Rescue

[Sjal]

​

Winter 10, 124

It was early morning when Sjal appeared in the center of Abraia's workshop. It had been several seasons since she'd last been in the area. She had run away from here. Well, not here specifically, but this country. She was scared for her life, but she had a feeling that she might not be the only one who was scared. She had learned the truth – that the people here had been lied to. Not just little white lies, but everything was just false.

In a way, Sjal wasn't sure if she would ever be able to get over her trauma. There was too much to unpack. A part of her wanted to believe in the lies and go back to living here under a new name… but that was impossible. They could find her. In fact, she had the suspicion that the evil around her already knew that she was here, even though it had only been a few seconds. Or, perhaps, that was her paranoia. In any case, she wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.

To do that, she would need to find Abraia. She had no idea if the woman would even want to come with her… but she was the only one that Sjal had formed a connection with that she thought was genuine. She saw Abraia as a victim who deserved to be rescued, even if it meant forcing her to come with her. To that end, Sjal didn't think that she would have much trouble. Abraia wasn't known for her fighting ability. Sjal, on the other hand… violence was her profession. All that time she'd spent as a mercenary made her quite a force to be reckoned with.

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[Abraia]

Abraia was sitting alone on a chair just a few feet from Sjal when she appeared. She had to blink her eyes four times before she believed what she saw.

"I thought you ran away or died. Where have you been young lady?"

She got up to go hug the girl. There were so many questions she wanted to ask.

The girl had been a topic in her thoughts almost every week since she had disappeared. Her leaving was why she had stopped talking to Cae. She knew that he was probably upset too. Now she had a chance to find answers.

 

[Sjal]

​

For a moment Sjal felt like she was melting as Abraia embraced her. The girl had missed her 'mother' figure quite a lot. It'd taken her a lot of courage to leave on her own. But they couldn't dwell on that now.

"We have to hurry," she said, "I'm getting you out of here. This place… Aelheim… it isn't what you think it is. Everyone here has been lied to. I'm telling you that you need to go pack your valuables and come with me. Now. If you won't come with me, I'll take you by force."

Sjal realized just how crazy she sounded then shook her head, "once you learn the truth… you'll thank me."

She looked out of the side of her eyes to the window. She was paranoid if nothing else. "Hurry!" she said urgently. She started a countdown in her head. She'd give Abraia a minute. Just one minute to get ready before she did what she had to. Hopefully her urgency would be taken seriously and they could get the hell out of here before there was trouble.

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[Abraia]

"you're joking"

"you're not joking"

Abraia sensed the urgency. She didn't understand what the girl was saying but she knew that things must have been serious for her to come to her like this.

She grabbed a sack which contained her money and alkahest. It was just in the other room so it was easy and quick.

"I'm ready."

She did not know that this would be the last time she ever would be in Aelheim.

"I'll come with you and help you with whatever is troubling you but I must return soon. I have many orders due this week."

 

[Sjal]

Sjal smiled as Abraia went to gather her things then waved her hand in the air to create a portal when she came back. This motion tore open a hole that was slightly larger than a doorway. It led to a nexus where there were other portals for them to travel through.

"Let's get going then."

Assuming Abraia followed, they would be in a narrow hallway in an otherworldly looking room that wasn't really a room. It was just a section cut out of an empty greyish void with a small collection of portals that were arranged in a line.

Once the portal closed behind them Sjal would finally breathe a sigh of relief. Nobody could follow her here… she hoped. She'd never tried to access someone else's nexus of portals, not that she'd ever had the opportunity to even try… but she had a feeling that the people that might want her dead were the sort to be able to follow somehow.

Sjal glanced at the portal in the row that led back to Abraia's workshop. She probably needed to get rid of that portal lest she get tempted to go back to the workshop in the future. She would… someday. But for now she would keep it around in case Abraia really needed to be transported back. She hoped that the woman would be able to be reasoned with… but there was no telling what she would ultimately choose. And if Abraia demanded to go back, Sjal would be faced with the hard choice of possibly saying no.

"We'll be going through this one here," Sjal said, pointing to a portal off to the side. "This one will take us to where I've been staying lately. It's safe there, and I'll be able to explain everything."

She strolled through it and would appear instantly in a spot thousands of miles away. It was not exactly the best living arrangement, but her home was better than nothing. It was currently being shared by a couple of other people but they were due to move out soon, now that Sjal had scrounged up enough money to buy the house outright.

"You need to be medically cleared," one of them said to the other, not paying any mind to Sjal's abrupt entrance. It was common for her to come and go like this.

"All this medical clearance is so confusing to me," said another – Sjal recognized him as one of her roommate's friends.

"You don't have to worry that much… if you're young you only need one every so often. It's only if you're getting on in years that they make you take them more often."

Sjal drowned out the conversation and took a seat on her bed and motioned to a chair for Abraia to sit on. They had a lot to discuss.

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[Abraia]

Abraia stepped through the portal then into the void hallway then into another portal to bring her somewhere foreign. She knew it was foreign because of the accents and the view out the window. There was no way this was a place she'd ever been before.

She sat down then asked "So what was it you needed to talk about so badly? You look healthy, you've been eating. Did you get into some trouble? I have money, if it can help."

Even the air smelled different here. "And where are we?" Her education told her that there shouldn't be a place like this that existed. She was already questioning her world view.

 

[Sjal]

Sjal sighed and looked into Abraia's eyes. "What I wanted to talk about… was that you've been lied to for your whole life. Outside of your home there's an entire world that has done completely fine without the help of your previous masters. There are cities, technology, etc. People have more free choice outside the forest you call home. There's simply too much for me to tell you in one chat."

She got up and handed Abraia a couple books. One from this country, and another from a different country she'd visited during her travels. She felt as though these would give the woman some education about how the world really worked. Neither was perfect and had their biases but… they were better than nothing.

1068

 

[Abraia]

Abraia didn't like what she was hearing. She already knew that her masters were cruel people. She was a sheep but she was a smart sheep. Humans like her had a good life even in spite of that. She flipped through the books for a few minutes and she found that she did not care.

She had been offered freedom and she did not want it. She once wanted it but after she had given herself to Kage the idea of starting her life over without him made her feel odd. Stockholm Syndrome was taking her over.

"I will think about it," She said. "For now, take me back home."

She stood up with the books in her hands. She then waited for Sjal to make another portal.

 

[Sjal]

Sjal furrowed her brow. She didn't like the idea of just letting Abraia leave, but her conscious wouldn't let her deny the woman. "First portal on your right," she said with a sigh as she opened up a portal to her nexus. If Abraia needed some time then so be it.

"I won't be coming to visit you again. I don't think it's safe… This is your last chance. If this is good bye then I hope you have a good life."

Sjal had tears in her eyes as the portal assumedly would close behind Abraia as she left. She should have probably tried a little harder, but she'd done the most she was emotionally capable of doing. She thought she'd be strong enough to keep her from physically leaving but then she'd be no better than the aelves.

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