Chapter 126 - A Bird Girl In The Hand

We quickly emerged from the jungle, stumbling out onto the sand. We saw other people running out, likely cultists who escaped from the sudden onslaught of the knights.

"Wha- who? Where am I?" The harpy mumbled in my arms. I looked down at her.

"Hey, hey, it's ok. You're safe. We're going to get you help, ok?" I said softly.

"We've got to get her some help. The amount of the smoke she inhaled is likely poisoning her." Eira looked towards the main resort. "We've got to get her to the main building. There's a doctor there."

"I'll go talk to some folks about this. We need to let the family know, and get some stuff moving before this gets any crazier. What a hell of a start to the summer season." He shook his head and then jogged off in a different direction.

As Eira and I walked towards the main buildings, we were quiet. A tense quiet at that. I decided to be the bigger person here.

"I'm really sorry I dashed in like that. I just couldn't let whatever they were going to do happen." I said.

"And?" Eira said a bit coldly.

"And I'm sorry for getting drunk with your uncle?" I said tentatively.

"That's better. It's not so much that you got drunk, but you kind of disappeared from my view when I went to check on you, and you didn't answer your crystal. I got scared." She said, her voice wobbling a bit.

"I didn't even hear the crystal. Honestly! It didn't chime or anything." I said, a bit confused.

"That is weird. Very weird. Something else to look into, I guess. Tonight was a lot. Very much so. Surf cults acting extra weird, shark men, a harpy about to be sacrificed, and now knights? In the free waters? I don't like the sound of any of this at all." Eira scowled.

"You hadn't heard about any of this?" I asked, shifting the harpy a bit in my arms, as she started to wiggle a bit.

"No, but I'm not kept in the loop much anymore. For, you know, the reasons that brought us here." She sighed.

"Reasons other than seeing me half naked on the sand?" I winked at her, an expression I was sure was lost in the evening darkness.

"Well, aren't we a confident one!" She snickered.

Soon enough we made it to the main building, entered the lobby, and Eira quickly told the half-awake attendant that we needed the healer on staff for a possible poisoning and maybe injuries.

I lost track of what happened, but very soon, the harpy was taken from my arms and was whisked away on a stretcher by a pair of rather burly humans.

"They've got her taken care of. The healers here are very good. She'll be alright. Mostly thanks to you." She patted my shoulder reassuringly.

"Good. That's really good. I need to sit down now." I said as I lost the strength in my legs, and found myself flopped onto the floor of the lobby.

Eira knelt next to me, holding me close.

"Are you ok?" She asked as she petted my hair, her embrace tight and warm.

"I'm just exhausted, sweetie. It's been a very long day full of surprises, and I want nothing more than to sleep for a small century. My legs are jelly though, so I'm not entirely sure what to do." I sighed, nuzzling against her.

"Do you want to carry you back to the hut?" I could hear the smirk in her voice, and I'm sure it was adorable, but I didn't want to move my face from its nuzzling position.

"Yes, please and thank you," I mumbled, feeling sleepy now on top of everything else.

"Unfortunately, that's not going to happen." A voice came from the nearby doorway.

I turned to look; it was the woman from earlier. One of Eira's mothers, if my tired memory served me.

"And why is that?" Eira said rather snippily.

"Osian told me about what happened, and I'm putting the resort on lockdown until I get some answers about what in the name of all the hells of the depths is going on." The stern elf woman said.

Eira stood and got into a stance I knew all too well. That was the stance she took when she was ready to fight someone. I wanted to stop her, but I was so tired.

"She is exhausted, Mother Roshia! She needs rest, and not interrogation! She can barely keep her eyes open!" Eira snapped, getting right in the woman's face. They looked awfully alike. It was like seeing Eira challenging her future self. A surreal experience to be sure.

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"I'm not saying we're going to interrogate her! Don't be daft, girl. We just want you to stay in the main building until we can be sure it's safe. And by the look of her, she might need some medical help too." She tutted softly while looking at me.

Eira scowled and looked back at me. I could only think to wave at her. Gods below, I felt my intelligence trickling out of me.

"Fine. C'mon Alta, let's get you to bed." Eira said as she scooped me up in her arms. I loved it in those arms. "Where are we headed?"

"You two can stay in the family quarters for the night. Still plenty of space. Ca-tau will grab your things." Roshia said, and the mysterious Ca-tau, which I hadn't even noticed, nodded and left the building.

Eira swore under her breath, but followed the older elf closely. I decided to just rest my eyes for a little bit. Eira was here. I was safe enough.

My eyes snapped open, feeling myself in an absurdly comfortable bed with Eira's arms wrapped around me as though I was her personal living body pillow. Not an unusual arrangement, truth be told, but I didn't recognize the ceiling. It was definitely not the roof of our hut, and my memory dredged up half-remembered snippets of the conversation before I dozed off in Eira's arms.

We were in the family quarters. I was, in effect, in Eira's family home. That thought seemed a bit daunting at first, but the room looked simple enough. I didn't know what I expected, but this wasn't exactly it. It was probably a guest room. My own family had those, so I shouldn't have been surprised.

