Chapter Text
Garroth tried to stand firm as he carefully watched the woods for any evidence of foul play. Behind him, he could here the echoes of petty bickering coming from the town, and couldn't help but give an exasperated sigh in response.
It had been roughly a week since it had all gone down in flames, both literally and figuratively, with the lord of Phoenix Drop having been killed - most likely assassinated - thanks to his house being set on fire. Although, as far as Garroth had seen, the fire hadn't been burning long, there was barely anything left of the house, much less the contents inside, making it hard to know if anyone had survived or not. The only body they had found was that of the charred Malik, and despite his best efforts, Garroth could only bring himself to say he regretted the death, but far from mourned it.
What he regretted most was the fact that he had failed as a guard- no. He had failed as head guard of Phoenix Drop, sworn to protect the village, and most of all, his lord. He couldn't bear to face that reality. And now, it felt as if everyone was looking to him to step up and take up at least temporary lordship. He couldn't bring himself to face that reality, either. No matter what, either way, the current state the village was in was disastrous, and no matter what, it was his fault.
"Garroth!" A loud, gravelly, yet youthful voice caught his attention as he suddenly perked up to notice a guard dressed in a way that mirrored himself, if less concealing and with darker colors, his eyes actually being visible from the slit in his helm. The guard stood before him, his eyes clearly searching for some form of acknowledgment from his superior as he looked up at him.
"Zenix, I-"
"Are you okay? You've been standing there forever! By yourself. Completely unmoving. It's kinda impressive, honestly," Zenix said as he looked away thoughtfully for a second, distracted by his own thoughts, before completely snapping back into the moment. "Point is, I called out your name, like, several times, and you completely ignored me. Something up?"
"Ah, no. I was just... lost in thought." Garroth couldn't help but smile at his apprentice from beneath the privacy of his own helm. He had practically completely taken the boy under his wing almost as soon as he had stumbled into Phoenix Drop all that time ago, quickly making him his apprentice not long after. In a way, he thought of this boy more like family than anyone else he knew.
Zenix went silent at his mentor's response, probably analyzing it to high hell and back. It wouldn't seem to take him that long to... kind of change the subject?
"Garroth... what are we going to do...?" A helpless expression glazed Zenix's eyes. Garroth opened his mouth to respond, only for words to completely evade his lips before Zenix could continue. "Lord Malik is dead... We're running out of resources... The entire town is devolving into pure chaos..."
"We'll get through this, Zenix. Don't you worry." Garroth put a reassuring hand on the shorter man's shoulder.
Zenix's eyes protested in response, his face scrunching up, only to become completely alert in an instant as his head snapped towards the woods Garroth had previously been trying to preoccupy himself with.
"Did you hear that!?" he asked. Garroth cocked his head and tried to listen for what Zenix had heard, scanning between trees, only to find no answers. At least, that's what he initially thought.
Just as he was about to report to Zenix his lack of sensing anyone nearby, a woman came barreling through the forest. She was short and chubby with raven black hair, amber eyes, and a Hispanic skin tone. Her clothes were rather masculine, having a thick, sleeveless shirt with buttons and stitches. It was a faded purple, complemented by the somewhat puffy gray pants and knee-high riding boots she also wore. There was a weird, perhaps tangled-up, belt around her waist and up her shoulders. Overall, these were the clothes of a stableboy, with the only thing truly standing out being the kaleidoscopic necklace around her neck. Otherwise, she probably could've slid perfectly into a crowd.
"What are you-" The woman yelled as she came forward, only slowing down to stop once she laid her eyes upon Zenix, who had already prepared his sword for battle. Garroth couldn't help but shake his head a little at the immediate hostility.
"You! State your business, or be destroyed!" Zenix slightly swung his sword in her face, getting a nervous, yet awkward response from the woman, at least, on her face. Garroth let out a tired sigh and stepped forward.
"Zenix... lower your weapon," he said as he gently put his hand on the blade of Zenix's sword, forcing him to put it down and away from the woman. With Zenix somewhat taken care of, Garroth turned his attention back to her. "Forgive him, m'lady. He doesn't always... use his head."
