We made our way back to the overturned carriage, and with a bit of earth and wind mana, we flipped it back over. Still, the back end of it was bent outward after Mom destroyed it, but with a bit of mana, Balgrim was able to reform it.
"It's not as strong as it was before the brute blasted it open, but it'll have to do for now," he said with a heavy sigh. "It's still better than having mud and rocks kicked up in our faces on our way back," Irun shrugged, getting a few nods of agreement from some of the other dwarves. One of them, however, had gone over to the one who'd first fallen and pried the axe from stiff, dead hands.
"What's he doing that for?" Athar asked hushedly. "If a dwarven guard dies in battle, we bring his weapon home to the family since, for the most part, their children will carry that same weapon in the future," Meliss explained solemnly. As we watched the dwarf say a silent prayer for his fallen comrade, I couldn't help but feel bad that we weren't able to protect him.
"I see. I still don't know much about customs in other countries, but if there's any way that I can pay my respects to his family, I would like to do so," Athar said, receiving a weak smile from her. "That won't be necessary, but thank you for your offer," Balgrim added while we watched the dwarf finish his prayer and climb into the backside of the carriage.
"We should hurry back to Narin. Our work here is done," he continued, gesturing for us to get on. As the other dwarves got in first, Irun sighed and shook his head as Balgrim gestured for him to get on, then proceeded to the front of the carriage with Mom. "What's your deal, huh?" Ed asked as Irun sat down, prompting the rest of us to pay attention to whatever this exchange was about.
"What do you mean?" Irun asked without meeting his eye as he checked his blade for any damage he'd have to repair. "I know you guys don't trust him, but why are you, of all people, giving him nasty looks?" Ed asked with a raised eyebrow, which made Irun pause for a moment.
He's trying to get a rise out of you, I sent quickly, but didn't receive a reply.
Instead, he rested the weapon on his lap and let out a soft sigh. "I'm just worried that, if what I think is happening is true, then he might be messing with forces he doesn't understand. People tend to do that for their own gain, after all," Irun explained, but it was evident by Ed's tongue click that he wasn't satisfied with the answer.
"Oh, I'm sure you'd know all about that. After all, your decisions were part of what got Batch, and fuck knows how many others, killed," he spat, but Irun only shook his head. "What are you trying to get at here, Ed? Are you looking for revenge?" Irun asked flatly. "I dunno. Maybe I'll just take your head off your shoulders, but I don't think that would be enough to compensate for Batch's death. Thoma, how the hells did you ever become his ally, huh?" Ed asked, turning his anger toward me now.
"I already explained how that happened last night, Ed. What more do you want me to say?" I asked, but even though I knew he believed me, accepting it was a different story entirely. "I don't know," Ed snapped, and immediately lowered his head. "I-I don't… know," his voice softened, his fingers curling into tightened fists as his knuckles blanched.
There was a moment of silence in the air that everyone, including the dwarves, who were so awkwardly placed in this situation, knew he needed. We let the air hang for a few moments, but Ysevel and I both knew that we'd have to tell him the whole truth at some point, if he was ever going to get past his anger.
Strangely enough, it was Athar who moved first and put a hand on his shoulder. "Edryd, or Ed, I'm not sure which to call you, since we've only just met; can I tell you something?" he began, getting a silent nod from him in response. "Y-You don't have to believe what I'm going to say, but since you're attacking your friends, I think a more neutral stance might be needed here," Athar began, glancing back at me as if wanting my approval.
I gave him a few subtle nods to let him know it would be alright. After all, Ed had been my best friend for most of my life. Athar seemingly understood what I meant and turned to face him again, though his grown-out hair hid his face.
"I've been with Irun for quite some time now. I know you've known him longer than I have, but I promise you, he does feel remorseful. Granted, I've had to dig that information out of him, stubborn fuck-ass that he is," Athar winced after realizing his alternate's voice had come out.
"But even so, I know he played a vital role in getting us to where we are today. In fact, if it weren't for him, we'd probably be in a much worse situation than we are now," he continued, prompting Ed to look up at him finally.
His eyes were bloodshot, and it was clear to see he was fighting back a waterfall of tears not borne from sadness, but frustration and anger. "Trust me when I say that Thoma didn't decide to trust him lightly," Athar chuckled loosely, while Ed swallowed the lump in his throat.
"D-Did he try to kill him?" he asked expectantly. "Yeah, twice," Irun scoffed with a chuckle, shaking his head. "Oh. R-Right," Ed muttered, averting his gaze. "Even so, they still came to terms with what happened, and look at them now, working together to help save this land. I know that, to you, they should have no reason to be allies, but I think you'll also come to understand it, in time," Athar said, giving him as warm a smile as he felt appropriate.
He's right, you know, Kalia sent Ed and the rest of us to make sure she wasn't going to say anything wrong. His eyes widened in surprise when he heard her voice in his head, and he began looking around for whoever had said that. Ysevel and I had refrained from reading his thoughts, since we didn't want to reveal that we could do that in the first place, so Kalia took it upon herself to send us whatever he said.
W-Who said that? Ed asked in his mind, while Kalia sent us, and Mom, whatever he said. I did, though I do apologize for the intrusion, Kalia said, offering him a subtle bow of her head. I thought you took a vow of silence, Ed replied nervously, getting a shrug from her. Silence of the mind, and silence of the mouth are two different things, Edryd, she sent him with a chuckle, hoping to ease his nervousness a little.
C-Can the others do that? What about Commander Siraye? Ed asked nervously. I'm here, too, Mom said loosely, making him blanche. F-Fuck. This is, uh, awkward, he chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.
Be that as it may, what Athar said is true. It takes time to understand why others do things to us, Kalia began, pulling his attention back to the matter at hand. For example, Commander Siraye killed my mate, Lord Gravar, just before Irun brought Thoma to the Underworld, she continued, making his eyes widen in surprise.
But like you with Irun, it took me time to understand that there's no way she could have known the ramifications of her actions entirely. No one can, after all, she said, shrugging again. But regardless of whether she knew, the fact remains that it happened. Nothing is going to change that, sure, but we can always choose our way forward. There is always a silver lining, no matter how dark the cycle may seem, she said, allowing her words to hang between them for a brief pause.
Mine, as difficult as it was in the beginning, was to train Thoma enough that we could defeat the Undergod, she said, making his eyebrows raise as high as his skin would allow. Y-You trained him? Ed asked, giving me a surprised glance.