//------------------------------// // Rising Action // Story: Salt and Sapphire // by SirReal //------------------------------// Gobrend awoke gasping for air. A cold sheen of sweat coated his emaciated body. A moment of struggle revealed he was handcuffed to a bed, and with that his panic skyrocketed. He needed to get out out out! “Well, it would appear you’ve finally returned to the realm of the lucid,” a voice said. Gobrend noticed a silhouette sitting in the corner. “It's been three days, right? Took you long enough, high-born,” said someone right next to the bed. Gobrend’s blood ran cold as he turned his head to face a distressingly familiar gryphon, pale of coat and baleful of gaze. “And here you got my hopes up that you’d just die already.” “Eve… What is the meaning of this?” Gobrend demanded, fruitlessly pulling against his restraints. “Release me!” “Not so fast, Gobrend. We’ve got a few questions for you first.” The pale gryphon pulled a knife from her belt and began picking at her talons with it. “Well, boss?” The silhouette stood and came forward; the clop of hooves on hard stone and the glint of light reflecting from spectacles revealed it to be none other than Brocarius. “Don’t mind her, Gobrend. This shouldn’t take too long, and I doubt we’ll need to resort to torture to get what we want from you.” “And what could I possibly have that you don’t already possess? Where am I?” Gobrend went rigid at the sensation of cold metal pressing against his soft underbelly. “We are the ones asking the questions here, pal,” Eve warned. “Of which there are only three,” Brocarius added. “You are in no danger of dying here, if it’s any consolation.” Gobrend gritted his teeth. “What a well-worded threat.” “Honesty will be your friend here. If you wish to be stubborn, then you will become well-acquainted with Eve and the rest of the Nectar we have in stock. Do you understand?” Gobrend took a deep breath to calm his rapidly beating heart. Brocarius nodded. “Good. Firstly, how were you captured by the Sapphires?” “Violently,” Gobrend deadpanned. He received a punch to the gut for his trouble, Eve smirking at his pain. “You’ll get one of those at the very least every time you try acting clever.” Coughing, Gobrend said, “I was visiting Silvercrest! As it happens, the path I took was infested with those meat-headed barbarians. They ambushed me, and the rest is history. Was that a good enough answer for you, you vicious sow?” He was answered with a harsher blow to the stomach. “Eve, that's enough,” Brocarius said. “He’s given us an answer. If you can’t control yourself, you will leave. Understood?” “But boss, he―” Brocarius held up a hoof, silencing the gryphon. She huffed. “Understood, sir.” Brocarius turned his attention back to Gobrend. “What business did you have in Silvercrest, Gobrend?” Gobrend gave an exasperated sigh. “What do you think, Brocarius? I am a wanderer. Wanderers wander, in case you were unaware.” “You said you were visiting.” “Yes, and?” “And so you are familiar with Silvercrest.” Gobrend went silent for a moment. “You were there for a specific purpose, weren’t you? You must have returned with the intention of seeing something. Or someone.” The gryphon’s continued silence spoke volumes. “I see," he said. “Alright, this is the last question, and the most important one,” Brocarius continued. Gobrend looked at the pony to be met with a deadly glare. “Why did you attack Hagley?” Gobrend seethed at the question. “I attacked that mutt for being a mutt! He’s worth as much as the rest of his flea-ridden kin as far as I’m concerned.” He shook his head. “To think I trusted a dog...” Brocarius’ nostrils flared as he glowered at the gryphon. “You’re lucky he’s no worse for wear, Gobrend. And you’re lucky he requested no lasting harm come to you, because I would have personally seen to it otherwise.” “You’re on very thin ice with the both of us for that, high-born,” Eve said. “I don’t know why that big softie was so concerned about you after what you did to him, but he’s my Brother Knight, so I guess I have to heed his wish.” “Oh, spare me,” Gobrend sarcastically said with a roll of his eyes. He scanned the room for a moment, eyes widening. Turning to Brocarius, he cautiously said, “Where is Green Springs?” Eve furrowed her brows, her and Brocarius sharing a look, before her gaze settled on Gobrend. “That foal? Aren’t you the one who dragged her out of the mines? Isn’t she the one you attacked Hagley over,” she demanded. Gobrend remained silent. “Eve―” Brocarius began. “No, Brocarius! This bastard hurt my friend over some lifeless child. That’s right, she’s dead! And you already knew that, so why would you ask such a stupid question!” “Eve!” Brocarius shouted. “What? Am I supposed to beat around the bush to spare his poor, poor feelings?” “She’s… She’s truly gone?” Gobrend quietly asked, his throat dry. Brocarius sighed. “Yes, Gobrend. Eve put it rather bluntly, but yes. Green Springs is no longer with us. We buried her in a clearing