It had been hard for Jason to separate himself from the crowd, mostly because they surrounded him on all sides. Lance had to watch helplessly as he slowly shuffled back toward the Rhino, before telling them firmly yet gently to 'clear a path'. Lance had decided to go with him, already knowing that he intended to hide the Rhino away in the Ashlands. Belaine however had no intention of driving back to the other side of the wall. The Fire-Eyes had been insistent that she never wished to return, not until it was time to stand against the Romai.
Lance could hardly blame her. They left Belaine behind, the woman brushing the grass gently with her hands, as if to confirm to herself that this wasn't a dream. The Fiendwallers thankfully didn't follow after them as Jason drove the Rhino a long distance away, until the Fiendwall was completely out of sight. Once that was done, he parked the vehicle, then cast Cloak over it, making it invisible before moving over to the pod.
"Are you going to put everything on you in the pod?" Lance asked him, "I believe you mentioned you wanted to drink on the way over here."
"I do." He nodded, "It was fun last time, but I don't want to risk losing equipment."
"I don't think that the Fiendwallers would try to steal from you." Lance shook her head, "You're the big hero, remember? Then again…" Lance hesitated, "Fiendwallers are most often convicts from Grayshane."
"Grayshane," Jason nodded, "I've heard about it. It's a city that's rampant with crime, right?"
Lance pursed her lips, before nodding, "That's right, they only send their worst criminals to live in the Fiendwall."
"They don't seem so bad to me." Jason told her as he opened the pod, "Gali seems like a good man, so do the Defenders, there are children there and many of the locals were born and raised there without issue."
"That is true," Lance told him as he began putting his weaponry down on the various seats, "But the ones that aren't local are the true problem from my understanding."
"Affirmative, it's good I decided to bring everything out here." He nodded to himself before placing the Fortis on a seat. However, instead of leaving the pod, he seemed to hesitate, "I shouldn't drink."
"Why not?" Lance asked, feeling somewhat disappointed to hear that.
"Remember, Tuji is still alive, somehow." Jason reminded her, "He told Nolvi and Twindil in The Dream that he wanted me to come back and kill him, and that he was in a pitiful state."
Lance's eyes widened, "I… I completely forgot about that." She said, legs suddenly feeling wobbly.
The Pillar-Born, Tuji, had been killed by Hoplite, snapped in half essentially, before the body was incinerated by Terlin. That's right! There wasn't even a body leftover from that, had Tuji somehow managed to heal from absolute destruction!? If he had, wouldn't he have been ecstatic to still be alive? Begging Jason to come back and finish the job didn't make any sense so… so what could it mean?
Jason then began re-arming himself, shaking his head, "I did too." He grumbled, sounding upset with himself, "Too many distractions, I can't believe I let that intel slip."
"Jason… Don't blame yourself for that, there's been so much going on-"
"No." He cut her off, "There's no excuse for this, not from me."
"Normal people forget things from time to time." Lance frowned, crossing her arms and glaring at him, "And don't you go cutting me off again."
"I'm not supposed to forget things this crucial." He continued, magnetizing the Magnus to his back, "I'm getting dull."
"You're beating yourself up, it was just a small slip of the mind." Lance reasoned.
"I can't have small slip ups like this, it could get us killed. I have no excuse." Jason insisted stepping out of the pod before cloaking it, "Best to forgo the feast entirely, let's just press into the Faewood and-"
"Jason!" Lance stomped her foot, "You're allowed to make mistakes!" She shouted, "I forgot too, but I'm not tearing my own head off because of it!"
"A mistake like this is too massive." Jason shook his head, "I can't believe I did this."
Lance let out an irritated groan, "Stop this now, or I'll take off that helmet of yours and slap you silly!"
"What? Why?" Jason asked, apparently perplexed.
"Because you're acting stupid!" Lance told him, marching up before poking her finger into his chestplate, "You can't go through all your life perfectly, no matter how big your brain is, you'll eventually screw something up, that's the same for everyone! Beating yourself up won't help nor stop you from making future errors. We're going to have a long life together, and I won't be able to stand seeing you do this every single time you make a mistake! Do you understand!?" She yelled, planting her fists on her hips as she glared up at his helmet.
"...Affirmative." Jason said after a moment.
She crossed her arms, "Good. We'll go into the Faewood tomorrow, I fully intend to drink and eat like a pig tonight. You should treat yourself too, you can still drink even and have your weapons at the same time, just don't go overboard like we did before, alright?"
He hesitated again before nodding, "Long life together?" Jason asked.
Lance's hands went to cover her ears, "Well who knows how long this adventure will take?" She said quickly, "It could be decades before we're done."
