Shrine Quest (Fortune): A Betrayal

The sound of voices, muffled through the walls, caused me to pause. I couldn’t quite make out who it was exactly, but the colors sparking across my vision were familiar. Other members of The Order, perhaps.

But they were not the ones I searched for.

My familiar, a soft light in the endless dark, guided me down the long halls. It was a blessing that my magic, and the magic tying us together, allowed me to ‘see’ her. Her form was feline in nature, and had a soft, warm glow. Unlike others, where I could discern a vague aura around them, I could see my familiars full shape.

She was the reason I could walk down these halls and not run into anything. While I could now see the auras of other living creatures, walls and furniture remained in the darkness. The eternal bane of this magical existence- inanimate objects.

It would be different if I had any form of useful magic, but instead I just have this pain in the butt sense of others.

I sighed, the sound seeming very loud in the near silent hallway. I felt a questioning twist of my familiar’s tail around my leg, and shook my head. Best not to speak of it here.

Amanita was waiting in the garden, and my stomach churned with dread. I liked Amanita, I really did. But she was not me. She had left the order, and while was still considered an Order mage, was not under their thumb. Not like I was. She was fully able to navigate the world around her. Like a poisonous flower, envy bloomed within my chest. I stomped it out with a firm kick, focusing back on what was at hand.

“Do you have what I asked for?”

The colors around Amanita shifted as I assumed she turned toward me. The earthy scent that surrounded her, like deep forests and loam, surrounded me. We had been friends, perhaps. Time had dulled that slightly, especially when you consider I had no means to write to her. But we had been close, and once again that oily feeling touched me.

I didn’t have another choice. The recent decrees had given me an out, and I was going to take it.

“Nice to see you too, Silke,” Amanita replied, pointedly. But her tone still seemed friendly, and I shifted slightly toward where her voice was coming from. Despite seeing her aura, it didn’t exactly tell me where she was facing. My familiar nudged my leg and I turned a bit more, hopefully having my eyes land on her. It was a delicate balancing act. My useless eyes unnerved others sometimes. I wanted to appear to look at them, but not stare. I was told my eyes were now a pale milky blue, and that tended to be unnerving by itself. I had never seen them of course, so I just had to trust in what others said.

“Sorry,” I replied. “Things have been….” I trailed off.

“Yeah,” Amanita agreed, tone a bit sour. It was clear neither of us were thrilled with the changes happening in the world. It was becoming a lot harder to be a mage under Miriam’s rulings.

“I did bring what you asked for,” Amanita finally said with a sigh, and I heard the clank of bottles, muffled by what I assumed was a leather bag going by the scent.

My familiar wound around it, allowing me to pick up on the general size of it. I cautiously stepped forward, bending and reaching out to pick it up. I felt along the bag, seeing my familiar’s tail draw a line down what I assumed (correctly) to be a strap. I grabbed it, slinging it gently over my shoulder.

“Thank you,” I replied, and retreated a few steps.

“No problem,” Amanita replied, and the conversation took a turn for the more awkward. Also known as both of us standing in silence. “I better get going before they notice I’m here,” Amanita finally said, and I nodded.

“Good luck.”

Her parting words left me with a sense of dread. For a moment I considered calling out to her, asking for help. Begging, if I had to.

But no. This was something I could do on my own. I had to.

My familiar guided me back through the winding halls, and my feet felt heavier with every step. I should have warned her, I should have given her some idea of what was going to happen. I could have simply asked for help. But I needed to depend on myself. I couldn’t keep accepting the way things were, not if I wanted to keep my sanity intact. I needed the power to be able to take care of myself, without anyone's help. I needed freedom.

With the recent orders it was a simple thing to drop the potions (not all of them, of course. That would be silly) with the right person. It was easy to give the information, saying all the right words to sound like a loyal Order Mage, doing their duty. It was easy to set Amanita up.

That didn’t make it feel any better.

I waited until most of the others were gone to hunt after the ‘dangerous’ potion maker. With most of the outpost gone, it was the perfect chance. Amanita would be okay… hopefully.

Without eyes on me for the first time in a long time, I gathered the rest of the potions and my few belongings I wished to take with me. With careful steps that had been in the works for weeks, I snuck out, following a route I had wandered aimlessly many times in the past few weeks. I had been so careful, trying my best to make sure I didn’t give myself away.

I had taken this same walk at the same time. It seemed like a late night ritual, murmuring that I had issues sleeping recently. It was normal to see me walk by, just the way I wanted.

As I slipped out of the gardens, the feeling of my betrayal curled darkly within me. But as I took my first breath of fresh air, the first free breath in over ten years, I smiled slightly. I left the Order behind without a second thought. I was free.