Maia’s conversation was interrupted after only a scant couple of minutes by a sharp sniff followed by a sob. Curious, Maia turned to find Sergeant Sylvain, now a short orange-haired harpy with blue wings, openly weeping as she sat on the bridge.
“Um…is everything alright?” Maia asked worriedly, walking over to her cautiously.
Sylvain sniffed again, looking up at Maia. “Y-you all fixed me, r-right?” She stuttered.
Maia nodded. “Yes. All of the soldiers here, as well.”
Sylvain wiped her eyes with a hand, but the tears didn’t stop flowing. “T-thank you so, so much. I was…I did so many horrible things…I…how can I even begin to repay you?”
Maia awkwardly crouched down so she could look Sylvain in the eyes. “No repayment is necessary, and whatever you did, it wasn’t your fault.”
“But it is!” Sylvain wailed. “I enjoyed everything I did, and if I got Aira’s Fervor again, I’m sure I’d do the same things! I’m a monster!”
“You’re literally a monster now.” Emily said, walking over to them with the rest of the group in tow.
Sylvain suddenly stopped, staring at Emily before looking down at her own body. “W-what?” She stammered. “W-why…how…”
“It’s the only way to protect people from the curse.” Maia said. “I have the power to turn people into monster girls…er, monstrous maidens, which will cure them and make them immune to the curse. The goddesses said that what people become is something they would like the most, so…hopefully it won’t be too big a blow.”
Sylvain shook her head. “I-I’m not upset, just…surprised. I’ve…I’ve always w-wanted to fly, and I t-think I can n-now.” She took a deep breath and stood, then gave her wings an experimental flap. After a moment, she took off into the air, flying around for just a moment before landing back in front of Maia and her companions, a complicated expression on her face. “B-before the fight, y-you said you were blessed by the goddesses?” She asked. “What’s…going on?”
“Yes. As hard as it might be to believe, the goddesses named me their champion and set me the task of eradicating the curse from the world by turning everyone into monster girls.” Maia said. “We’re on a pilgrimage to the Isle of Advent, to meet with them again and receive more instructions.”
Sylvain was quiet for a moment, then tears began to well up in her eyes once more. “I-I…sorry, I’m still reeling from the weight of everything I’ve done these past months. Would…would you allow me to join you on your journey, as a way to atone for my sins? I understand if you don’t want s-someone like me with you, but…”
“Sylvain.” Maia said firmly. “As far as I am concerned, you can’t be held accountable for your actions while cursed. The curse is a strong and insidious thing, and you were no more in control of yourself than you would be if you were possessed or hypnotized. And we would welcome your company, though we won’t have room for your soldiers. And they can’t exactly return to their old lives, so we need to figure out something to do with them.”
“A-accountability or not, I still did those things, and I enjoyed it. I could never live with myself if I didn’t work to right those wrongs. But…you’re right about my soldiers. As much as it pains me, I might have to join you only after I get them settled somewhere.”
“I’ve got a better idea!” Elise said. “Most of us are from a village on the edge of the Deepwood. It’s super isolated, we’ve cured everyone there and the only merchant who visits already, so you can send your soldiers there and they won’t be bothered. Or…if you will your monster parts away, you’ll look just like a normal woman, so anyone who was a woman before this can just go back to their normal life. Though…it’s probably not going to be pleasant to be around a bunch of cursed people all the time…”
Sylvain took a deep breath and wiped her eyes again. “Your village sounds like a fine place to lay low, but…we still need to get them there. In this country’s current state, a large group of women traveling alone is going to draw a lot of attention, and that’s probably not good…right?”
“We have sort of a solution for that, too.” Maia said. “Another perk of being like this is immunity to most of the Deepwood’s magic. We crossed the entire distance from our village to her via the Deepwood, and we had little trouble. If your troops go that way, then they won’t have to worry about drawing attention.
“I’m the best there’s ever been at navigating the Deepwood, so I can write up some instructions and that should be enough to get your group through, so long as they can carry a week’s worth of supplies each. Of course, they can also forage if they’re low, but that has some risks associated with it, so it’s less than ideal.”
