Whispers of a Dead Empire

I sat at the table, and looked through the newspapers, and quickly jotted down some notes. I was slowly building up a surplus of information to bring back to Paris. My mind was made up on doing my best to ensure that the domain would still be standing after this. But I knew it was going to be an uphill fight.

I stood up, and carefully grabbed a few of the newspapers, and folded them, so I could place them into my holding bag to bring back to the guild. I would need every piece of evidence I could get my hands on, no matter how small it seemed to be. Once I was finished, I set my bag on the table, and a yawn escaped from my lips, followed by a quiet rumble in my stomach. I would eat once Alinore and Carter were up. At least that way, they can get something too.

I limped over to the couch and sat down again. Gunther was over by the window, watching the road to ensure that nothing was coming our way. The undead we were not all that worried about. It was whoever teleported into the safe house that had us worried. But we should beat them as long as they don't get a drop on us. I sat down and flipped through my notes, making sure I detailed the route we took, as well as the conversation with Kharon. Even the stronghold and how the undead seemed to fight each other. So far, everything was looking good, and I couldn't complain about it. Hopefully, whatever we uncovered next would be what we needed.

As I was flipping through my notepad, the quiet squeal of a door swinging on its hinges tore me from my thoughts. I glanced in the bedroom's direction, and I relaxed slightly when I saw it was Carter. "Hey Carter, can you come over here? I need to talk to you about some stuff."

"Sure, just let me take a leak real quick." His voice grew quiet as he walked through the cabin, and I nodded my head as I made a mental list of what I needed to talk to him about. The first thing was his position on this domain and whether I could talk him into joining Gunther and I. The next was how he and Alinore were doing. I took a deep breath and played the conversation through my head a few times to make sure I got it to sound right while I was waiting.

"What's up?" He asked as he sat down on the couch next to me. He was wearing a tight black shirt that clung to his muscles like a second skin. His pants were also tight and left little to the imagination. All for the sake of creeping, I guess.

"How do you feel about the domain? We haven't really talked much since we arrived here." I asked as I kicked my feet up on my bag, taking a moment to relax.

"Ah, to be honest. I'm not really too concerned about it. Alinore and I talked about it a bit, and she says the magic here is far different from what necromancers use. It's more free and pure, and the undead seem to have more control over themselves." He reached up to his necklace and ran his fingers across the moonstone.

"I see. Well, Gunther and I decided we wanted to find this Empress. To see if this domain was truly evil or not." Carter's face twisted slightly as he thought it over.

"Knowing you, Redrick, there is more to it than just that. What do you really want from this place?" His words hung in the air between us, and I judged just how much I wanted to tell him. Just a little of the truth won't hurt.

 "I want to restore my family, Carter. I want to restore my name and no longer be that disgraced noble. This domain is my stepping stone to doing that. I'm tired of being an adventurer, and I'm tired of looking death in the face every day. What I really want is to stop running from the nobles that ruined my life and stripped me of everything that I knew and loved." The words poured from my lips as anger flared in my chest. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that I was out here risking my life day after day to just scrape by while the ones that took everything from me sat around a table gorging themselves on wine and women laughing at my family.

"Sometimes Redrick, some things are better left forgotten. If you keep trying to pursue that path, then you will only die in the end. They won't sit back on their laurels watching you get your life together. The second that they even get a whiff of you doing something they don't like, they will try to dispose of you. You know this." I clenched my teeth and tried to calm myself. I know. It wasn't fair. I wanted this all to end. I wanted Gunther and those two to live a happy life, one that wouldn't end because of me. I so badly wanted to send them away, to protect them, but I knew I couldn't do this independently. If the time ever came that I had to trade my life for theirs, I would. They didn't deserve to be dragged into this.

"I know Carter. This is the last mission. This is our last step. If we can do everything right and prove that this domain doesn't harm the outside world. We are set for life. You and Alinore can settle down, and Gunther can move on, and I can finally retire, and I can be free to rebuild my influence."

He closed his eyes for a moment and nodded his head. "Redrick, how long have we known each other?"

The strangeness of his question caught me off guard slightly. "It's been a few years. Since my dad died, actually." As I spoke, I found myself falling back into memories that have long since passed.

"Yeah, it's been quite a few years, alright. But regardless, you would consider us friends, no?" He opened his eyes, and as soon as mine met his, I noticed that they felt much different than what they usually did. These were the eyes of a man who has seen far too much and carries a burden. "Well, yes. Why wouldn't I? I mean, we stopped being associates when I saved you from that Viper of Ardask." I laced my concern at his statement with a bit of a joke since I was still figuring out what he was getting at. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, "Listen, Redrick, there is a lot that you don't know about me, and Alinore for that matter. If I tell you this, I need you to keep it a secret."                                                               "Of course, Carter. I'll keep it between us." I shifted forward, curious as to what he was about to say. "Do you know what the soul-bound curse is?" Carter asked as he mindlessly fingered the moonstone on his chest. I thought it over and consulted the information in my head. "It rings a faint bell, but I'm not sure. Why?" He looked at me for a moment; his sea-blue eyes glimmered with sadness as he spoke. "The soul-bound curse doesn't really exist anymore. So I'm not surprised you know little about it. Essentially, you are soul-bound to another person. If they die, you die. If you die, they die. Then you are reincarnated over and over. The cycle is to be forever unbroken."                                                                                                                            As he spoke, I felt my eyebrows raise, and the realization hit me like a wagon. "You and Alinore are soul-bound."                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  He nodded his head, and a faint grin crossed his lips. "Ages ago, Alinore and I fell in love. We pledged our love to Aphrenia, the Goddess of life, and love. She accepted our pledge and gave us what we sought. She told us that nothing would split us. Neither God nor time. We were to be lovers until eternity ended. At first, it was great. We lived happy lives and died of old age together. We were reborn and restarted our lives. We have done this cycle countless times." He kept fingering the moonstone on his chest, his eyes glazed as he was reliving memories I could only dream of.                                                                                                                           

I kept quiet as I let him open up to me since I was unsure of what to say or do in this situation. "But as much as we love each other, we are both tired. For a few brief years, we get caught in the realm between life and death before it thrust us back into flesh. We meet, we have a family, but we both know that death will never claim us. Every life plays out the same. We grow old together and die. One of us gets murdered, and we both die. One of us doesn't make it at birth, and we die. Only to be brought back into this cycle over and over. Living life over and over is tiring." His face twisted in a grimace, and for a time, I could see the damage that time had wracked on this man.                                                                                                                            Gone was the face of a confident, suave ranger, and in its place was the face of a man who couldn't escape time. One who was chained to his fate due to his unending love for his partner. "Do you think this domain might break the curse?"                                                                                                                                                                                    He stared off into space, fingering his necklace. "I hope so. At first, I wasn't sure about it, but when I heard Kharon make a comment about the Empress severing the hold that the necromancers had, it gave me hope. If it's true, then the Empress might be able to do something. I love Alinore more than anything else in this world; it's only fair that I find a way to break this curse so that we both may rest.

I could feel my heart clench in sadness as I nodded my head. I thought I had it rough, but I couldn't imagine what they were feeling. "Does Alinore know you are doing this?"

Carter shook his head and pursed his lips. "No. I haven't told her. As much as she vehemently denies that she wants it to end. I can see the exhaustion. Hopefully, this is the last lifetime that we have to live like this."

"It's alright, Carter. We will find the Empress and see what we can do to help." I meant those words with all my heart. I would do anything for these three.

"Thanks, Redrick. It means a lot." The age on his face quickly vanished, and he went back to his usual suave self. "Now, let's go find this Empress."