"Hey!"
"Might I ask what brings you here?" Garroth continued, ignoring his underling's outcry.
The woman suddenly jumped, as if regaining attention to the current situation. "Oh! Sorry, um... My name is Aphmau, and I'm... just passing through. I... kinda got lost... chasing after someone... I really didn't mean to intrude."
"I'm sorry to hear that. My name is Garroth, and this is the village of Phoenix Drop. Is there anything we could do for you since you're here?"
"Garroth-" Zenix tried to interject.
"How about at least a meal? If you've been running while lost, I'm sure you're hungry." Garroth forced his voice to drown out Zenix's, averse to allow him to oppose him in front of a stranger.
"I really don't want to trouble you-" Aphmau said with a nervous laugh in her voice, her sentence cut off by Garroth's insistence.
"Nonsense. Come." Garroth turned and started walking towards the nearby tavern, praying that his nerves weren't showing past his helm. As he faced Phoenix Drop, he caught Zenix's saltry glare targeted at him. If his eyes were visible, Garroth would've sent him a meaningful look in return, saying, "we'll talk about this later." Instead, he could only hope that he wouldn't try to make another scene, at least in front of Aphmau.
...
The hum of glasses clinking and people talking rang through the air. The tavern was bustling with life as the sun set, many retreating to it after a long day. Warm chandelier light poured down onto the room, and there was the distinct smell of alcohol that wafted through the area, accompanied by the faint scents of food.
Garroth sat politely across from Aphmau - Zenix sitting on his right - his hands folded before himself as he watched Aphmau quietly chow down on a turkey leg. Zenix was doing similar, if with a lot less grace and a lot more volume than her. After a few minutes of sitting in silence - aside from Zenix - Aphmau looked up at Garroth.
"Aren't you going to get anything for yourself?" she asked. He had bought food for both her and Zenix, but nothing for himself, and it left the maiden rather confused.
Garroth lightly shook his head. "I'm not hungry at the moment." Aphmau's face looked further unconvinced, slight concern peppering her eyes; meanwhile, Zenix just continued gobbling down, ignorant of the exchange. There was an awkward silence after that.
Garroth never liked silence. Not in front of people, at least. Ever since he was young, it'd always been expected of him to push conversations, and yet, he could never seem to find the right words to say.
"So... you said that you were chasing after someone?" Zenix suddenly perked up, sending a sly look Aphmau's way. Garroth was surprised Zenix was the one to pick the conversation back up. Or that he even remembered anything Aphmau had said earlier. That fact alone couldn't help but slightly make Garroth wary of where he might be going with this.
Aphmau paused as she gazed at Zenix blankly for a second. She then blinked with remembrance.
"Ah, yes." More awkward silence. "What about it?"
"What did they look like? Who were they to you? Do you know how long they were around this area?" This series of questions surprised Garroth. He had expected his apprentice to be hostile towards this newcomer, and yet, he seemed to be taking at least a little more of a tactile angle.
"H-huh!? Um... well..." Aphmau shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Why would that matter to you?" Her unsure tone made Zenix's body tense up.
"We lost our lord recently," Garroth said, his tone mostly flat. While he had done it to prevent Zenix from lashing out or anything, he'd also done it out of exhaustion of pretending everything was fine. "He was killed in a house fire."
"His family, too," Zenix added. Garroth didn't protest. He didn't feel like bringing up the technicalities, and he had learned it was always better to assume the worst rather than get your hopes up. "We believe they were murdered, but we haven't found any worthy suspects."
"We were hoping," Garroth said, "that you knew something or had seen someone that could be connected to it." He looked Aphmau in the eyes. "That's why we're asking these questions."
Aphmau stared at them, almost analytically, then sighed, letting her shoulders rest as she answered each of Zenix's earlier questions. "He was white with dark brown hair and bright green eyes, dressed mostly in dark colors. I really didn't know him... He was just... kind of an acquaintance? I honestly have no clue how long he could've been in this area." She then looked up, confidence blazing in her eyes. "I am SURE he isn't your man, though."
Zenix scoffed. "Oh yeah? And why's that?"
