Chapter 7- Tsukino
Walking around the small farming village with Rodrach at her back she did her best not to fidget under the stares of the simple folk. Even in one of her more plain sets of gear she knew she looked like an exotic and highborn lady the likes of which they'd never seen before. It was inevitable thanks to the outrageous materials and intricate designs of Yggdrasil's equipment. Not that she didn't deserve some of the blame for that since she had designed most of her own gear herself.
"S'cuse me? Miss Elf Lady?"
Stopping at the sound of a young voice she smiled as a group of four young children stood a few feet away, eyes wide in their round faces. Turning toward the small group she held up her hand, to subtly stop Rodrach from reacting to the potential offense their words might cause him, and knelt so she was on the children's level. "Hello young ones, how might I help you today?" Keeping her voice light she spoke to the children as politely as she could. She didn't know too much about children herself but surely acting as a proper lady should be enough to put them at ease?
"She's so pretty!" One of the children whispered under their breath, not realizing she could hear them thanks to her natural racial abilities.
"Um, I was wonderin, you made Garett all better when he hurt his head, right?" The child in front asked, eyes solemn and hollow for one so young.
"I did, yes. He was hurt quite badly but I am well versed in healing." There was no use denying it. Half the village had seen her heal the boy, and the rest of them would have been told by those who witnessed it. Small villages like this were always chock-full of gossip. "Why? Is someone else hurt?"
The child clenched their fist tight at their side. "My Mama. She had my baby sister yesterday but the Priest says she's too hurt. Papa says there's nothin we can do."
The other children pressed closer, one of them throwing their arms around the speaker's waist in an obvious hug.
Glancing back at Rodrach she saw a small smile flit across his face as he bowed his head towards her. "Wherever you go, I will follow."
With a small huff of amusement she rose and dusted off the bottom of her robe, even though she knew no dirt could cling to it. "Lead me to your home, child, and I will see what I can do for your mother." The more good will she could generate amongst the villagers the better. Gaining a reputation as benevolent and magnanimous would only serve them well going forward.
"Really!? Thank you Lady!" The child's face cracked into a wide gap-toothed smile as they rushed forward to grab her hand. "This way!"
Rodrach started slightly but didn't react further, other than to casually place his hand on the hilt of his sword.
Delicately rolling her eyes where the man couldn't see she allowed the child to lead her through the village. It didn't take long to reach their destination and when they did she could hear the sound of a baby crying and a man weeping.
Letting go of her hand the child rushed inside, yelling excitedly. "Papa! I brought the Elf Lady! She said she could heal Mama!"
Motioning that Rodrach should remain outside and guard the door she entered the small home and watched the scene before her with a calm expression.
"Illi, there's no helping your mother now." The man rasped, his throat raw from crying. "She's… she's gone." The words were choked out between one sob and the next as the man clutched the crying child to his chest.
"Gone?" The child's hands fell limply away from the tunic of their father, as if all the strength had gone out of their tiny body. "No. No no no no no! Mama!" Body tense the child turned and ran toward an open door, where Tsukino assumed the mother had been resting after giving birth.
"Illi!" The man called, just barely missing he child's arm.
"Excuse me." Stepping forward she caught the man's attention and gave him a small smile. "Your child, Illi was it, asked me to come and heal your wife. I am sorry to hear of your loss. "
The man frowned in confusion. "I… did he?" He floundered for a moment, the baby in his arms crying louder.
"May I help?" She asked, holding out her arms for the baby.
The man hesitated, eying her as if she were something potentially dangerous.
"It will be easier to console Illi if you don't have your arms full with a newborn."
This simple logic seemed to ease the man's worries as he carefully set the baby in her arms, carefully maneuvering her so that she was holding her correctly. When he was done he headed into the bedroom to comfort his other child.
Uncertain what to do with a baby she thought back to conversations she'd had with other Players in Yggdrasil. One of her acquaintances had two children and had complained about the crying many times before. 'Hina will only stop if you start rocking her, and Fuyumi likes singing.' Deciding to give both a try she started to gently sway back and forth. A famous lullaby came to mind and she began to sing.
"Go to sleep, go to sleep. You are a good girl, go to sleep. Where did your nanny go? She crossed over the mountain and returned to her village. What souvenir did she bring you, from her village so far? A drum that goes tum tum, and a pretty little flute. Go to sleep, go to sleep. You are a good girl, go to sleep." Slowly the baby's cries quieted and her eyes drooped. In moments the baby was asleep, snuggled against her chest.
With a small chuckle she ran a finger over the baby's cheek and wondered. In her normal life she'd never had the chance to think about romance or marriage, let alone having children. But holding the small baby had her feeling a sense of longing she'd never experienced before.
