"Your debt increased."
The shrill hull of Gilt shot through Midas ear, ripping him out of his dream, making him shoot up from the pile of hay he forced himself to fall asleep on. His heart beat faster than the usual times he was bothered by the golden skeleton inside of his body - the weight of its words hit harder with each moment he passed staring through the underground layer he used as a safe spot, as he knew very well that without Gilt he would've definitely lost to Foulard or died to Qannas.
The strong leverage it had over him was more evident than he could admit at the moment - the possibility of the third person hired by the son of the head commander still on his mind. The past few days, ever since he arrived in Montcanal, passed by him, the constant stress of having to check his back every day creeping up on him, whether he'd like to admit it or not.
"You know well I've got no time for this..."
"If you don't comply today, I will force you to. Don't you forget who gifted you a second chance at life or the privilege of reliving your past memories."
"Be quiet, those are not my memories... those belong to who lived in this body before me."
"You're the same person, you fool."
Clicking his tongue at the empty room, Midas stuffed his hand inside the pockets of his well-worn-out blazer - having lost track of when was the last time he changed his clothes or bathed. As he climbed the creaking wooden stairs to get to the basement of the main building, he let his head hang down with a tired frown - not even in his thoughts was he allowed to catch a break or be left alone. Sometimes, Midas wondered if this was similar to Skye's suffering, even though their last real interaction seemed ages ago - comparing himself to her somehow helped, even though her burden must be much heavier.
"Midas...! Get Haya to come by, and make sure you and your little crew come too; we're having a meeting this evening...!"
Hearing Qayid shout up at him, from the box he slept inside of, Midas didn't even bother turning around - lazily opening the wooden hatch before mindlessly walking towards the exit of the first compartment. Students who were invited to go to this academy were able to choose which classes to attend or how to study freely - by now, he would be going to the library to study the language of the western lands; however, thanks to Qayid, he was now forced to give up on doing so first.
Midas thinking was disrupted by laughter and a swallowed groan when he passed through the door; with his hands still pocketed, he turned the corner - his eyes widened in pure bewilderment at what he had to see: Jakal's head locked between the floor and a boot's sole belonging to a noble student. His bewildered stare was met by Jakal's wide, shimmering eyes, his teeth clenched as another kicked him into his hip - this time, however, it was not helplessness or fear but pure hatred he saw in his eyes.
"Who do you think you are...? It's a bit rude to stare at us like that, don't you think...?"
"You idiot, thats... thats him, the guy from the practical exams."
The fleeting frown from the student who stepped on Jakal's face made Midas instantly dim, seeing the tired, eerily neutral, maybe calm look and the way the hands of the student in front of them were still hidden inside their blazer, making him retreat his foot. Midas, on the other hand, had almost completely forgotten the scene - not liking the taste of his reputation he gained from having lost his control in that fight - the rough image of the deep slice that sunk deep into the neck of the student he fought against slowly emerging.
"Yeah...? Probably thinks he's something special now, huh...?"
Seeing him approach, Midas bandaged hand slowly began to retrieve a palm placed on his shoulder for a brief second, their grip pushing him away slightly as they stepped closer. Looking at who joined him, he saw a student covered in a hood - however, it sported greyish fur at the edges of it, making it clear who it was - Javelin.
"Midas, good morning... finally I get to see you for once. Some knights took my only sunshard I had on me a few days ago... you know how miserable that felt...? But Qayid gave me a little gift; I think it belonged to one of your guys."
"One of my guys...?"
The two northerners that abused Jakal were momentarily forgotten as Midas watched Javelin with a more focused expression - as the possibility of it already dimmed in his mind, he watched Javelin's hand rise - a sunshard slotted inside the ring he wore around his middle finger. His other hand clutched the hand he held out to the northerners, his fingers spreading as pieces of the brick walls covering their sides were slowly chipped off, pebbles that lay on the ground joining the tiny pieces of broken-off wall to hover in the air, quickly splitting off multiple times before a wall of thick dust and sand was blasted against the noble students.
Hearing their cries hull through the cloud, Midas stepped towards Jakal as the noble students fled quickly; the expression on him almost looked feral - his teeth clenched and his glaring eyes reddened. Crouching down to Jakal, the youth couldn't help but blame Qayid, even though Jakal had been already beaten up by northerners before.