Aphmau's eyes squinted a bit as she answered, her hands grabbing at the pendant around her neck and her response coming just a few seconds too late for Garroth's comfort. "I've been chasing him down from town to town for a while now. At least a week. We weren't really anywhere close to Phoenix Drop until today, so I really don't think he would've had the time to both evade me AND murder your lord."
"Mmm... that does make sense," Garroth murmured. "Why were you chasing him down in the first place?"
"He left a thing with me, and I'm nothing, if not dedicated... but..."
"Dedicated, you say?" Zenix seemed to scan Aphmau with his eyes, looking her up and down.
"Zenix...?" Garroth was really starting not to like how unpredictable he had been today.
"I have a challenge for you," Zenix suddenly exclaimed, his posture and face immediately lighting up with his change in presentation.
"Oh?" Aphmau looked confused at his sudden positive interest in her, her eyes widening.
"How do you feel about taking up lordship here in our little village?"
Garroth felt his insides explode with embarrasement on so many levels, as well as anger and just a mix of so many other negative emotions. What in the Seven was he trying to do!? Aphmau, on the other hand, seem to almost glow at the offer, her eyes widening further as she almost seemed to vibrate with excitement at the thought. That died out in a few seconds, though.
"What's the catch?" she asked, her expression dead serious.
WHAT!? Why's she taking him up on this!? Do I have no say in this!? Whet happened to "she's an outsider, we can't trust her!?" Despite his thoughts fuming with frustration at this inconsistency, Garroth found his body frozen as it just allowed the interaction to continue.
"Hmm... How about... You have to fix up the town in at least one notable way within a week! Our last lord was part of the reason why it's in the state it is, even before he kicked the bucket." Zenix's expression was smug, yet somehow genuine, as he continued. "If you can do the bear minimum of that, then you'll already prove you're leagues above Malik, and therefore, should be lord of Phoenix Drop!" He crossed his arms as he finished, clearly proud of himself. Garroth felt his own eye and hand twitching.
Aphmau sat there, considering the terms of the deal, though it really didn't seem to take long for her to give Zenix a blinding smile. "Alright," she said, excitement in her eyes. "When do I start?"
"As soon as possible-" Aphmau was practically out the door before Zenix could finish or Garroth could finally bring himself from stopping the idiotic transaction. He grabbed Zenix by the arm and pulled closer to himself in a rough way so that he could use a more hushed voice to talk to him.
"What was that about!?"
"What do you mean?"
"WHY would you do that!? Weren't YOU the one complaining about bringing strangers in!?"
"You were the one bringing them in in the first place. I thought you of all people would be fine with it!"
"Making a complete stranger completely aware of our business, and then forcing them to do free labor for us!? Just for a stupid title!?"
"For one, YOU were the one who said anything about Malik-"
"So that YOU wouldn't explode on the poor girl!"
Zenix paused before he continued, sending a slightly hurt glance at Garroth's last comment before speaking again. "And two, SO WHAT!? We gain something out of it either way! I seriously don't see her passing my little 'trial,' and if she somehow DOES, we a have a free lord who seems pretty willing to take up the role. And if she doesn't succeed..." Zenix lost his cockiness as he actually thought of what the alternative might bring with it.
"If she doesn't succeed, we'll have just wasted her time and scared off another villager!" Garroth couldn't help but lash out.
"... At least I'm doing something to remedy the entire... 'situation' we have going on," Zenix said, pouting as he turned away.
"Zenix... I... I'm sorry. I've just been really frustrated and stressed recently, and I shouldn't have taken it out on you," Garroth sighed. "But that doesn't mean I'm completely in the wrong. You're exploiting a stranger for potential free labor, and overall, since Malik's death, you've been acting more erratic. Is there something going on? I know you despised Malik more than me, so what's really up?"
The response was silence as Zenix refused to meet Garroth's eyes, the look in them becoming completely cold out of no where.
"Just trust me on this one, Garroth," Zenix finally said, still avoiding eye contact. "If things don't work out, I'll take responsibility, but..."
"I'll trust your judgment," Garroth said. He was so tired of all the fighting; maybe it was time to relent, if even for a second.