"But you said lives." Jason pointed out, "We're both biologically immortal so that would imply-"
"Let's just head back!" Lance squeaked, darting out of the pod, "Night is falling and the festivities are about to start!"
"Lance." Jason said firmly, "I have something I would like to-"
"Let's just go please!" She pleaded, her ears on fire.
"Ah, alright." He said, sounding somewhat disappointed as he left the pod, sealing the door behind him, "It's not the right time."
Lance blinked, turning back to him, "Right time for what?"
"Let's go." He told her, swiping her up from the ground.
"H-hey, you're supposed to give me a bit of warning you know!?" Lance complained, slapping at his chest-plate.
"Sorry." He said, "I won't run too fast."
"Okay good-" Lance sighed, "But what was this thing you wanted-"
Jason then began running back toward the Fiendwall at full speed, eliciting a gasp from Lance.
"Jason!" She yelled at him, indignant.
"We must be time efficient." He countered.
"But you just said that you weren't going to go fast!" She shouted, "I'm going to puke!"
Jason then slowed down a tad, but Lance still felt her guts roil as he ran. Still, even though she hated the feeling of being shaken about, she loved being held by him this way. If only he'd do this when standing still, or just walking. Thankfully it wasn't too long before they were back at the Fiendwall, with Jason setting her down beside him when it was time to pass through the camp. A group of Tongues seemed to be waiting for them, a large orc waiting at their front, arms crossed.
"Welcome back hero!" The large armored orc smiled, running a hand over his bald head, "Do yas rememba me, by chance?"
Jason nodded, "You were one of the Tongues that ran down the rubble to engage the Fiends with me. How have you been?"
Lance blinked. 'How have you been?' That was such a normal thing to say, for anyone but Jason. She smiled, wrapping her hands around his forearm, pleased to see him adopt such a phrase into his lexicon. His helmet tilted down to her, before back to the orc.
"Been great!" The orc laughed, "Nothing can keep ol' Mel down!"
"Good to hear." Jason said, walking forward.
Lance opted to keep holding onto his arm as they went. She didn't care if people made assumptions about them, because if she had it her way, those assumptions would become truth soon enough. Well, maybe not too soon actually, Lance's heart needed more time to prepare than that.
"We Tongues are probably heading out to explore the Fiendwood after today," Mel nodded to himself, he and his Tongues following after Lance and Jason, "There could be great treasures in Akan-Var, though too bad there won't be nothing to fight anymore."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Jason told him grimly as they passed through the breach.
"What do you mean?" Mel asked, "There some strong foes left ova? Good! All the more reason to go."
"I'll tell you more about it once the feast starts." Jason said, "But I wouldn't recommend going there, not yet."
"Well I'll be the one what decides that." Mel replied firmly, "Buuuut I'll still listen to ya before we go. I'm dumb, but not stupid."
"Those words are synonymous." Jason told him.
"What's cinnamon gotta do with it?" Mel questioned.
Jason shook his head, "Nevermind."
Mel continued to yap as Lance and Jason passed into the Fiendwaller's camp, seeing a dozen tables set up, with wines and foods already atop them. Cooking fires lit up the camp, with more foods being cooked before being placed alongside the other morsels on the tables. It almost looked like the Death-Day celebration, just with wooden tables as opposed to using the Ilum's roots.
The Fiendwallers knew better than to chop down Faewood trees, they likely attained all their goods through the Atheyare caravans passing through. Otherwise they'd be forced from here- she paused, mouth falling slightly open as realization struck her. With the Spiral Curse gone, would the Harkhall still allow the Fiendwallers to stay? Grayshane wasn't nearly as large a threat as Akan-Dar, and there was no reason to let humans stay so close to the Fiendwood any longer…
Outside of Umant, anyhow. Then again, with the threat of the Romai, the Fiendwall might be crucial still, at least until that conflict was resolved. Ultimately it was up to the Harkhall if they would allow the humans to stay, or if they would exile them back to Grayshane. Lance let out a sigh, that wasn't something she wanted to think about right now, there was food to eat, booze to drink, and fun to have! Dozens of Fiendwallers approached, surrounding Jason and staring at him with awe as he moved toward the closest table.
Jason removed his helmet as they reached the table, magnetizing it to his thigh before swiping up a plate. There was an audible gasp from the Fiendwallers as they saw his face, the primary emotion in their eyes being shock. She looked up at Jason to see if he felt uncomfortable with the attention, but he clearly did not care one way or another about it. She could see hunger in his eyes as he stared down at a plate of steaks, an undercurrent of worry the only other emotion present.
