Neve? Galen assumed that must be Usoro's first name. She did say that Eamon used to be her commanding officer. He wondered how close the two of them were before they lost contact. Eamon did not look happy to see her. In fact, he looked terrified like Usoro would attack him at any moment.
Usoro grinned, "Sir, it's good to see you again."
Eamon cleared his throat. His face was obscured by a face shield, something Galen had never seen a blacksmith wear. His apron, gloves, and boots were all made of leather, and he wore loose clothes underneath them. He asked, "Are you here to take me back?"
"No, I just want to talk. Can we come in? Don't worry, Galen's not a part of the military."
Eamon did not seem to trust her word. Understandable considering how often she lied or omitted the truth to Galen. Nonetheless, he moved out of the way, so they could come in. He said, "It's messy in here, but the table over there should be clear. Take a seat."
Usoro and Galen sat down at the table. Jivanta came in from a side room and cleaned up the small mess that covered the table. Once she was done, she scampered back to the side room. Eamon took of his apron and gloves, keeping on the face shield. He also took a seat at the table. He asked, "Why are you here if not to take me back?"
Galen answered, "Usoro wants to leave the military, and we need to know how you did it."
Eamon shook his head, "No, you can't. It won't work."
"You did it. Why can't I?" Usoro questioned.
"Because I escaped due to sheer luck. Nilalan won't bless the same half-baked plan."
"You don't know that," Usoro argued, "If you tell me what happened, I would know if I could do it."
"I refuse. I don't want to talk about it."
"You owe me, Eamon," Usoro said coldly, "Tell me what I want to know."
Eamon glared at her, "No!"
Galen startled when Usoro slammed her hands onto the table. She growled, "I won't take that for an answer. Tell me!"
Eamon slammed his hands on the table as well. He stood up, towering over Galen and Usoro. He growled back, "Get out of my house."
Galen moved to exit, but Usoro pulled him down. She hissed at him, "Sit down. We're not going anywhere. Not until he tells how he did it."
Galen whispered, "I don't think we should push him on it. He doesn't want to talk. We can come back when he cools down."
Instead of heeding Galen's advice, Usoro rose out of her chair. She glowered at Eamon, drawing her reuûn'oard. She said, "Tell me. This is the last time I ask nicely."
Galen grabbed her arm, wrenching it to him. He demanded, "What do you think you're doing?"
She yanked her arm out of his grasp, saying, "I'm getting answers."
Eamon was furious. He held his shoulders back, widening his stance, and he clenched his fists tightly. He repeated, "Get out."
Usoro raised her reuûn'oard in front of her. She chanted, "Aheurtean oesipy--"
Eamon's hand shot out and covered Usoro's mouth, stopping her from completing the spell. His fingers dug into her jaw. Galen stood and tried to remove Eamon's hand, but the grip was too strong for him to break. Usoro glared defiantly at Eamon. He matched her gaze before releasing her and saying, "You really want to know."
"Eamon, I would not have found you if I wasn't serious about this. I need to know. I need to leave Zamsune."
"I know how you feel, but my plan won't work. I was an idiot to think it would."
"You escaped, didn't you? I will be the judge of what works or not."
"You aren't listening." He brought a hand to his face shield, stroking the metal piece fondly. He clutched the edge of it, but hesitated. His fingers slipped away before tightening. He ripped it off, revealing disfiguring scars that engulfed his entire face. Galen gasped and fell back into his chair. Usoro did not react at all besides a subtle widening of her eyes. She asked, "How did this happen?"
"Sit down," he said, taking his own seat. Although he knew it was rude, Galen could not stop looking at Eamon's misshapen head. Eamon said "It looks terrible, doesn't it?”
"Um," Galen replied, “It looks alright.”
"It's fine. Galen, was it? I know how it looks, and how others see it. I'm merely happy to be alive." He turned to Usoro, "It happened when I was escaping."
Usoro motioned for him to go on. He sighed, "The easy part was getting rid of the tattoo."
Usoro absentmindedly touched the back of her neck. "Did you get a magician to take it off or did you hack it?"
"Hacked it. I got a mirror and cut it off with my knife. Dressed the wound and started running."
"Tattoo?" Galen asked.