"Hey, Javelin... do you know why they spoke of the practical exam when they saw me?"
"That student you fought back then, when he got that injury, from what is told, his body was paralyzed neck down; the deep cut you left behind became infected, leading to the infection mixing into his blood and causing him to lose the function of his arm, then torso, eventually his legs. He lived a while in a wheelchair - then one of their houses' servants was arrested since they helped him with their suicide... there were papers written about it."
"So what does that have to do with me...?"
"That sickle... I'm not a doctor, but maybe it was the rust that had led to the infection; it could've also happened during the time the injury was stitched, of course. I ran into some knights when I tried to help with your dorm - then they questioned me about you, took my sunshard because I seemingly had no right to wear a mana stone on me, and left. So I suppose living in that dorm is not an option anymore..."
"Cursed be those northerners...!"
Jakals' hiss through his gritted teeth brought Midas back to reality; rubbing his eyelids, he eventually put Jakals' limp arm over his neck to stabilize him - getting him to sit on one of the benches nearby. Seeing him curl into himself as he let out another snotty groan, his fingers dug into his scalp - Midas caught himself already trying to figure out if he could've prevented the death of the northerner.
"You... got any plans for today, Javelin?"
"Not really, now that I know I can bend with that ring well enough..."
"Let's go visit Haya; Qayid wants him to be there for that gathering. Might be a good way to distract Jakal too... if he calms down that is."
Patting his shoulder, Midas sat beside Jakal with a sigh, watching his shoulders shake as he sobbed into his hands - Javelin rubbing the back of his head with a softening expression. Jakal's hands eventually dropped from his face; his face was hidden behind the few strands of hair that weren't kept knotted together by his hair tie.
"Now that I think about it, that's your first meeting you attend - right...?"
"Yeah, hopefully the last. Foulard and Qannas must feel foreign to whoever group Qayid made come together. And if you ask me personally, I'm fine with getting out of here once I know Skye is free."
"Do you not see...? Do you not see how they treat us? Doesn't that make you mad...? Without Qayid, those people will never leave us alone, including Skye - don't you get that...?"
Clutching his collar, Jakal looked at Midas with a runny nose, a tear slipping from his enraged eyes as he stared at him confrontationally. Simply looking back at him, Midas pressed Jakal's head against his shoulder, holding him there briefly by the back of his head while he looked straight ahead in thought.
"Of course I do - constantly I wonder what idiot they throw at me next. I'm just as tired of it as you are, but fighting hatred with hatred won't help anyone. If we do manage to beat up every northerner for what they did to us, we would be just as oppressive as them.
"But... we could succeed, Midas... In sheer numbers we are more... especially when joined by people from other nations living here...!"
"That's... civil war."
"Come on, lets have the annoying talks later and get out of here."
Groaning lightly, Midas moves himself off the bench, pulling Jakal to his feet with him as the three of them eventually get going to walk towards the pharmacy Haya lived in. The streets of Montcanal were covered in fog; the limited vision and the heavy air were already something Midas was used to - the temperature dropping with each day as the third of the Trestempo began to change.
"Thank the moons' guidance; it's nearby. This city always looks so unwelcoming when the fog appears. You can barely see if you're walking on the road or a sidewalk.
"We can be glad it's nearby."
Walking past the Troi'Facon church building, they eventually approached a somewhat worn building, a warm orange light radiating from the display window, and were able to see the shadows of people moving inside. A light jingle of a bell toned from over his head as he and the others stepped inside - the pharmacy looked more like a dining room than a shop; in front of the counter were old couches, round, wooden tables, and seats decorated with my handwoven pieces of cloth.
"What a surprise...!"
Haya greeted Midas with open arms, a warm smile on his face as he gave him a brief hug, nodding at Javelin over his shoulders as he grasped both of Midas. From behind the counter was a door Inaya slipped out of, her face hidden behind her usual metal mask, Fudula peeking at Midas from behind the door, the eye that stuck out wide and locked on his face. As he patted Haya on his back, looking around, then back at the shelves behind the counter - filled with jars, vials, and bottles of all kinds.
"Too bad I'm only here to collect you on Qayid's behalf, some meeting..."
"Midas... you look even more tired than before."