She heard movement and glanced up as Illi and his father came back into the main room of their little home. "Thank you for taking care of Rosa." His voice was strained and eyes hollow with grief, barely a spark of life to be seen. The man came forward and took the baby from her arms, staring down at her forlornly. "I apologize for my son bringing you here out of the blue."
Tsukino hesitated. She knew she should be cautious, should keep her true power hidden, but at the same time she felt as if something was pushing her forward. Call it Fate or maybe something else. "There is no need to apologize." She said firmly, making up her mind. "Does anyone else know that your wife has passed?"
The man blinked at her before shaking his head. "We have to notify the local priest ourselves and our neighbors are currently out." Which meant that no one knew.
"I understand." Standing straighter she gave the man a serene look. "I have a request. May I see your wife? I am a priestess myself and if I can do anything to ease your pain I would like to try."
The man floundered, clearly not sure what to do. It ended up being his son who was the deciding factor, as the boy reached up to grab his father's arm and nodded.
Letting out a heavy breath the man nodded to her in turn, giving her permission to go into the room with his wife's deceased body.
Heading inside she wrinkled her nose at the smell of blood. The woman had probably died from blood loss after her child was born and there had been nothing they could do about it. Delicately pulling back the sheet that covered the woman's face she stared down at her lifeless form. It was obvious there was no life left in this vessel. Whatever it was that made someone a person was just… gone.
In that moment she could not explain what came over her. It was a feeling of grief and urgency so potent it almost made her dizzy. Looking up she saw the man enter the room, cradling one child as the other clung to his waist, and had this intense feeling of deja vu.
Her mouth moved of it's own accord and before she even knew what she was doing she spoke to the poor family before her. "Tell me- do you believe in Miracles?"
"Miracles? Miracles don't happen for lowly folk like us." He scoffed, voice bitter with pain and regret.
Taking her staff in hand she looked across the bed at the little family. "The Moon Goddess does not discriminate between those born to nobility and those born to the earth. All of them are her children. And what mother wishes to see her children suffer?" Holding her staff horizontally in front of her she flicked her wrist, making the metal rings jingle against each other in the silence that followed her declaration. "Allow me to show you the power of the Celestial Ones."
Closing her eyes she analyzed the woman's body until she was certain she knew the breadth of it. "True Resurrection!" The magic circle was bright in the small room, nearly blinding, as the 9th Tier spell activated.
She had intended to use the 5th Tier spell at first but something deep inside had told her it would end in disaster.
The light vanished as suddenly as it had appeared, leaving the room completely untouched. A gasp from the bed drew everyone's attention as the woman's eyes opened and she blinked drowsily.
"Lorna? Lorna!" Rushing to the woman's side the man fell to his knees, one trembling hand reaching out to touch her cheek.
"Tho-mas?" The woman's voice was weak and her head was slow to turn, but it was undeniable that she was still alive. "Wh't happ'nd-?"
Tears rolled down the man's face as he lifted his wife's hand and kissed it before pressing it against his cheek. "Nothing. You're back with us now, that's all that matters." Tearing his eyes away from his wife he looked at Tsukino in awe and gratitude. "However can we thank you? We have little, but whatever you want- it's yours."
Tsukino froze. She hadn't contemplated what would come after she performed the resurrection. Thankfully inspiration struck her and she smiled at the family as calmly and gently as she could. "Tell no one of this. It is not something I do on a whim, it is a blessing of the Moon Goddess and it is she who chooses who is worthy." A blatant lie. "If others knew I had this power they would hunt me down, if only to try and steal this power for themselves." Which had a strong possibility of actually happening. "But if you wish to give thanks… then worship the Gentle Mother, the Goddess of the Moon. Send your gratitude to her on nights when the moon shines bright, dedicate yourselves to her gentle light- and tell no one of this moment."
As the small family quickly agreed to worship the Moon Goddess and never speak of the miracle to anyone she thanked her lucky stars that she was a roleplaying enthusiast. Tsukino had twelve whole years of backstory crafted for her persona in Yggdrasil, along with everything she'd written into Rodrach's coding.
Leaving the happy family to their continued reunion she made her way back outside where Rodrach was standing guard in front of the door. The other children raced across the street to swarm her, asking her all manner of questions.
She answered as well as she could. Yes, Illi's mother will be okay. Yes, the baby was fine. No, you should let Illi's mother rest. And so on.
Eventually she was able to extract herself from the group of children. But rather than leave her alone they instead became a group of little tour guides when she mentioned she would like to go shopping.
"That's where we keep all the medicines, and that's where we sell food to travelers, and-" On and on it went until she was fairly certain she knew the village as well as the children did.