He must have still been worried about Tuji, but Lance could hardly blame him for that. The prospect of having to face him once again must not sit well with Jason. Then again… now that Jason could use Foundation, perhaps Tuji would no longer be on his same level. It was hard to say, but Lance just hoped that they wouldn't have to find out.
Lance hesitated before releasing Jason's arm, she was starving and would like a taste of something fresh. The MRE's weren't bad or anything like that, but eating them for weeks has left her with a bit of a disdain for them. People still observed them, some cheering while others approached, looking eager to talk with Jason. The orc, Mel, had disappeared in the crowd, either to gather more Tongues or to fill his own plat. Jason paid the surrounding people no mind as he began stacking his plate with nothing but meat, avoiding the veggies and berries entirely.
"Jason." Lance frowned, swiping up a plate, "You can't just eat beef." She nagged, indicating a stack of berries with her fork, "At least take a few of those."
"Negative." Jason shook his head, "I need the room for more steak."
"You need a variety, a man can't only live off of steak." Lance urged as she began stacking her plate.
Much to her surprise, Jason grinned, "Watch me."
Lance found herself smiling as well, "Alright then, I guarantee that you'll be eating berries before the night is out."
"We'll see." He told her.
Once they were both satisfied with their plates, they turned, seeing Gali standing there with a wide smile on his face "What do ya be doing!?" He shook his head jovially, "We've a special table for you heroes, and why do you be making your own plates?" He questioned, "You won't have to move a muscle tonight unless you do be wanting to!"
"I have working hands." Jason told him flatly, "I don't need someone to bring me my food."
Gali shrugged, "You do be your own man, I suppose." He said, pausing before placing a hand on his chin, brow furrowed as he examined Jason's face, "With that white hair and those eyes, I would say that you be a Wolf-Born, but I know that cannot be the way of it. Unless you have Wolf-Born in your world?"
"We don't." Jason answered, "Why are they called Wolf-Born?" He asked, following after the mayor as he led the way to a wide table.
Jason did have some hair on his head now, Lance realized. Pure white, just like the thick stubble growing on his face. She'd been so used to seeing him bald from chin to scalp. There wasn't too much hair compared to most men she'd seen, but it was growing out. Lance wondered how long he'd allow it to go before he shaved it, or if he'd ever shave it. Would he look more or less handsome if he had long hair? Hmm…
"The Wolf-Born?" Gali asked, drawing Lance from her thoughts, "Well er… ah! They do be the truest, most primal form of humanity on Ahkoolis," Gali answered, pulling a chair out for Lance, "At least that do be according to one legend. The elves have their magic eyes, the orcs have their great strength, and the dwarves do have their perfect memory, but we men, we do have the Wolf-Born. Why they be called Wolf-Born I don't know, it could harken back to a time when wolves and men hunted together perhaps, when men were more wild, more powerful." He continued as Lance took her seat.
"Thank you, Gali." Lance smiled as the mayor then pulled out a chair for Jason.
He just stared down at the piece of furniture like it was a porcelain doll, before shaking his head. "I'll just sit on the ground, I'll crush that chair if I sit on it."
Gali blinked, "Aye that armor do look mighty heavy, my bad."
"The armor would break the chair too," Jason sighed, sitting down next to Lance, "But I'm actually heavier than the suit, believe it or not."
"Well of course ya do be." Gali rose a brow, slapping his gut plate, "It do be the same for myself!"
"Right." Jason nodded, "But normally powered armor is far heavier than the one wearing it, that is not the case for me."
"Well it can't be by much if that do be the case," Gali sighed, pulling out his own chair, "Don't get too many chances to sit down these days-"
Gali then eased himself down, a leg of the chair snapping before sending the mayor falling backwards. Jason reacted with lightning-fast speed, grabbing the back of the chair with one hand as a whole steak hung halfway out of his mouth. To Lance's simultaneous horror and awe, Jason sucked the rest of the steak down, not even chewing as he kept Gali's chair stable. The mayor stood quickly, blinking as he stared down at his broken chair, before back to Jason.
"Must be the armor that broke it." Gali laughed heartily, once again slapping his gut-plate, "Ha!"
The surrounding Fiendwallers joined in laughing jovially as Jason continued to practically drink his steaks. She stared, horrified as he bit straight through a t-bone, before swallowing that too, discarding nothing. How could he just bite through bone that way without cracking his teeth- She nearly palmed her face, his bones were practically indestructible- of course he could just chew through whatever he wanted. Did he have to eat it like that though?
"Where's Belaine?" Jason asked between mouthfuls, "I don't see her anywhere."
"I do think she grew impatient." Gali shrugged, "She went into the Faewood while you took that carriage outside the wall. She said that she would find you again when it was time to continue your journey."