about three hundred meters west of here.” Gobrend seemed to deflate, his beak trembling as he calmly closed his eyes. Brocarius opened his mouth, then shut it, pursing his lips. He looked to the floor, nodding to himself as he turned to leave before his ears perked up. “One of the perimeter runes has been shattered!” Eve was already making a beeline for the door. “Damn! Must be a scouting party the dogs sent after you!” Brocarius trotted up to the window in the room, seeing movement in the trees. He shook his head. “No. No, this is far too soon.” He spared a glance at Gobrend, who did not appear shaken out of his stupor, before galloping out the door. “Eve! Wake Hagley! We’ve got to get out of here!” A moment later, Gobrend opened an eye, breathing deeply as he rolled his wrists. Brocarius and Eve dragged Hagley out of his room and brought him up to speed before rushing back to where they left Gobrend. Fortunately, the search party didn’t seem particularly interested in the watchtower, likely believing the group would still be on the run and deciding against wasting time scouring the rooms, passing by it. But it was still too close a call. Eve nearly kicked the door down, her eyes widening. Brocarius entered behind her shortly after, wondering why his Knight had frozen before he spied what had her jaw agape: The breeze blew in through an open window, fluttering over a vacant bed. Gobrend looked down upon Green Springs’ grave, his face unreadable. “Gobrend!” a voice called out, ignored by the gryphon. Out of the brush stepped Brocarius, the pony tailed by Eve and a hesitant Hagley. “There you are. Gobrend, we’ve got to get out of here; we’re compromised.” Gobrend, back to the group, didn’t acknowledge the pony. “Did you hear me?” Brocarius said, approaching. “They’ve sent out scouting parties for us; we have to go!” “I heard you, Brocarius. But I’m not going anywhere,” Gobrend said quietly. Eve groaned. “Can we just leave the idiot? If he wants to die so badly, then he should be obliged.” Hagley grabbed Eve’s wrist, frowning. “Be considerate! Let the gryphon grieve for a moment before―” “Oh, pardon me, then!” Eve interrupted, roughly snatching her wrist from his grasp. “It’s not like we’re being pursued by bloodthirsty slavers or anything! Go on, then, Gobrend, take all the time you need!” “Enough, Eve! Green Springs was only a filly! She doesn’t deserve to have you brushing her death aside as though it meant nothing!” “Who said I was doing that!? The filly’s dead! Moping about it in the middle of the woods isn’t going to change anything! We need to shake the Sapphires off our trail and get out of the region before worrying about sentiments! Tell him, Brocarius!” Gobrend remained silent, his eyes never leaving the grave as Eve and Hagley continued arguing. Brocarius studied the gryphon carefully, noting the slight twitches of his head. Hagley’s and Eve’s shared glares were broken by a question: “Green Springs? Who is that?” Hagley balked at Gobrend, his blood boiling. Even Eve stared at him wordlessly. Brocarius continued studying the gryphon, his eyes narrowing. “What the hell, Gobrend!?” Eve shouted. “You’ve… You’ve got to be kidding me,” Hagley growled. “We went through all that trouble, all that pain… You attacked me like an enraged manticore only to pretend the one you did it for never existed?” He pointed at Gobrend. “You’re a coward, you know that!” Gobrend tore his gaze from the grave, staring the two down. “You both think you know so much, don’t you? Well, no one asked you! I’ll sooner be spat on by a Griffonstone whore than listen to your holier-than-thou prattle!” He pointed to Green Springs’ grave. “I thought she was different, that maybe for once something would go right in my life, but in the end she abandoned me like the rest!” Hagley scoffed. “What is your problem? That filly saved you! And now you write her off like she never meant anything?” “How can she mean anything if she’s dead!” Gobrend cried, his good wing flaring. “So that’s it, then,” Brocarius said, nodding to himself as though he’d come to a realization. “You weren’t doing this for her; you were doing this for you.” Gobrend glared dangerously at Brocarius, who ignored it. “Maybe in the back of your mind you knew she’d leave you the second she got the chance. She was bound to realize there are ponies far more suited than you to watch over her once she got outside that cave.” Gobrend’s eyes widened at the insinuation. “Maybe you knew you’d end up hurting her in the long run, and this act you put on is only to mask how furious you are at yourself for the relief her death brings you. Now you get to be justified in your resentment toward the world and everypony in it. “You didn’t need a reason, Gobrend. But now that you have one, you’re clinging to it the same way you clung to Green Springs.” Brocarius adjusted his glasses, his eyes invisible. “You’d make the perfect Knight.” There was no response from the gryphon. Gobrend trembled violently, clenching