Thereafter Chapter 8: Triage and Tragedy
The situation didn’t resolve itself as much as it petered out. With the help of Eltern and the disheveled-looking mage Michael could only assume was Leowin, Lex quickly set up an arcane crowd management system to dissipate the crowds as safely as possible. It was not a perfect solution, but guiding people to vacate the premises through the closest side street with semi-compelling telepathy to minimize congestion did at least lessen the panic. The relatively painless resolution did nothing to undo the harm that was already done. As they descended from their rooftop sanctuary, Michael wanted to say something, but he couldn’t get himself to do it. This was just too big. He could still see the unmoving or barely-moving bodies that were left once the crowds withdrew.
“We should help,” Alicia spoke out what burned in Michael’s chest.
“Yeah,” was all Michael could say.
What followed was a miserable stretch of the most soul-draining job Michael had ever undertaken. Providing bedspace for the wounded was easy, as Eltern conjured up a makeshift sick tent and an appropriate amount of beds, but finding who was healthy enough to move was one of those things you just couldn’t magic your way into.
“I can create a rudimentary arcane intelligence just like that,” Lex had explained, snapping their fingers as to demonstrate “but if I create one smart enough to do first aid it’s getting dangerously close to a person, and that has consequences I’d rather not get into right now.”
And so it had been that Michael wandered from fallen thereafterian to fallen thereaftian, assessing whether they could be moved to the tent or if they required whatever healing they could provide in situ. There was of course the ones who were beyond help, where the only thing one could do was to tag them as dead, try to forget how this came to be, and moving on before the inevitable conclusions about ones worth as both a public figure and an ethical person. Michael tended to be just a touch too slow for the last part, and as he trudged mechanically from fallen body to fallen body, it was difficult to not let it creep into his brain. One body blurred over into the other. Visibly broken bones here, obvious signs of internal bleeding there, shock, psychological scars that probably wouldn’t fully heal.
“Grim work, isn’t it?” Michael wasn’t aware anyone had walked up to him, but all the same, the nasal baritone voice pierced through the haze he was trudging through.
“Huh?” he turned to face the voice, and found himself looking down, although not as far down as he’d expected.
The molefolk boar wasn’t much taller than about a meter, but he had positioned himself slightly farther back than a human would, in order to facilitate a less steep viewing angle for Michael. This marked him as someone who was used to talking to tall folk, which was always a good sign, to Michael’s experience Molefolk could be somewhat skeptical of outsiders, with himself as a rare exception.
“I said it’s grim work, this triage business,” The Moleboar said, gesturing at the plaza with his clawed shovel-hand. He was a rather slim individual, wiry in a way that’d make the molefolk of Michael’s childhood nervous. You couldn’t trust someone who’s hungry, they’d say, better to offer them food right away so you’d know their priorities were straight. The moleboar did look friendly enough though, the smattering of salt among the velvety pepper fur of his nose and eyes gave him an appearance of wisdom, if not great knowledge. Michael tried to not think about the hungry glean in his black button eyes, perhaps there was something to that old saying after all.
“It is,” Michael conceded. “But someone has to do it.”
“As much is true… I must say Dayshadow, you are different from how I imagined you.”
“Dayshadow…? Also, pardon me, but you appear to have me at a disadvantage, Mr…”
“Oh yes,” the Moleboar said, rubbing his nose with the back of his paw. “Pardon the rudeness, Dayshadow it is easy to forget that while I have heard of you since I was a wee pup, you are not similarly regaled with the tales of my exploits. Nih-Ka of the Narrowreach Burrow at your service, Exalted,” Nih-Ka held out the back of his right paw, Michael found himself returning the showing of good faith by bumping it with the back of his hand. Handshakes weren’t a thing among the molekin, the whole claw situation made it entirely too risky of a proposition.
“I am pleased to meet you Nih-Ka of the Narrowreach Burrow. Say, you’re not kinfolk with Loh-He from my… uh… time in your lands, are you?”
“Oh yes, he was the Den-Chief of the burrow for about a Rock’s age after you left, a most venerated soul, he was.”
“Oh wow,” Michael could not contain his surprise. “I would not have guessed that, but I guess he didn’t think too highly of me either.”
“All the same, it is true. He oversaw the foundation of the Dayshadows, some say he was one himself actually.”
“Pardon me, but there’s that expression again. I’m not familiar with it?”
“No, I suppose you wouldn’t be. That’s ironic in a way, since they were based on you, or the stories about you at least. Some call them assassins,” Nih-Ka laughed briefly at that, a small bark of a laugh. “Assassins, hah. They keep the burrows safe and strangles trouble in its soft-cave, and that’s the moniker they get?”