“We brought enough food to last us that long, just in case we weren’t the ones you encountered on your way out.” Sylvain said. “I’ve personally trained these people, I’m sure they can handle the trek.”
“Hey…Galiena.” Violet said quietly. “Do you think the castle will still work as a sort of safe area?”
“I cannot say for sure, but from my limited experience with the Deepwood, it should still be safer than most places.” Galiena replied. “Are you suggesting that they bring the villagers there?”
“Yeah.” Violet said. “Then they won’t have to worry about attacks or being found out.”
“And what about food?” Galiena asked. “Is there enough stored to last them until they can begin farming?”
“The village keeps an absolutely absurd amount of preserved food for emergencies.” Steph said. “Even with this many extra people, they should be able to manage for months. They might have to send groups back to pick up food they couldn’t carry, but there’s enough food.”
Sylvain frowned. “That much?” She asked. “Isn’t that excessive?”
“No.” Emily said. “That policy was put in place a very long time ago and we have had to use those stores at least three times in my life. Living near the Deepwood is a volatile life, and we don’t have anywhere else to go, so we just had to make do.”
“In that case, I will inform the troops. Before I do, however, may I ask your names?”
Everyone introduced themselves, ending with Maia, who gave her usual explanation about her name.
“I…see.” Sylvain said. “And…I introduced myself as Sergeant Sylvain earlier, but…please, call me Sylvie from now on. Sylvain doesn’t fit this body, and I think…I think starting fresh sounds nice right about now.”
“Welcome aboard, Sylvie.” Maia said. “We’ll be waiting for you near the wagons.”
Organizing the soldiers went far better than Maia had hoped it would. They all seemed to grasp the gravity of the situation, and they didn’t seem to mind taking instructions on Deepwood navigation from Maia. They were polite, respectful, and absolutely understanding, a far cry from tales Maia had heard about soldiers.
They even went as far as to volunteer some of their rations for Maia’s group, but she turned them down; they could easily find food themselves, and the soldiers would need that food for their march. Maia did end up taking some spare weapons and tomes, though; they needed all the material they could get for Emily, and tomes were limited-use as a rule.
Once Maia’s group had said their goodbyes and left, Maia couldn’t help but ask Sylvie about it. “Sylvie…you said you trained these soldiers yourself, right?”
“I did.” Sylvie confirmed. “What of it? Did someone do something bad?”
“No, I was just surprised at how…orderly they were.” Maia replied. “The merchant that comes to our village has all sorts of horror stories about soldiers.”
“Ah. We are, unfortunately, the exception.” Sylvie replied. “I’m a commoner, as are all of my troops. I was elevated to my position via skill, and while it’s not a very high position, it’s still one that usually only minor nobles get. I was vocal about what I thought my duties were and how they should be performed, and a lot of people disliked me for it. Eventually all the likeminded people, the ‘troublemakers’ as we were called, got put under me and assigned to an out of the way post where we could be ignored. So…whatever your merchant told you likely is not incredibly exaggerated.”
“Oh.” Maia replied.
“Oh indeed. The state of affairs in the army is rather poor right now.” There was a moment of awkward silence before Sylvie spoke again. “I’m sorry.” She said. “Hopefully you and your people haven’t personally been slighted by the army, but if you have, I’ll try to make it up however I can.”
“We haven’t.” Maia confirmed. “Um…well…just let us know if you have questions about things, okay? We’re all more than happy to answer.”
“I will. Thank you, Maia.”
And that was the end of the conversation. Maia left to check on the rest of the group, and afterwards settled in next to Elise for the rest of the day’s walk. They didn’t run into anyone else, and it was a much easier walk than in the Deepwood, but in many ways it was less pleasant, too; they were staying in their human forms as much as possible, and in some way that Maia couldn’t really put her finger on, they just didn’t feel as good as their real forms. Between that and the knowledge that they were being actively hunted by an army, Maia almost preferred navigating through the Deepwood. Almost.
