortingly.
Beowulf's headless body sat on the top of the pile and Priscilla averted her eyes from the gruesome sight of the stump that slowly oozed blood.
Tabitha raised her hand and the already quiet clearing went deathly silent, as if no one dared to breathe. Fervent anticipation shone in the villager's eyes as they all looked to Tabitha.
"Let their ashes rot," Tabitha said, bringing down her hand in a swift motion.
As one, the villagers pushed over the braziers, the coals within falling out in a shower of sparks. The animal skins caught fire first, but the flames grew fast, devouring the oil soaked fuel it was so graciously offered and a wave of heat billowed outwards. There was an acrid and acidic undertone to the smell of burning flesh that must have been from the animal skins, and it made it even more disgusting.
The smell reminded Priscilla of Frean's cremation, but it wouldn't be over quite as quickly without Sulaiman in control of the flames. Normally, it took a while for a fire to get the necessary temperature to properly cremate someone, and even though the bodies were covered in oil, that wouldn't be happening for a long while.
Priscilla kept her complaints inside as she watched the firelight reflected in Tabitha and the villagers' triumphant eyes. They had been living in abject terror for months since The Starving One arrived, then forced out of their homes by a mayor who offered them willingly on the chopping block, and were forced to watch their friends be eaten alive, wondering if they would be next. This was not about Priscilla's feelings, and she would not let her queasy stomach take their only form of revenge away from them.
The crackle of fire eating skin was sickening and Priscilla tried her best to not breathe it in, keeping up an inner mantra, Keep it together girl.
It appeared Priscilla wasn't as good at hiding her discomfort as she hoped she was when a hand reached out to squeeze hers. Priscilla glanced at Illnyea and saw her sister hadn't looked away from the flames, but her grip tightened fractionally, just on the edge of being painfully tight. But Priscilla was thankful for the soreness because it gave her something to focus on.
They stood there in silence for a long time, doing nothing but watch as the fire grew, before a man stepped forward, spittle flying and sizzling upon contact with the flames.
"I hope the Shade Father shreds your unworthy souls," he hissed, staring hatefully at the flames like he wished the bodies were still alive when they were put upon the pyre, "and you spend your promised eternity in agony!"
The man's words seemed to be the spark that lit the tinder of the villager's anger and more people stepped forward as the bodies blackened. Their voices began to overlap, steadily raising in volume until it was a cacophony of catharsis.
"May Nozai steal your soul to be damned to the Hexed Realm!" spat a gaunt woman, her knuckles stark white. "May her Furies spend every second using you for target practice!"
"A curse upon your family for what you did to my brother," a reed-thin teenage girl sobbed, wiping away fat tears with shaky hands, "and may his soul rest in peace now that you're dead."
"I never want to see another fucking animal pelt again!" screamed a wild-eyed man, throwing a pelt that had been missed onto the pyre, sending up a spray of sparks and people roared in approval.
The emotions that they had stifled for so long finally given voice, rage, powerlessness, and grief mixing together in a volatile cocktail. As the choir of spitting insults and prayers continued, the air grew heavy with the villagers' resentment, the manic gleam growing brighter as they continued to jeer at the dead.
It was sobering to watch and nearly impossible to look away from as the villagers bared their souls and celebrated finally being free. It felt sacred, and in a strange way reminded Priscilla of an inverted version of the blessing ceremony Jeroinin had hosted.
Priscilla waited until it felt like she wouldn't be a distraction if she spoke before she let go of Illnyea's hand. She stepped next to Tabitha, who watched the happenings with hard eyes without participating but her mouth was pulled into a satisfied smile. Holly's stare snapped to Priscilla like a startled rabbit and Priscilla smiled placatingly at her. Holly gave Priscilla the soul-searching look that children had turned into an artform before looking back at the fire, suddenly uninterested in what Priscilla was doing.
"So, what do you want to do when we get back to Aidais' Lament, Mrs. Tabitha?" Priscilla asked as the villagers continued to unleash their frustration, pitching her voice to cut through the noise around them. "I know the plan is to toss Beowulf's head at the mayor's feet, but do you have an idea of what you'd like to happen before or after that?"
Tabitha looked away from the fire, her gaze assessing as it swept over their party.
"I believe you'll be escorting us out of the fens," Tabitha said and Priscilla nodded. "Then when we return to town, I ask that you help us to deal with Fylkir and his lackeys."
Priscilla glanced back to gauge how the others felt.
Illnyea's face was resolutely determined, the now faint lightning scars on her face gleaming in the firelight as her head dipped sharply. Kavil had been roused back to proper wakefulness by the cacophony and grimly nodded when Priscilla looked at him. Sulaiman's face was still unreadable, but he too nodded slowly, so Priscilla turned back to Tabitha.
"How permanently do you want Fylkir to be dealt with?" Priscilla asked carefully. The man had done deplorable things, that was true, but Priscilla didn't want to get into the habit of making her friends into murderers. No matter how much neater that was as a solution, it felt like a slippery slope to head down that could lead to the devaluing of human life.
"Capturing them should be your main priority, so we can force them to properly repent for their sins instead of having the quick release of death, but if they resist…" A flash of emotion went across Tabitha's face, too quick for Priscilla to recognize in a stranger, and the woman's expression hardened. "Then we will have no choice but to request your help in building another pyre."
Vicious, but reasonable.
"We can hash out the exact details of how you want us to accomplish this tomorrow morning after you've had some time to think on it," Priscilla said, reaching out a hand and Tabitha gripped it strongly, "and we'll defer to your judgement, as it's your home we're talking about."
"How long will you be staying afterwards?" Tabitha asked as she pulled back her hand.
"Eh, not sure," Priscilla said, "We'll need some time to rest up before we're ready to head back home and to help make sure everything's stable with you, but it'll probably be no more than three days, if that."
Tabitha nodded before glancing over their party, and her lips twitched into a smile.
"Tomorrow we'll plan," Tabitha said, amusement lurking in her rough voice, "but tonight, you four should rest as you look dead on your feet. We will handle keeping watch while the pyre burns and this lot will quiet down soon enough. If any monsters dares to come near here after the day's disaster, we'll wake you." Tabitha glanced towards the cache of weapons Sulaiman had collected, her smile sharpening like a knife's edge. "But we won't be sitting around helpless anymore while we wait for you."
"If the monsters know what's good for them, they'd stay the hell away from you," Priscilla said and Tabitha's smile grew. Priscilla then gave the scary woman a nod and turned around, collecting her friends so they could all begin setting up properly for sleep and finally rest after a day that felt like it stretched on for a lifetime.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.