Finian gave Promethei a dour look, but said nothing as he continued to lead them into the village proper. At least, he said nothing at first. As they circled a path that wound around an overgrown garden, Finian looked back at the four of them. He seemed to consider something. Then, "are they your comrades-in-arms?" It was directed at Emain Ablach, but it still took Emain Ablach a second to respond.
"Uh, yeah you could say that." He rubbed the back of his neck, glancing between the other three and Finian. "We're, uh... We're pretty close."
"How close?"
"What?"
"How close?" Finian seemed impatient at having to repeat the question as they walked. "How many battles have you been through together?"
"Uh--"
"How many?"
"Alright, listen, one second, I wasn't expecting this." Emain Ablach took a deep breath, internally wincing at his own tone, but Finian's expression didn't waver. "We haven't all been fighting the same amount of time. Most of my battles were by myself." It was true as far as he knew, anyway. Nothing he had written about his time in the Negaverse gave him the impression that he was much of a team player. He had been on a team obviously, but he didn't have any record or recollection of doing missions with them.
Maybe he had. Who could he even ask? He was getting distracted.
"Most of my battles were by myself. They've done their own patrols as a pair." He gestured to Imhotep and Promethei. "He's still pretty new. This is the first major thing we've done with him along," as he indicated Amoris, who waved to Finian. Finian gave Amoris a long look, but Amoris stared back unblinkingly. It was Finian who looked away first, which helped Emain Ablach's nerves somewhat. "But they mean a lot to me anyway."
"So..." Finian folded his arms over his chest, turning to face them. "I need to know why, before I take them where I'm about to take you. It can't be just anyone going where we're headed."
"Where
are we headed?"
"Meeting hall, where we greet diplomatic envoys and other important off-worlders." The word 'important' was stressed as Finian looked at the other three, and it made Emain Ablach sigh.
"They're important. I promise they're important."
"How important?"
Emain Ablach rubbed his temples, and it was he who relented this time. "Only if you get really okay with a lot of things really quickly." He was met with Finian's raised eyebrow. "...I don't know what that means."
"I have seen many things. I doubt you have anything that will surprise me."
"You know, I'm sure that's true, but--"
"We're his lovers, not just his 'comrades'." Imhotep was the one to break the stalemate with a glance toward Emain Ablach that was probably supposed to be apologetic but mostly just looked flat. "We have been for nearly a decade. Is that good enough?" Well. There it was. Emain Ablach turned back to Finian, shrugging in Imhotep's direction, an indication of, 'what he said'. Finian looked between the four of them, and his expression was difficult to read for more than just the fact that he was translucent.
"It's good enough." Finian turned and Emain Ablach let the tension bleed out of his shoulders and back with a sigh of relief. They followed him in silence for a good few moments, and then Finian looked over his shoulder at them. "Any children?"
Emain Ablach choked, barely managing, "no, no children." At least, not that he knew of, considering Teegan's occasional liaisons with women, but he really didn't think Finian wanted to hear about his great-grandson's promiscuity--
"A pity." Finian stopped in front of the largest building they'd seen so far. It was also the most ornate, and, even though none of them could read it, it was easy to surmise that the writing on the sign above the door said that this was the meeting hall Finian had been talking about. Imhotep started forward first, but paused at the look Finian gave him. "Please. My descendant first."
Emain Ablach patted Imhotep's shoulder apologetically, passing to the front of the group standing around. Finian did not back away as Emain Ablach approached and, this close, Emain Ablach was able to see how much alike the two of them really did appear. Same green eyes, same blond hair, though Finian's was curlier. It was odd, considering how many hundreds of years separated them. Emain Ablach tried not to think about it and pushed on into the building, finding the door not only unlocked but easy to open.
It really was like most of the inhabitants had just left recently, and that impression continued as Emain Ablach stepped into the building. He blinked to let his eyes to adjust to the darkness, just in time for him to cross a threshold and all of the lights to come on. He swore, covering his watering eyes and pausing until he could properly see.
Finian appeared next to him, and Emain Ablach realised that he brought the scent of sunshine and earth with him, somehow. "I suppose if I was suspicious, the lights reacting to you would allay those suspicions."
"Yeah?"
"They react to the guardian of the Wonder alone. Useful for protecting against impostors."
"I see." And now that his eyes were adjusting to the light, he could. He could also see a large round table centered on the back wall. It was circled by one, two... eleven chairs. None of the chairs were bigger than the others, and none were themselves centered on the back wall. An interesting design for what had to be the high table if his instincts were correct.
"We governed by council, not under a single ruler." Finian regarded the table with an unreadable expression. "My job was to break ties, not command by right. It worked well most of the time." A pause. "But what you're looking for is up there." Emain Ablach followed Finian's gaze to see a crystalline box seated snugly above the table in the wall. It glowed from within.
"...Can I reach that?"
"I'm sure you can. You seem resourceful." With that unhelpful comment, Finian stepped to the side with a gesture clearly meant to invite Emain Ablach to try. Emain Ablach looked back to the other three.
...Well. He approached the wall, looking up at the glowing box, then looking at the chair closest to it. He might be able to reach if he dragged it just a little closer-- No such luck. Emain Ablach tugged on the chair and found it quite heavy. Heavy enough to remain where it sat. He swore quietly under his breath, climbing to stand on it anyway and see how close it got him to the box. Not close enough. He stood on the table and stretched. He might have been tall enough, now, but he was quite too far away horizontally.
"...Might I make a suggestion?" Finian's voice drew Emain Ablach's attention, and he saw him looking up, arms folded and expression pensive. "One of your lovers is probably light enough to lift and reach it." Emain Ablach paused from where he was perched with one foot on the back of a chair and the other precariously on an arm. He looked over to the other three, eyes landing on Imhotep, who was watching Finian with a mix of curiosity and suspicion.