"What about maps or books and the like?" They didn't really need things like fabrics or weapons, since she had an ample supply in her inventory. But a map would be invaluable.
Dehmi, the eldest child of the bunch, scrunched her nose in distaste. "The only people I know that got books and things is the Chieftain, the Priest, and our teacher."
It made sense, she supposed. A medieval society's farming village wouldn't have access to paper unless they were the ones to produce it. Paper… it was so primitive compared to the technology she was used to and here it was considered a luxury.
"Can you show me to the Chieftain's house? I think I might like to speak to them." She couldn't be certain what the bad feeling was at the base of her spine, but when she thought about visiting the priest there was a hint of apprehension. She glanced at Rodrach and assumed it might be because of her devout guard's reaction. But that sounded like a flimsy reason, even to herself.
The Chieftain, it turned out, was an older man named Halin.
"Your Eminence, we are honored to have you staying in our little village." He said, bowing deeply to her and Rodrach. "I cannot express the depths of my gratitude for healing my grandchild. If you hadn't been here…" The Chieftain shook his head before smiling and motioning them further into his home. "Please, come inside and rest. Aneilla will make you something to drink while we speak."
Anniella was the man's wife. She was of an age with him and had a very sweet smile that caused crows feet to appear around her gentle brown eyes.
Heading inside what might vaguely be referred to as an office she glanced at the map on the wall and felt her stomach drop clear through the floor. Ignoring courtesy she stood in front of the map, studying it with quiet dread.
"Milady, what is amiss?" Rodrach's deep voice came from just over her shoulder, a quiet rumble in her long ear.
Her face and chest flushed with warmth at his closeness but she quickly shook off the feeling. "Master Halin, is this map only of the Empire? Or does it include the surrounding lands as well?"
"Oh, that map only covers the Empire, your Eminence. I do have a map with the other kingdoms' borders marked, if that is your interest?"
Turning on her heel she could feel Rodrach moving with her, either consciously or subconsciously mimicking her movements. "I would be grateful for a map that shows the other kingdoms and their borders." Stepping over to the large wooden desk she watched the elder putter around, searching through a couple of drawers before returning with an armful of papers.
"Ah, here we are." Rolling out the map he set four stones at their corners to keep the paper flat, then looked up at her expectantly.
Tsukino took a deep breath then let it out slowly. Looking into the man's eyes she smiled and shook her head. "Master Halin I must confess- this script is one I have never seen before." Taking the chair across from him she set her staff across her lap. "Do you have time to hear an interesting tale, by chance?"
The man frowned in concern. "Of course, your Eminence." Sitting down he laced his fingers together in front of him.
"My name is Tsukino Uranaishi, I am a Lunar Elf from the Myriad Mountains. Yesterday, as I was performing a ritual entreating my Goddess to grant me wisdom, myself and my loyal guard were taken. I am uncertain how it came to pass, but when I woke we had both been relocated to the forest outside of your village. I am afraid we are well and truly lost."
The man's mouth gaped like a fish and they sat in silence for a long stretch of time.
Long enough that Tsukino was beginning to feel uncomfortable.
A knock at the door had Rodrach glancing down at her. When she nodded toward the door he opened it to allow Mistress Anniella inside with a tray of steaming wooden mugs. "My love?" She asked softly as she placed the tray on the desk, careful not to set it on any part of the map.
"It's nothing, my dear. Just had a bit of a shock is all. Nothing your tea won't fix." The Chieftain said with a chuckle, picking up one of the mugs and cradling it in his hands.
Once his wife was gone the man let out a heavy sigh. "That is quite a tale, your Eminence, and not one I can do much about I'm afraid." Taking a sip from the hot tea he stared out the window for a moment. "We are simple folk, we don't have the know how to help you. However…" Setting down his mug he stood and pulled out a different map. Laying it flat on the desk he trailed his finger along an unbroken stretch of road. "If you follow this road all the way to the capitol, there is an academy for those who study magic. It is run by the Imperial Court Wizard, Fluder Paradyne, and if anyone can help you with your problem it will be him." Taking up a piece of charcoal he carefully draw a line alongside the road, darkening it and making it stand out from the paper. When he was finished he rolled the map back up and held it out to her across from the desk. "Don't worry about supplies for the road. You saved my grandson, this is the least I can do."
Getting to her feet she took the map in hand and gave the Chieftain a bright smile. "Even still, you have my gratitude. We will leave tomorrow in the early hours of the morning. Have a good day, Master Halin."
Leaving the Chieftain's house with a map and the promise of supplies, Tsukino felt quite proud of herself. She'd kept her cool so far, now all she had to do is maintain the facade.
But how long she could continue to play the part of wise mystic? She had no idea.
And that thought filled her with a sense of burgeoning dread.