I was dressed in some kind of sleep clothes. It was a bit more feminine than my usual sleep attire, which tended more often than not to be nudity or underclothes, but it was nice. Something like this was fine from time to time.

I gently tried to untangle myself from Eira's arms as the call of nature was decidedly insistent this morning.

As I did so, I sat up and immediately felt my stomach lurch. I looked around in a panic and found an attached washroom, and bolted for it.

A few minutes later, my stomach had evacuated itself, and I felt absolutely wretched. I felt a hand on my back, rubbing it gently.

"Eira? Am I dying? I'm dying, aren't I? This is the punishment for all my sins, I'm sure of it." I groaned.

"That is my fault, sweetie. Some people don't take to the detoxifying potion I gave to sober you up last night. I guess you fall into that category. It's probably also the reason the smoke didn't affect you when you ran in, playing hero again." Her words were a bit stern, but her tone was gentle, so I decided to take it in the best way possible.

"I couldn't let them kill her. I didn't want to see what happened to Sasa and Lele happen again. I couldn't." I said before swallowing down another wave of sickness.

"I understand. I'm not mad. I just worry." She chuckled a bit. "I'm starting to get used to it. You pretend to be a mercenary little thing, but you've got the soul of a hero in you."

"How dare you? I am as greedy as I am lovely, I'll have you know!" I protested weakly.

Eira laughed, a soft bell-like sound, as she helped me to my feet. My muscles were still more than a little angry with me, but I was definitely steadier than I was last night.

She got me to the edge of the bed, and handed me a glass of what looked like bubbling water.

"That'll help. Trust me." She patted my head softly.

I sipped it, and it tasted like medicinal citrus, but it calmed my roiling guts down almost immediately. Medical alchemy was a wonder.

I suddenly remembered something from the cult thing. I had to tell Eira about Caru. She hadn't seen her. Maybe she would have some idea about what was going on with that. Maybe she could think of something I was missing.

Before I could utter the thought, I was rudely interrupted by a gentle knock on the door of the room. Eira stopped petting my hair, and I saw her scowl in irritation before getting up to answer.

She opened it a crack and looked at whoever it was that dared bother us.

It was Osian, who wasn't entirely unwanted. He had been a great help.

"What is it, uncle? We had been hoping to take it easy today." She huffed with annoyance.

"Sorry, kiddo. No choice on this one. They called a gathering. You're still part of the family, so you either go on your own, or I drag you with me." He said, the apology plain as day in his voice.

Eira sighed loudly. "Fine."

"And Red there has to come too." He added.

"That's not fine. She's recovering! And she's not family, on top of that!" Eira protested, slamming her fist on the door frame.

"I'm just the messenger here. They've called her and the harpy lass in too. I guess they want as many perspectives as possible on this one. It's big. They've called in everyone." Osian said seriously, his carefree demeanor gone.

Eira paled at that.

"Everyone?"

"Everyone."

"She's here, then?" Eira visibly swallowed, her defiance at the order vanishing.

I had seen her scared plenty of times. The nervousness of the Silver Trident at the harbor, the monster attack, and plenty of other times. This was different. I recognized it. It was the same feeling I had when I knew I had to see my sister again.

No, not quite the same, but in a similar vein. Eira didn't talk about her mother much. Main mother, I suppose, was a more apt term. This whole family arrangement of hers was so confusing.

If she was this nervous, I was wondering how exactly I should be feeling right now. I was, quite frankly, more confused about all of this than any other emotion.

"When is the gathering?" Eira said shakily.

"Thirty minutes. Get you and your gal there dressed. No need to be formal. Rhys will collect you shortly. I've got some preparations to do me own self. I'm sure you were hoping to drag this meeting out a bit, but it can't be helped. Things are afoot, Eira, my lass." He put his hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

He turned to leave, and Eira closed the door behind him.

Eira turned and rested against the door, buried her hands in her face, and let out a long, drawn-out sigh of purest exasperation.

"So I should get dressed then?" I asked, finishing off the bubbly brew.

Eira just nodded. "Let me help you out. It's not formal, but first impressions are important. You're going to be meeting my mother after all."

"The one other than the one I met yesterday?" I asked, standing up.

"Yeah. That one. The Pirate Queen herself. Artemisia Medwin the Bloody Commodore. And the rest of the family as well." Eira helped me get the nightgown off over my head.

"I'm sure it'll be fine, Eira. We've got this! We've faced all kinds of challenges before." I said, trying to reassure her.

"I sure as shit hope so. I really don't want to think what will happen if this goes poorly." She said with a grimace.

"What's the worst that could happen?" I asked, like the fool I am.

"Don't even start. You really don't want to know. Serious. You don't." She shook her head as she tossed a tunic my way.

"I do not like the sound of that, my love."

"Good. You shouldn't. Now c'mon, get some trousers on, and let's go meet destiny." Eira patted me firmly on the back.

My stomach churned a bit, and I don't think it was from the medicine.

I wanted my relaxing trip back, dammit!