Chapter 20: Differing Perspectives

Tuborg sat quietly by himself next to the hearth in the far corner of the Priory’s kitchen. The kitchen staff had retired for the evening, but they left a plate of food out for Tuborg in case he got hungry. However, it sat completely untouched on the table behind him. He had no appetite while his mind circled around a puzzle plaguing his thoughts. He looked down and stared at the rough image he sketched on the stone with a piece of charred wood from the dying fire. He traced the outline of each side again, connecting them at the bottom. It reminded him of a valley—or maybe it was mountains. Looking at it one way gave him one perspective, and looking at it another gave him a different perspective. No matter which way he looked at the image, it didn’t tell him what he needed to know.

How could a mirrored image have both sides be alike yet intend to be opposite? He saw the contradicting representation in the Dream before he emerged into this world, and he had seen it in almost every dream since then. The image was his Wyld Hunt, but he didn’t completely understand why or what it even was. Not yet anyway. It plagued his very existence, and he saw it everywhere. He had even seen it briefly as their hall burned down. It formed in the ember spray: an enigmatic reminder of his mission.

Heavy bootsteps echoed down the hall outside, and he looked back over his shoulder just as Dee entered the kitchen, pulling the door shut behind her. Her visage was shadowed over and her eyes downturned. He could tell there was something weighing heavily on her mind.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more magnificent scowl. What’s wrong?” he asked, patting the stone floor next to him.

The norn woman grumbled and sat down with a tired groan. “She says we’re going north.”

“North?”

“To Hoelbrak.”

Tuborg raised his eyebrows, and the little thorns on his cheeks twitched as the implications of this decision rushed over him in an instant. “Oh. I see now.”

“Yeah.” Shaking her head, she frowned. “I never thought I would ever set foot back there. Not since things happened with my father.”

“Maybe they’ve all forgotten?” he offered. “It has been many years since it happened.”

Dee shook her head. “I doubt it. There’s no amount of ale in all of Tyria that could wipe his betrayal from their minds.” She sighed heavily and rubbed her tired eyes. “It doesn’t matter. She thinks that’s where the Byrnes and their cronies are heading next, so that’s where we’re going.”

“It will be okay,” Tuborg assured her. “I promise we won’t let anything happen.”

She smiled and nodded: her silent way of saying “thanks”. Shifting where she sat, Dee pulled a leg out from under her and massaged the feeling of pins and needles away. “I worry about her though.”

“Who?”

“Nienna.”

“Ah,” he replied absentmindedly while his gaze drifted back to his drawing.

Dee shot him a curious glance. “Don’t you think so?”

“Oh, yes. I’m sorry, I’ve just been distracted,” Tuborg nodded. “Nienna has been through quite a lot—we all have. I will admit seeing her like that back at the camp was—jarring. But I think it’s safe to say that asura had it coming.”

Dee flashed him a concerned glance, her eyebrow raised. “That’s an awfully dark point of view for you. Not your normal cheery self.”

Tuborg bowed his head. “No, but things are changing, aren’t they?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

The sylvari turned to face her, his face fallen. “After all we’ve been through, all we’ve seen…we aren’t the same, I can feel it. This world doesn’t even feel the same anymore. It’s bigger, and it feels like there are dangers everywhere now. It’s so overwhelming.”

“Life does that to you,” Dee said. She offered him a strained smile. “It changes your perspective. Sometimes it’s for the better, sometimes worse. But you get used to it over time.”

Tuborg made a thoughtful noise. “I suppose.”

Unable to conceal her growing concerns anymore, Dee blurted out, “you can’t breathe a word of this, especially not to Nienna, but I think she’s sick and she’s trying to hide it.”

“Sick, what do you mean?” Tuborg asked,

Dee shook her head. “I’m not sure really. Ever since she used that damn weapon, she’s got these dark veins growing up her arms and she’s been really tired lately. She’s not well.”

The thorns on Tuborg’s cheeks twitched as he frowned. “That doesn’t sound good. Do you know what’s wrong with her?”

“I have no idea. Alena took a sample of her blood to study, but who knows what she’ll find.”

Gently placing his barked hand on Dee’s arm, he gave it a reassuring squeeze. “I’m sure she’ll be okay. She’s a tough woman. She’s had to be in order to survive the life she was given.”

“There’s the optimistic sylvari I know.”

A smile tugged at his lips. “I suppose he’s still in here after all.”

“How’s Salara?” Dee asked, changing the subject.

“She will be just fine,” he replied, brightening. “The healers said her injuries weren’t that extensive, and she should make a full recovery by morning. They have her resting at the moment.”

“Thank the spirits.” Glancing down at the hearth, she uttered a thoughtful noise. “What’s this?”

Tuborg followed her gaze down at his drawing. “I uh—I’m not sure yet. Just scribbling while passing the time.” He was waiting to tell her about his Wyld Hunt until he was sure what it was. He figured there was no sense in telling her when even he didn’t know.

“Well, make sure you get some rest.” Dee pushed herself up and got to her feet. She groaned, the effort being more than usual due to fatigue. It had been a rough couple of days, and the ones ahead were likely to be long. “We have a long journey ahead of us tomorrow.”

***

Not far from the Priory’s kitchen, Alena sat hunched over a lab table where she carefully administered a drop of Nienna’s blood on a glass slide. Not needing assistance at the time, she put Gordo back to rest in the ground and ushered out a confused Priory Scholar before continuing on her own. This was sensitive information which she didn’t want prying eyes to see. Not only because she didn’t want strangers growing conclusions about Nienna and jeopardizing their sanctuary there, but also because of the possible accolades in her future if this research proved remarkable. She wouldn’t mind adding another completed thesis to her collection.

She slowly placed another glass slide on top of Nienna’s sample, making sure there were no air bubbles present, and then slid it under the cellular imaging system. The machine started to hum as it started up. The soft blue light of the screen illuminated her pale face as she leaned forward and adjusted the settings and waited for the image to emerge.

She took a sip of her tea and frowned. In all the excitement of preparing the sample, she had let it get cold. Disappointed, she set it aside and sat back in her chair with her arms crossed over her chest. Hearing movement outside the lab’s door, her ears perked up, and she turned to look over her shoulder, hoping Clarkus would step inside. Whomever was out there simply passed by. Alena frowned and turned back to the display. She hated keeping secrets from her friend, and if he had found her there in the lab, she would have an excuse to not hide it anymore. But realistically, she knew he was curled up with the remaining blade pieces, guarding them fiercely to make up for the fact he lost the one.

With a heavy sigh, Alena turned her focus on the myriad of cells coming into focus on the screen. She reached forward and adjusted the focus until the red blood cells became clear. The count seemed to be in order, but the cells themselves didn’t look right. Their walls were misshapen and their size varied from one to another. As she narrowed her eyes, she spied an unidentified spot in the upper right corner of the slide. With a steady hand, she moved the lens to get a better view and bringing spot into view. It was the same shape as the rest of her red blood cells, but dark with a wavering cell wall.

“What in Alchemy’s name…,” she mumbled to herself. Reaching for her journal on the table in front of her, Alena jotted down a brief description of the unusual discovery. If she could isolate and identify what it was, maybe it would reveal what was happening to Nienna. As Alena glanced back up at the screen, she spied movement between the cells. Turning the knob on the side of the imagine system, she leaned forward as it zoomed in. She froze, her mouth agape, as she watched intently. “Well, that’s something.”