Much like with Galiena, Sylvie was quiet and reserved on the walk, only really speaking when spoken to and not talking much more than was needed to answer a question. Unlike with Galiena, however, Maia didn’t feel like it was because Sylvie was a taciturn or stiff person. Instead, she just looked like she had something on her mind, and Maia had an inkling as to what.
So, when they made camp for the night, Maia approached Sylvie. “Hey…can we talk? Alone, that is.”
Sylvie stood up. “Yeah.” She said, beginning to walk away from the camp. “What’s the matter?”
Maia followed, and when they were out of earshot of the others, asked Sylvie the question that had been on her mind all day. “Are you…okay? You were pretty shaken up right after you were cured, but then you seemed to get over it pretty quickly, and you were really quiet when we were walking. I don’t know you well, but from the little I heard from your troops and my interactions with you, you don’t seem the quiet type.”
Sylvie blinked, staring at Maia for a moment before sighing and shaking her head. “Was it that obvious? No, I’m…not really okay. My emotions are just a huge mess; I was able to put it aside in the moment while I took care of business, knowing how to do that is a necessity in my line of work, but during the walk I was just…stewing, you know?”
She sat down on the ground, pulling her knees to her chest. “On the one hand, I’m really glad to be cured, and this body is…fantastic, phenomenal even, but I just can’t get the thought of things I’ve done out of my head. I know you said it’s not my fault, but it doesn’t feel that way. I remember consciously making the choices I made, I remember liking everything I was doing.
“I…I swore to protect the citizens who couldn’t protect themselves, and I not only failed in that, I actively hurt them. I beat people, I stole, I…I raped. There were uncursed people among my victims, and I perpetuated the curse while giving them horrible trauma. I was even in the market for slaves, if I got the opportunity. I broke my oath and became the type of person I hated the most. It seems like you weren’t cursed, so you don’t understand what it’s like, every step of the way I felt completely in control.”
Maia sat down next to Sylvie. “I can’t say I know exactly what it’s like, but I think I understand more than you think I do. How familiar are you with the Deepwood, Sylvie?”
Sylvie paused, frowning. “I only know that it’s incredibly dangerous and that going near it might as well be suicide. What are you getting at?”
“The Deepwood has a way of sending people into altered states of consciousness. I was once convinced I was blind, despite being perfectly capable of seeing. No matter what people tried, I stubbornly refused to believe I could see, and I didn’t even stop to think that my mind was being tampered with.
“That sort of thing is one of the hazards of living near the Deepwood, and in our village it’s understood that you simply can’t be held responsible for what you do when you’re like that. I’ve been a Deepwood hunter for twenty years, so I’ve had more experience with mind-altering magic than any normal person. The very fact that you’re so broken up about this is indication enough to me that you’re not that kind of person and that you shouldn’t be held responsible for your actions.”
Sylvie gave Maia a sad smile. “As nice as it would be, I just…can’t bring myself to think like that. Even if everyone else forgives me, I can’t forgive myself until I right those wrongs. And for now, that means putting an end to this awful curse as soon as I can.”
“Well, when it gets tough, just remember that you’re doing the best you can right now, and that you’re not alone. My door is always open, and I’m sure the others would be willing to talk to you too. They’re all wonderful people. Well…I’m pretty sure; I don’t know Galiena as well yet, but I can wholeheartedly vouch for the rest.”
“What’s her story, anyway?” Sylvie asked. “She seems like a professional maid, and with her level of skill I can’t see her associating with anyone other than powerful nobility.”
Maia launched into an explanation of who Galiena was and how they found her, but midway through she was stopped by Sylvie suddenly standing up and squinting. “What?” Maia asked, standing up and squinting herself to try and see what Sylvie was seeing. “Do you see something?”
“Yeah. There’s a carriage headed our way.” Sylvie said. “I…shouldn’t be able to see it, actually. It’s way farther away than I would normally be able to make out. My sight got way better after I was transformed.”
“What?” Maia asked, taken aback. “I’m not doubting you, but…just one carriage? That doesn’t sound like a group of soldiers, and this road is usually unused…right?”
