Everything— and she meant everything. — is getting worse, they have been trying everything to stave off the attempts on their lives these last few weeks but Rontress' scrolls are limited and there's only so much they can do against seasoned adventurers.

  Laself has been worried that she might have wasted her scrolls as well, she wasn't the kind of person to kill and every time the option came up, she freezes and wastes a scroll as a threat. If the rest of her family wasn't there to help her, she would have been...

  Laself clenched her fists, she didn't want to think about the possibilities that come with her failures.

  And that's what she is isn't she? A failure.

  She reached out and grabbed a coat from the coat rack, she draped it over herself, hiding the bruises on her collar and neck. Wearing a long sleeved shirt fails to hide the slowness in her movements and the coat takes care of that, she's never put makeup as thick as the one she's currently wearing either.

  Walking out, she sees that the hallway is empty, lifeless. Usually it would be so full of warmth and sounds coming from downstairs would travel up here, she'd smile when hearing it and then hide her satisfaction when she's finally with everyone else.

  Now, all of that is gone. She couldn't remember when was the last time this house felt happy, maybe a few weeks ago, or maybe it has only been a few days since the stress finally got to them and everything fell apart.

  Time didn't matter to them currently and they were just going to one problem after the next, days only existed when night came and vice versa.

  Laself went down stairs and saw her mother-in-law stuff pieces of cheese into bread, "good morning, how's... Howaph?"

  "He's doing fine," smiled Atterson, the corners of her raised lips didn't reach even a quarter of her beautiful face. The smile only made the wrinkles in the corner of her eyes more evident as well, "what about you? Surely you must be hurt more than him? With the state that we found you in, I can't imagine what would have happened if we didn't come sooner."

  Laself held back a shudder. She's been trying to avoid thinking about other, plausible outcomes of what she just went through, her own mind simply refuses to acknowledge it and she goes blank whenever the thought comes up.

  "I'm okay," she didn't tell the older woman about the nightmares plaguing her sleep, of dead men staring at her with dull eyes and blood filling up her lungs. "Howaph had it worse than me, he fought 8 people who had higher levels than him."

  "... Yes, but Jasiin and Upinte were there, and even your other friend, the kinder bodyguard."

  "No, that wasn't Maldan," Laself shook her head. She personally didn't believe that Karuiz helped her and even now it seems surreal. "He's probably off somewhere,"

  "Oh, I'm just glad that someone helped then." Atterson placed the bread inside the burning oven and dusted flour off her hands. "Howaph wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for them."

  "I know." Laself nodded, she sat down and stared at the kitchen, what was once her safe haven now felt like a prison. "When is Rontress coming back?"

  Atterson froze, she bit her lip, pushing down words that will not just make Laself uncomfortable, but possibly run away from here. "Laself, we don't have to rely on her all the time."

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  "I know that." Laself snapped, she didn't mean to. "But now seems like the perfect time isn't it? This isn't just about the store anymore."

  "... It isn't, that doesn't mean that we can..." A sigh, somehow the sound made Laself flinch. "How do we even find Rontress, Laself?"

  "I don't know!" She screamed defensively, knowing, not knowing, what the hell is the difference by this point?! Their problems won't cease just because! "But we need her Miss Atterson, if she doesn't come to help us we'll be broken in!"

  "That's. Not. Going. To. Happen." Atterson grabbed Laself on both shoulders and bit out each word. "Listen to me, okay? We'll be fine, Bylor says he has a plan, I trust him, my husband trusts him enough that they left together, and even without them, we still have the support of the people from the pier."

  "Support?!" Laself screeched, she pushed the older woman away. "What are you even talking about?! The support that those people are giving us doesn't exist! The church has already gone there and now everyone is convinced that without Rontress, we're useless!"

  It's only a matter of time before everything crumbles, and their biggest— and only. — supporters leaving their side will be the start of that. What happens once the people from the pier no longer think they should be defended?

  By the light, what would Rontress think if she witnessed something like that?

  Laself didn't want to treat Rontress as a naive little girl. Light knows she's far from being like that, but she is still hopelessly optimistic when it comes to people isn't she? Rontress would be hurt once she learns that the people she's been helping all this time betrayed her.

  "We're not useless, just normal." Atterson let her go and checked the oven. "Rontress is an outlier, anything she does can change our way of life, that's why you think you need her, because she can solve our current problem without even batting an eye."

  Could she? Laself gave it some thought and realized that yes, she can. Rontress would do something that no one expected and everything would go back to normal.

  "Don't be delusional, Laself, problems take time to solve, we can't fix them immediately." After saying that, Atterson left.

  Laself lost the energy to chase after her and was content to just stare at the ground. What was the point of asking her in-law to find Rontress again? They're clearly against doing it, why else would Bylor and Thomala search for help outside of the territory instead of searching for Rontress?

  Why were they so against it? That's the part that confused her, so what if Rontress has helped them out so far? She's more than willing to help them again if they just asked!

  Laself pulled on her hair in frustration, she wanted to scream.

  Instead, she went back upstairs and walked inside Howaph's room.

  Her lover is currently laying in bed, his body broken to the point that he's no longer unable to walk. Howaph's eyes followed her as she moved towards him, she found herself sitting on the chair next to the bed, "hey,"

  Howaph couldn't speak, his jaw had been broken during the fight. She knew that he was listening so she kept talking, "you know, I told her again that we should look for Rontress, we clearly need the help, don't we?"

  She expected Howaph to agree, why wouldn't he? He's the one who suffered the most out of all of them, and yet he shook his head and Laself felt her eyes turn watery at the sight.

  "Ha..." The sigh was involuntary, she didn't mean to let it out. She held Howaph's hand, "don't be stupid, I don't care if you feel the need to be protective or whatever other reason it is that you don't want Rontress to be here, but we need her!"

  Her voice broke at the last part, her tone turning watery. She doesn't care if she's starting to sound desperate, everyone here needs to see reason and finally realize that they need help.

  "Howaph, please, you need to trust me!" She gripped her lover's hand tightly. "We need her help, I'll bring your mother here and we can convince her that it is a good idea to go into Misery Swamp and..."

  Howaph shook his head and Laself's heart broke.

  She stood up abruptly, "fine, if this is what you want then so be it." She glared at him as she stood by the door. "Just don't regret this."

  The door closes, she moves, but not towards her room. Her feet carry her down stairs, where Atterson is still nowhere to be found, she must be in the storage shed still, isn't she? Why does she act like Rontress is dead?!

  Laself walked out the door and into the frozen wastes outside, if they're not willing to listen to her, then she doesn't need them, she'll find Rontress on her own.