"All soldiers have the insignia of the Zamsunian military tattooed to the back of their necks. It has two purposes: marking us as soldiers and acting as a locator. The magicians in the military use enchanted ink. It says, 'Veruofrae Zesnmyaeuo gïnrouhnoa.'"
"Forever honoring Zamsune," Galen muttered to himself.
"You a magician?" Eamon asked.
Usoro smirked, "Yes, he is. A magician that is loyal to me."
Galen bit the inside of his cheek in an effort not to say anything nasty to her. The tattoo interested him. It reminded him of the brands Stolital used to identify guests. He said, "I've encounter something like this before. May I see it?"
Usoro turned her back to him, lowering the collar of her shirt. The tattoo was stark against her pale skin. The thick black lines formed a serpent swallowing its own tail. Thinner lines formed the Oxuri words. His fingers brushed the tattoo. Galen said, "This enchantment is powerful. It must have taken a lot of asteran parts. How long does it take to ink?"
Eamon answered, "Many painful hours. We have to go in periodically to keep the enchantment strong. For regular soldiers, the mark will disappear after they complete their mandatory service and will need to be redone if they choose to continue their military careers."
Usoro said, "We're getting distracted. Eamon, continue."
The huge man sighed, "After I removed the tattoo, I ran to the artic circle."
Usoro leaned back in her chair, "Smart."
"No, stupid. I knew someone was on my tail, so I rushed my plan. I took a fast-acting poison to fake my death. I laid there in the snow and waited for the others to find me. I hoped they would think the cold killed me. I wasn't expecting the astera." Eamon gestured to his scars. Galen winced in sympathy. He could not imagine how much that must have hurt.
"The astera was attacking you when a retrieval agent showed up," Usoro guessed.
Eamon nodded, "They saw the beast shredding me and decided to leave. They knew the only way to save me was to fight the astera, and they didn't want to take risk. I wasn't important enough to keep alive."
Galen crossed his arms, "Usoro told me that you were a high-ranking officer. That sounds important to me. Why wouldn't they want you alive?"
"They had a choice. Keep me alive or keep the astera alive. They chose the astera. They probably thought I was a goner anyway. I thought I was going to die."
Usoro butted in, "Who saved you?"
"The poison I took killed the astera, and I laid there too weak to move after the mauling. One of the nomadic tribes found me. They nursed me back to health and lied to the retrieval agent when they came back for my body. They said the astera ate everything. Showed them my bloody clothes for proof. Once I was healthy enough to travel, I came to Ardogris and remade my life. I became a blacksmith."
"You became a father."
A smile stretched Eamon's marred face. The mere mention of his daughter brightened the man. He said, "I thank every god in the Mistress' hall that I was able to live so that I could meet Jivanta. I am eternally grateful for her."
Usoro conceded, "This plan won't work for me."
"I told you."
"But," she was quick to add, "The idea will."
Galen furrowed his brow. "How?"
"I can fake my death. It will keep the retrieval agents off my trail, but I won't do it like you. I want to leave Zamsune, so the arctic circle isn’t a viable option. However, the mountains that border Zamsune might be. We'll fake my death there."
Eamon shook his head, "Did you not hear what happened to me?"
"Yes, what happened to you. I don't need to take any poison or hurt myself in any way. I have Galen, a magician. Someone who can do illusions."
Galen understood what she was getting at. "The Yubal mountains are steep. I could cast an illusion that showed you falling off a cliff in a way that would stop them from wanting to retrieve the body."
"Exactly!" Usoro exclaimed, "Then, I could sneak over the border into Kurak or Hidara."
Eamon snorted, "I guess you got it all figured out."
"Yep, and it's all thanks to you. Thank you, Eamon. Truly." Usoro rounded the table and pat Eamon's shoulder. He grunted, shoving off her hand. Usoro was not offended.
"Don't thank me, Neve. I'm the one who put you in this situation in the first place."
"That's true. Consider your debt paid."
"Now, will you get out of my house?"
Usoro gathered Galen and said, "We're leaving."
Usoro skipped out of Eamon's house with Galen in tow. She was vibrating with happiness. Galen commented, "You're happy."
She beamed, "I'm leaving. Galen, I'm finally leaving."
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