Rune and Ruin

15 - Temple of the Basru

391 B.C.E. - Graveyard of the Ancients, Banditiccia of Caere, Coast of the Tasurian Peninsula, Spring, Month of Maius

Thania

I feel safe.

Odd, this feeling. Very bizarre. There is nothing particularly comforting about the smooth cave walls of soft beige stone with a storm raging just outside, lashing the ground with yet more water, or the terrifying circumstances of why we're all hiding in this place. Certainly, the water wall that is only just beginning to recede into the sea is nothing to feel safe about.

Most of all, the woman sleeping soundly in the corner of the cave I had claimed earlier does nothing to settle my nerves. She is a Tasuri noblewoman, has a demon stirring inside her, and, worst of all, is Falx's mother, but still...

I feel safe.

Falx's medic, Thom, had arrived shortly after Falx left. He gave the noblewoman, the Lady Namilee, he called her, a tincture for the pain before he set her leg and left. She was asleep within minutes, allowing me a brief reprieve from the interrogation I know will happen when she awakens.

Ask her questions, first

Which, when I think of it, isn't a bad idea. If I ask questions, maybe I can stave off the worst of her anger. Surely, she will be angry. I haven't met a Tasuri noblewoman who likes 'Acerian whores,' yet.

The feeling is mutual. As much as I had been taught to hate the Warlord of Rune, the scourge of the Acera, I had been taught to loathe Falx's mother and father more. The couple who raised the brutal scourge of Veii was spoken of in hushed tones, as one might warn a child of a fictitious monster or an angry god who would seek revenge for naughty behavior. If Falx was the weapon of the downfall of Veii, Falleri, Capena, and now Caere, his parents were the hands that wielded him against my people. How does a mother raise such a man?

You are my priestess

I shiver from head to foot. Has the goddess ever claimed me before? I don't think so. Not in so many words. Who is she?

"I am the Lady Namilee, priestess, and I am to assume that you are Thania?"

The voice was haughty, even if she could only croak her words.

I inhaled slowly, feeling the scent of stone settle into my lungs and soothe me. So, Falx's mother beat me to the first question, and she knows my name. No matter. "Yes, Lady, I'm Thania. How are you feeling?"

"Well enough," came the slightly acerbic reply. I wince. It was a foolishly polite question. "I imagine that you know why I am here?" Lady Namilee asked, her voice growing stronger and more arrogant.

"In this cave? The sea has leveled Caere with tremors and a wall of water the height of five grown Tasuri men, leaving the citizens as refugees in our graveyard." I quip, keeping my voice as steady as possible. "Although, I suspect you are here, in Caere, because your son rules this desolate place, and you hoped to earn riches off his tail."

The demon's eyes glitter in the cave's shadows. I swallow down my fear. She is hobbled and old. I may lose a fight, but I can easily outrun her.

"My son," the Lady's voice trembles, "is here because he has always been a lovesick fool." She smiles thinly, "And once again, it's over a ragged, ugly urchin."

That is contradictory, is it not? The goddess laughs.

I feel a frown settle on my face. I examine the Falx's mother. Her mouth is pinched tight in disgust or pain, maybe both. Her eyes glitter but don't glow red, suggesting the demon in her is exhausted from healing her injuries. She is hornless, tailless, and wingless, but wicked claws curl on the ends of her fingers.