and unclenching his talons as he stared at the ground. Eve kept her talons on the sword at her side, Hagley taking a wary step back, rubbing at the bandages on his forearms. “You had best be going, Payens,” Gobrend icily said to Brocarius. “While you and your ‘knights’ are fleeing with your tails tucked between your legs, I’m going to finish what was started here.” Gobrend turned around, once again observing the grave. Brocarius shared a look with Eve, nudging his head toward Gobrend. Eve took a few steps forward, dropping a satchel behind him. She never took her talons off her sword. “In that bag is a map of the Sapphire mines. That, and a few odds and ends such as matches, bandages and dried meats. I’ll be seeing you very soon, Grasstalon.” Brocarius quickly about-faced and began walking back to the watchtower, Eve and Hagley sparing Gobrend one more glance before following. “Brocarius, what gives?” Eve said alarmedly. “This location is compromised, remember?” “Give it a few days, Eve,” Brocarius calmly said. “By the week’s end, I doubt the Sapphires will be anypony’s problem anymore. We’ll know the task is done when we see the fireworks.” “All due respect, sir, but you're overestimating him.” “And you are underestimating him. Or did you forget about the thieves’ guild in Miikshall?” Eve set her beak. “You’re still being complacent.” “I don’t like wasting energy when there’s no need.” Brocarius looked at Hagley. “You’ve been silent. Something on your mind?” Hagley tenderly brushed his paws against his bandages, looking down. “...I’m going with him.” “WHAT!?” Eve grabbed him by the collar of his vest. “Are you out of your mind, Hagley? If you go with that mental case you won’t come back! Look at what he’s already done to you!” “And he’s done so much more for me! It wouldn’t be right to let him march to what could be his death alone knowing he’s the reason me and Boss aren’t on the chopping block.” Brocarius placed a hoof on the Diamond Dog’s side, saying, “Hagley, you hardly know the gryphon. He’s dangerous. You said yourself that he’s tougher than he has any right to be. He can get through this on his own.” Hagley’s ears flattened against his skull. “Even so, I still owe him. I should have done more to help that filly of his.” His eyes filled with determination. “Even if it kills me I’ll help him.” Brocarius sighed when he caught that glimmer in Hagley’s eyes. “I see I cannot dissuade you from going through with this… Fine. I will not stop you if this is truly your heart’s desire.” Hagley smiled. “He’ll try to kill you. You know that, right?” Eve asked, her voice wavering. “This could be the last time we see each other.” Hagley nodded solemnly in response. Eve jumped up, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Prove that high-born feather duster wrong, big guy. Alright?” “I will, Yvette,” Hagley muttered, returning the embrace. “I don’t come back, give Conrad a good punch to the shoulder for me, yeah?” Breaking their hug, Eve giggled, playfully shoving Hagley as she wiped a tear away. “You got it, Hagley.” Hagley turned to find Brocarius slowly approaching him. “W-Well, then, Hagley.” Scratching at the back of his head, Brocarius said, “I, uh, guess this is goodbye, huh?” “Guess so,” Hagley affirmed, a sad smile on his muzzle. “We had some good times, Hagley. Didn’t we?” “Like when we crippled the Kilfune crime family?” Brocarius chuckled. “Or when we hijacked that train running through Appleloosa?” He turned to Eve. “You were there for that one, weren’t you, Eve?” Eve smiled despite herself. “You idiots had us on the run from Canterlot’s Royal Guard for a whole two months because of that stunt. Oh! Remember when Hagley had to dress up like an escort for that field marshal in Saddle Arabia?” “How could I forget,” Hagley said with a shudder. “Umi really had a thing for paddles.” Eve choked back a laugh at that. “I still can’t believe you didn’t just slip the arsenic in his wine like you were supposed to. It would’ve been much quicker in accomplishing our task,” Brocarius said, rolling his eyes. “Hey, the food was good and the experience wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be.” Eve snorted. “Maybe you just enjoyed being pampered and playing dress up for geezers.” “At least I've never managed to set an entire wheat farm ablaze trying to boil water.” Eve went bright red at that. Brocarius and Hagley shared a laugh at Eve’s flustered state. Eve huffed, crossing her arms with a small grin. Their glee faded after a moment, the three sobering as Hagley glanced silently toward the direction of the Sapphire Mines. “It’s been a pleasure, Hagley,” Brocarius said, extending a hoof. “We’ll be seeing you, yeah?” Ignoring the offered hoof, Hagley scooped Brocarius into a hug, the pony giving an uncharacteristic squeak. “I’ll always be right here,” Hagley said as Eve joined the embrace. “Always.” Off in the distance, as the sun set on the horizon, Green Springs’ grave was left unattended in its lonely clearing.