“Yeah.” Sylvie replied. “One carriage, and it’s not any of the ones we use in the army. Chances are someone saw our fire and is coming over for some companionship for the night.”
“Aren’t we miles away from the closest road?” Maia asked. “Would they really come this far just to meet some strangers?”
“If they’re confident in their strength and have been pent up for long enough…yes.” Sylvie replied. “We should get back to camp and tell everyone.”
They hurried back to the main camp, where Galiena was in the middle of preparing a meal. “We’ve got a problem.” Maia said. “Sylvie sees a carriage headed our way.”
Everyone stopped, most everyone turning to Galiena. “What we do is not my decision to make.” She said. “I would be happy to advise, however. Sylvie, what can you tell me about this carriage?”
“Our position is compromised, so there’s no point hiding what we are, right?” Sylvie asked.
“I think so, yeah.” Maia replied.
“In that case, give me a moment, I’m going to fly over and see if I can get a better view of them.” Sylvie said. “I’ll be back in five or so minutes.”
Maia nodded. “Good idea. We’ll discuss our options while you’re out.”
Sylvie shifted back into her real form and left, while Maia turned back to the rest of the group. “From what she’s seen so far, there’s just been one carriage.” Maia informed them. “I think there’s a pretty good chance we can just cure whoever is in there and continue on with our night.”
“Ah. In that case, I will continue preparing dinner.” Galiena said. “It is likely a traveler or small group of travelers who saw our fire and are coming for companionship.”
“We’re miles away from the main road.” Steph pointed out. “They’d come this far just for companionship? That seems a little unlikely.”
“Yes.” Galiena said. “They likely know how to defend themselves, and might even be seeking to steal our things if they can get away with it. Regardless, I think there are few groups that small that could pose a realistic threat to us.”
“What do we do if it’s another group of soldiers?” Violet asked. “Just fight…again?”
“Almost certainly.” Galiena replied. “I see no reason to avoid that confrontation. We are still in good condition, and while we may be somewhat tired, we should be more than capable of easily dealing with one carriage. Now, if Sylvie sees more carriages, then we might have a problem, but with current information I think we are fine.”
“Yeah, I agree.” Elise said. “We can take ten or twenty soldiers no sweat. Uh…well, since we’re still waiting for Sylvie to get back, I’m gonna go get my axe. Sounds like there’s probably a fight ahead of us and I want it near me.”
“Good call.” Emily agreed. “I’m going to go grab mine, too.”
At that, everyone took a few moments to grab their weapons, then returned to the fire, where they waited for Sylvie. She took a little longer than she had said she would, and so it was a relief when she finally touched down at the campsite, a puzzled look on her face.
“Um…” Sylvie began. “She’s…probably fine?”
“Oh?” Maia prompted.
“Uh…I think she’s one of us.” Sylvie said. “I was staying back a bit, using the darkness to hopefully mask my shape and make them think I was a bird, and the driver saw me and starting waving. Then…some canine ears appeared on her head, and she grew a tail?”
Maia perked up. “Did she have bright red hair?”
“She did, yeah. Do you know her?”
“That’d be Amy, the merchant who comes to our village. She was the one who brought the curse to the village, and she was there when the village was cured, but decided to keep traveling. She…shouldn’t be here, though. We took a more direct route to this place and I can’t imagine the carriage was so much faster that it kept pace with us while going around the Deepwood instead of through it.”
“So…she’s safe, then?” Sylvie asked.
“Probably.” Maia replied. “We should at least meet with her. How soon do you think she’ll be here?”
“She was going fast.” Sylvie said. “Like, full gallop fast. I give it two to three minutes.”
“Right. Everyone, don’t let your guard down just yet, we’ll need to see what’s going on before we can relax.” Maia said. “Hopefully this is good news, but…”
She didn’t have to finish the thought; everyone knew that it was more likely that the situation had taken a turn for the worse than it was that things had somehow changed for the better. Still…all they could do was wait, so that was what they did.