Slowly approaching him as Haya pulled away, Inaya gently laid her bandaged palm over his cheek, tracing her thumb along Midas eyebag, her tone concerned - making Haya nod as he grasped his coat from the clothing rack. Sighing softly, he placed his hand over hers.
"I'm fine, is Fudula doing alright...?"
"Oh, yes, she helps me out - she has so much energy."
"Alright... can we go?"
Javelin eventually asked, seeing Haya wearing his mantle - Jakal's head still sunk, his eyes looking at the floor in thought, the cold air flooding back into the room as Javelin opened the door. Inaya's hand trembled softly before she pulled it back from Midas face - he could feel her gaze on him as she intertwined her fingers together.
"Take care of Haya, will you?"
"Of course, with everything I have."
"Hey, you two... I can perfectly defend myself on my own..."
The wait for the evening to arrive dragged itself longer than Midas needed it to; lunch was charged with a palpable silence this day - no southerners spoke with each other if they didn't need to, some silently retreating once northerners claimed their seats, not with scared expressions but with a collective sternness on their faces - some not even bothering to eat as they sat among them with their masks still on them.
After lunch, the hallway leading to the stairs that head to the basement felt like a secret entrance, reminding Midas of the basement of the guild building where he had met the pirates. Southerners tried their best to act casual, leaning against walls, looking out of the window with their hands hidden in their blazers, chatting about things they didn't care about. From afar, probably having hidden behind some corner, Foulard dragged Qannas behind him as he hurried to catch up to Midas and the others.
"Midas... hey, hehe... I'm invited too, right?"
"I think so."
Once caught up to him, Qannas ripped his hand away from Foulard's clutch as he giggled at Midas with dim distress - the gazes of the southerners surrounding him seemingly weighing heavy on him. Nodding at him to follow, they descended down the stairs, the room already crowded with students that hung around the large table in the middle - some leaning back on their chairs, others sitting on unused crates, some of them on their knees to pray to the tiny Sarbahr'Kifar.
Taking their seats on some left-behind bar stools and tables, Midas and the others watched from the side, Patriq joining them from the darkness that lingers behind the stone arches of the unused waterway. The room quickly filled, more students filling the room as Raqisa joined them, slowly striding from the thick crowd that formed around the table, feeling her fingers grazing Midas forearm as all of them looked at Qayid stepping onto the table.
"My brothers...! Sisters...! Whether you are Gihin, a member of a mountain clan, from the southern desert, or an outsider from another nation who can sympathize with our cause, today we come together to finally begin our fight against those who have oppressed and toyed with us for multiple Trestempos now... Our freedom to learn, to go outside unbothered, to live... these rights we will all reclaim starting today...!"
Shouting at the crowd surrounding him, Qayid raised the heavy head of his hammer, the sheer mass of cheering voices and sharp whistles that rung through the room hollowing deep through Midas body - the fact that a few fifteen to twenty people could expand so drastically to a size of people that could flood the entire room left Midas dimly concerned. Trying to keep his attention on Qayid, Midas couldn't help but notice that Raqisa continued to hold him - now leaning into him as she listened to his speech.
Suddenly, without a warning or another word, the wooden hatch was suddenly opened, the commanding shouting of guards filling the room as water began cascading down the stairs - equipped with swords, spears, and shields, knights began crowding the room, one of them, who wore a familiar helmet, beginning to descend the wooden stairs; the crowd was silenced and segmented by the heavily armored knights.
With his arms behind his back, the flooding of water was the only sound that filled the deafening silent room - the head of the knighthood was looking directly at Qayid now, Midas eyes widened as the helmet made clear that his person was none other than Khud. Getting up on his feet, the youth glanced at the darkness behind him, the option of trying to flee looking much more promising than staying.
"You all...! I said, We are taking back our earned rights now...!"
Shouting again, Qayid commanded the students to resist, shouting, and the clashing of blades quickly howled through the damp walls as their hideout was compromised, Jakal drawing his blade to charge in as well. Split between helping and retreating, Midas froze completely - having no idea what to do now as he was met with the sight of students being pummeled by military men while others overwhelmed another knight.
"I said, if you don't comply, I will make you."
Gilts' shrill, metallic rasp hulled in his head - before he could make a choice, his body already turned and ran straight into the darkness - the floor beneath him quickly disappearing as he fell down into the uncertain darkness against his will.