“Huh…”
“Oh, pardon an old man for talking politics, Exalted,” Nih-Ka waved the entire topic off. “It is the first infirmity, I believe.”
Before Michael could formulate a decent, polite answer to that, a voice louder than god rang out over the plaza.
“Nih-Ka Narrowreach, you DARE show your face here.”
Michael found himself struggling to tell where the overwhelming sound had come from, it was only when he saw Eltern striding towards the two of them, the air crackled around him, and Michael was sure it wasn’t just the voice amplifying spell that made the effect. Eltern was beyond outraged.
“Grand Magus Eltern,” Nih-Ka bowed at the hip towards the striding magus. “Some of my boys told me there was a commotion at the plaza, and so I decided to pop by. See if anyone could use a helping paw” There was an ever so slight twist on the last phrase, as if there was an implication in play Michael didn’t know. If the expression on Eltern’s face was an indication, as his face twisted further into a furious mask, it definitely was meant as some sort of taunt.
“We do not need your help, nor the help of your boys,” Eltern said as he stopped by Michael’s side. Michael couldn’t help but notice he was standing slightly further away from Nih-Ka than he’d do himself. It didn’t exactly seem like Eltern was afraid of the aging moleboar, but Michael couldn’t help but notice that the distance was solidly out of reach even if Nih-Ka were to lunge.
Nih-Ka held out his paws palms up in a gesture that’d seem disarming from most creatures, but only served to accentuate the length and sharpness of his claws. “Very well Mage, we only go where we are wanted as you well know.”
“Then pardon me any ambiguity Narrowreach. We do not want you here.”
Nih-Ka shrugged, a gesture more flippant than apologetic.
“In that case, I will take my leave. Until next time Dayshadow” and with a curt bow, he left, trundling down the plaza at a pace that seemed purposefully slow, even if you took his diminutive stature into account.
“What was all of that about?” Michael asked once he assumed Nih-Ka was out of earshot. It had seemed like an unnecessarily confrontational conversation, but he was fully cognizant that there could be any number of layers of context that’d illuminate the hostility between the two.
“Not here,” Eltern said, there was a rush to his delivery, like he suspected that there was no such thing as being out of earshot of this particular individual “I will tell you all later, Exalted. For now we have work to do.”
“Yeah OK, but this feels like something I should be worried about. Should I be?”
“You have nothing to fear from what transpired here Exalted. How fares your patients?”
“Alright,” Michael said, he couldn’t help shake the feeling that Eltern was dodging his questions. Probably because he was. There was, however, only so much Michael could do about that. “The row down here are all good to transport, but be careful with the last one, he mentioned his bones are hollow.”
“Ah yes, one of the Skyclan I suspect? They’re very susceptible to brittle bones as far as I understand it.”
“Yeah, the one with the mottled plumage, down there.” Michael motioned.
As Eltern left, Michael continued his triage, but his mind was definitely elsewhere. There was something immensely disappointing about hearing of the Dayshadows. He had left Caveworld with the assumption that the bad days were over with the banishment of the Light Lord and his cronies. And yet, there had been enough strife for an extrajudicial squad of assassins? Now that he thought about it, Michael wasn’t that surprised. Things had seemed pretty idyllic after the burrows confederated to oust the Lightlord, but real world politics never stayed rosy for long, so why would the magical land of the molefolk be any different?
Michael found his thoughts wandering to what could be the source of strife. Perhaps the ore caves started growing barren, or burrow separatism started becoming a problem after a prolonged period of peace. Or maybe, just maybe, Michael thought, it was merely a question of friction, and his precious molefolk not being all that much better than humans like that. As the efforts of the day wrapped up, with those that could be helped helped and those that couldn’t carted away, Michael found himself restless with thought, his brain ever churning with the words that Nih-Ka had said. Perhaps it wasn’t as grim as the old man had made it seem.
Then again, Michael thought glumly, there was every chance that it was worse.
Author’s Note: We’re entering the exciting and scary part of the story, as we’re well and truly past the initial plotted out chapters. I know where I want this all to end, but we’re pantsing our way there now! Nih-Ka is a fun character to work with because while he is plenty polite and grandfatherly, he does have the distinct vibe of being polite because he doesn’t have to project strength. Now if this is because he is Beyond Such Transient Matters or because his reputation precedes him and is scary as fuck, remains to be seen. It might even be both.
On the practical side of things, I find the twice/month release schedule to be plenty manageable. My impatience is yet again tempting me to go up to thrice/month, and if I don’t get this last job I interviewed for I might just do it. I guess taking more than one shaky step into the realm of the pantsers before I decide to leap might also be good.