"Oh. Good point." He climbed down and gestured a bemused Imhotep closer. Emain Ablach was not normally terribly athletic, but being a knight gave him enough of a boost that he was at least not worried about dropping Imhotep. So he bent down, shoulder to the wall, with his fingers intertwined. Imhotep gave him a skeptical look, but stepped there anyway, holding on to Emain Ablach's shoulders for balance as the taller knight stood back up. Once Emain Ablach stood entirely, Imhotep was able to straighten and--using the wall for balance--reach toward that glowing box. His fingers brushed against it, and he immediately recoiled at the way it burned to the touch.
"Hey, that hurts. How am I supposed to grab it?" Imhotep challenged Finian directly, shaking his hands out. Finian looked up and shrugged at him. He seemed unperturbed by what Imhotep muttered under his breath in response, merely watching. So Imhotep went back to the box, considering it at length. But not too long, because he knew that Emain Ablach couldn't hold him forever. So he looked down at himself, frowning. Well, he had one thing that he could use to shield his hands, he guessed. So he untucked his shirt, bundling it around his hands and reaching back for the box, trying to ignore how it made his shirt ride up. The important part was grabbing the box.
Somehow, with the fabric protecting his hands, it was just enough. As long as they were quick anyway. Imhotep could already feel the heat beginning to eat its way through the cloth as he urged Emain Ablach to hurry up and get him down. Emain Ablach obliged, tossing Imhotep just enough to dislodge him and catching him under his arms and knees as he fell. Imhotep took it from there, squirming free until he was standing and holding the box out to Emain Ablach. "Take it, before it starts burning me."
Gingerly, Emain Ablach took the box, surprised to find that it wasn't hot at all to him. He looked up to Finian in confusion, who just shrugged.
"I never had cause to touch it. I can't tell you why it was hot to him and it isn't to you. Probably something to defend itself from theft." Finian inclined his head back toward Imhotep, who was brushing the beginning of char off of his uniform. "You're allowed to touch it, so it isn't burning you. Can you open it?"
"Uh..." Well, could he? Emain Ablach moved to lift the lid and found that it came off with ease. "Looks like it."
"Good. Do what you need to do and put it back. Quick." Having the piece of the Code out of its box seemed to be setting Finian on edge, and Emain Ablach didn't have any desire to antagonize him. He had been helpful after all, even if it had been in a roundabout way. Emain Ablach reached into the box and picked the piece up, holding it gingerly in his hands. Almost reverently. Okay, now he had to focus on it...
The memory came immediately.
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Fire as far as the eye could see. Smoke that choked the air and made lungs burn. People running, flashes of metal and wood by firelight. Shouting, screaming--
No, not screaming.
Laughing. Shouting encouragement, not alarm.
Not running, dancing. The flashes of metal and wood adorned the dancers around the fire, a song beat kept by a small band off to the side. Children shrieking with laughter as they chased each other, being warned by their parents not to get too close to the bonfires. Mild complaints here and there when the wind shifted the direction of the smoke coming off of the fires and forced someone to shift where they'd been sitting. The smell of sizzling meat and roasting vegetables.
He watched them all with a degree of fondness, trying not to look toward the near edge of their land. Beyond, it was snowy, bitterly cold with an unseasonably early frost. Inside, it was warm and any snow that made it to the ground soon melted. It was dark beyond, but brightly lit here. A paradise, really.
His next glance toward the edge of their land was less fond. He'd heard the rumors, of darkness moving against peoples who had hardly asked for it. He knew it would come for this paradise sooner or later. He and the rest of the council had already begun the evacuation plans, but there was hardly any way he could begrudge the people their desire for one last festival night. It was harvest season, after all.
So tonight, they could dance and sing and laugh and chase each other. In the morning, they'd be heading for safe harbor. His son would be going with them. His eyes flickered to the other side of the fire, where his son was laughing and dancing with his own young daughter. They would both be going. The girl's mother too, if she survived the scouting mission she and several others had been sent on. He had his doubts. They should have made contact days ago, but had given nothing but silence.
The eye contact he made with his son briefly told him that the same thought had occurred to them both. And that, perhaps, his son danced with his granddaughter to keep her from worrying about her mother.
He took a deep breath and leaned back in his seat.
There would be many more of them worrying about their loved ones before everything was over.
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His eyes found Finian's immediately when the memory released him. "...Did they make it out?" He almost didn't want to ask, but he had to. He had to know if Finian's son had survived, if the little girl had, through what he could only surmise was the beginning of the end, centuries on centuries ago.
"I suppose they did." Finian's expression was especially unreadable. "I wouldn't know. I know they left. I know not if they arrived safely."
"They had to have, right?" Amoris spoke up, voice hesitant. "If he's your ancestor, then a descendant had to have survived, right?" Finian regarded Amoris for a long moment, then turned toward the front of the building.
"I suppose that's true. I never saw them again in any case." He looked over his shoulder. "I died here." Finian resumed his movement toward the outside. "Is that everything you needed?"
Emain Ablach looked down at the piece of Code in his hands. It no longer shown as brightly, glowing with a steady, but much less intense light. There was sadness here, he realized. Regret. Finian had never seen his son and granddaughter again, and he regretted that.
"You still miss them?"
"I
said, is that everything you need?" Finian's tone was sharp. Emain Ablach looked up where the piece had been sitting, noting that the ledge cut into the wall for the box looked sharper, newer. He realised he could smell petrichor on the air, replacing the smell of sunshine.
"...Yeah." To the others. "Let's get out of here."