"So she wants to join us?" Lance asked, her ears perking up, "That's great!"
"Affirmative." Jason nodded, "We'll need to make contact with the Harkhall before we go too."
Gali nodded, "Aye, the elves have been quiet as of late." He shrugged, "It may be that tensions with Akan-Dar are beginning to rise. The elves don't usually say much, but the forest has been quiet as death lately."
Lance nodded with a sigh, of course Akan-Dar was beginning to cause problems again.
"It makes sense. Whenever the Harkhall is dealing with something of that magnitude, we tend to push lesser matters to the side, such as communications with you Fiendwallers, no offense." She said quickly.
Gali shook his head, "None taken lass, I know what we are." He nodded, "But enough about such dreary business, this is a feast, and I'm sure that everyone will be thrilled to hear your tales of heroism in the Fiendwood. Bring us some mugs of ale!" He shouted, "And take your seats, we do have a story to listen to!"
Apprehension filled Jason's eyes for a moment, but that quickly faded, being replaced with determination.
"There is something important that you all need to know about." Jason began, standing up from the ground and placing his plate on the table. He then turned to the gathered Fiendwallers, Tongues, and Defenders, "Kazon may be dead," He began loudly, "But the Fiendwood is still dangerous, or rather, the Ashlands are. During our mission, we discovered that the Romai still live."
Silence dragged on for a long while, before a Fiendwaller raised his hand.
"Yes?" Jason asked.
"What's a Romai?" He asked, looking confused.
Lance looked to Gali, seeing cold fear in the mayor's eyes. It seemed he knew something of the dwarves, likely only from legends but enough to know that the Romai were dangerous.
"Dwarves from the Sixth Age." Jason explained, "They've survived underground all this time, ruled by vampires. They have weaponry similar to mine, advanced technology, and powerful mages." He continued, "I'm sure that one day they'll come to the surface, and when they do, they will likely come this way to begin their conquest."
"The dwarves driven beneath the earth by Oros himself?" Gali asked, running a hand over his brow, "By the Pillars, say you jest."
"I don't." Jason told him, "I won't lie to you, they are dangerous and if we can't gather a force against them, Ahkoolis will be conquered. I intend to gather allies to help defend the Fiendwall when the Romai surface, but they'll likely send out scouts first. It could be months, or even years before they come out, but we need to start preparing now."
"I see, so we do be having some time before they come." Gali sighed.
"Are these Romai really so bad?" A man asked, "Once we rebuild the wall, they won't be able to pass through this way-"
"Didn't you just hear the hero?" A woman scolded, "They do have vampires and thunderstaves, they'll roll over the wall like it no even be here!"
"We're doomed!?" Another questioned, running hands through his hair, "I thought the dangers were over, now you're saying that monsters are coming to enslave us?"
"Yes." Jason said flatly, "But if I have it my way, that won't happen. Here's everything I know, and everything that happened after we went into the Fiendwood." He told them, sitting back down before recounting their journey across the Greatbridge, followed by Akan-Var, the Romai, then finally Castle Blackgaze, making sure to obfuscate certain details.
Jason didn't mention his mental break, nor the fact that the companions with them were Pillar-Born, or that Michael had become a vampire… Interestingly, and to her surprise, he didn't mention Lithia at all. Perhaps it was because the threat of the Romai was already terrifying enough on its own, if the Fiendwallers heard that Lithia was not only loose, but also a Pillar-Born… well, it may send them into a full panic, which was not what Jason wanted, clearly. He didn't mention Mazeek or Theopalu either, seeming to want to avoid talking about the Unbound and his son.
"What a journey!" Gali exclaimed, "I do believe you; you no be the type of man to lie. These Long Lords must be stopped!"
"But Gali, we're just-" A woman from the crowd began.
"We be Fiendwallers!" Gali shouted, "We do be accustomed to living in constant fear, but at least this foe can be killed, unlike the Fiends." He put his hands on his hips, "Our hero here stands against them, the Slayer of Kazon himself!"
The entire field around them erupted into cheers, but instead of affirming their hopes, Jason's eyes fell. Lance could read shame in his eyes, his free hand clenched as they continued to cheer for him.
"The Fiendwall will join this alliance!" Gali shouted, raising a fist, "And we'll send those dwarves back to their holes!"
"Jason, Jason, Jason!" They began chanting.
Lance put a hand on his arm, offering a smile. He looked to her, the shame still there but an undercurrent of relief there as well. Yet, as he continued to stare at her, she saw another emotion present, one that nearly caused her to faint on the spot. He likely wasn't aware of it himself, but Lance knew it well.
Love.