Chapter Text
Caleb’s breath hitched as his hand flared, the glove illuminating as the sparks of fire left his hand. Astrid raised her arm upward, projecting the all too familiar shield that blocked two of the blasts. The third fireball grazed her arm as it passed in a blur, dissipating as it struck a tree.
Caleb turned just in time to watch Fjord land a wide gash across Eodwulf’s chest, the man staggering backward as he gasped in pain. Fjord went for a downward swing, which was barely blocked by the guard of Eodwulf’s dagger before Eodwulf disengaged from the fight.
Astrid couldn’t have that much more magical capabilities left, between the higher level spells she had cast just to get Caleb where they had him and the spells she threw at Caleb and Fjord in her best attempts to hinder them throughout the fight.
Caleb felt that he and Fjord were beginning to swing the fight in their favor if they kept this up.
As he turned to her, he watched as she pulled a vial out of her sleeve. She popped the cork, poured what looked to be a powder onto her hand, and blew what Caleb realized too late to be dust and sand forward in his direction.
Suddenly, Caleb’s vision was utterly obscured by a roaring storm of stinging sand. The particles battered at the exposed flesh on his face. He coughed, suddenly choking on sand and dust. Caleb reached to pull his scarf over his mouth, only to remember that his current outfit didn’t come with such conveniences.
“-aleb!” The sounds from beyond the dust devil were eaten by the raging winds caused by the spell. “Ca-!”
His body ached, a pitiful groan escaped his lips. His throat felt dry, and he could feel the lack of oxygen. He placed a palm over his eyes, forcing them to crack open to allow himself the tiniest form of vision.
It didn’t help. All around him was an endless swirl of beige, gray, and yellow.
He took a couple of steps forward, barely able to recall which way forward was. A gale of dust and sand blew at his side, causing him to stumble and collapse on the ground. He curled in on himself.
The spell only lasts a minute, the spell only lasts a minute. Caleb took a second to still his breath and close his eyes, he knew how long he hand been in here.
Neunzehn… zwanzig… einundzwanzig…
A shriek pierced Caleb’s ears, and the raging storm dissipated around him. The sound of footsteps rushed to his side, and Caleb turned to see Fjord run to his side.
Caleb’s attention, however, was focused on Astrid. Her skin was enveloped by a sickly energy, her flesh drying as Caleb watched the moisture tear from her and pool into puddles on the ground around her. She looked up, opening her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She collapsed to the ground, reaching an arm towards Caleb weakly before losing consciousness.
Silence swept through the air.
“You!”
Caleb snapped out of his stupor and struggled to his feet to turn to Eodwulf. Eodwulf’s grip tightened on the dagger, his knuckles turning bone white. “I’ll…! I’ll-”
“Eodwulf.” Caleb sternly glanced to Astrid’s unconscious form, then back to Eodwulf. “Stop this fight. Take Astrid, get out of here. You can take her somewhere to heal if you go fast enough.”
Both Fjord and Eodwulf turned to him. Caleb held his stare. “Make a move towards either of us, and neither you nor here will leave here alive, schatz.” Caleb spit the endearment.
“Damn you, Franz.” Eodwulf jerked his head away as he walked to Astrid, scooping her in his arms. “Ikithon will come for you, you know. You’re not safe from him.”
“Ja. Und sie? Will you continue to help in that endeavor?”
Eodwulf looked forward as he past, the softest shake of his head. “The Franz I knew is dead. You are not that man, nor will you ever be. Do whatever with your life, Caleb.”
Eodwulf tapped a ring on his finger, and he and Astrid phased out of existence.
Dimension Door. Caleb’s brain supplied as he kept his focus on the now empty air. Waiting. Anticipating.
Eventually, Caleb allowed himself to release a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.
“Caleb.” Fjord, next to him, walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “You alright?”
Fjord.
“Am I alright?” Caleb’s head spun to Fjord, his eyes immediately taking in the crimson running down Fjord’s back and side. “I am not the one with a stab wound currently bleeding out.”
“Wounds, actually…” Fjord’s face flushed under Caleb’s widened eyes. “R-regardless. I. I thought… I was...” Fjord shook his head. “Nevermind. Let’s just worry about getting ourselves out of here.”
“Ja.” Caleb went to take a step, then froze.
“Nott!”
His hands rushed for his pocket, pulling out a wire.
“Nott, are you okay? If you get this, please respond to this message.”
There wasn’t even a moment for Caleb to worry before he heard in his head, “Caleb? I’m fine! We’re fine! Are you okay?”
Caleb breathed a sigh of relief. “Ja. I’m fine. Fjord’s injured, but should be okay. Heading back to the Leaky Tap.” Turning to Fjord, Caleb nodded.
“Come on, big guy. Let’s get you back and cleaned up. We can talk more there.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Fjord’s formal clothes weren’t salvageable by physical means. Caleb had set them off to the side until the rest of the group got back to ask Jester to try magically mending them. Currently, Caleb sat on the edge of his bed with his arms folded in front of himself.
Was Eodwulf able to get Astrid to a healer in time? Did Caleb want Astrid to be able to be healed? There were enemies now, weren’t they? Why had he let them go?
His hands clamped around his forehead, the pressure doing nothing to alleviate the pounding headache.
Two knocks on the door, soft, cascaded through the room from the outside.
Caleb lifted his head and moved his hands to his lap. “Ja.”
Fjord opened the door, poking his head in to look at him. “Hey.” Fjord flashed a small smile, his hair flat and notably wet from the wash. “Mind if I come in?”
“Not at all, friend.” Fjord shut the door behind him as he entered. As Fjord approached, he glanced at the two beds before sitting down at the bed across from Caleb.
Silence filled the space between them. The distance was something that Caleb wanted to both break and add to.
Look at what being close to Astrid and Eodwulf got him, after all.
But… this was Fjord. Fjord was-
“Listen, you… you don’t have to tell me anything, okay?” Fjord leaned forward slightly, and a small grunt left his mouth as his hand moved to his side. Caleb could see the wrapping that kept the wounds from bleeding. Fjord’s eyes were trained on Caleb. “Honestly? I’m just fuckin’ happy that you’re back, and you’re safe.”
Suddenly, that one particular speck of dirt on the ground seemed to do a great job at capturing Caleb’s attention.
“Oh. Um, thanks.” Caleb forced his eyes closed as he let out a breath. “But. It’s okay. You risked your life fighting people you didn’t even know, you deserve to know.”
“I don’t know a lot of the people we kill, Caleb.” Fjord replied simply, solemnly, but shook his head. “You don’t have to force yourself.”
“No, it’s fine. I promised to tell you about my past anyways, didn’t I?” Caleb glanced up at Fjord. “I was once a student at Soltryce Academy…”
And so Caleb told the story in much the same way he had talked to Beau and Nott, but less forced. He took pauses, stumbled when he talked about Astrid and Eodwulf, and sat in the silence that followed his explaining of the murder of his parents and the subsequent years spent in the asylum.
Caleb had been so caught up in not gauging Fjord’s reactions, fearing the rejection, the fear, that he had no way to predict the dip in the bed as Fjord sat next to him, an arm’s reach away. Caleb flicked his eyes towards him to gauge his expression.
Caleb, for the life of him, couldn’t make out the blend of emotions that toiled over Fjord.
“Caleb…” Fjord shook his head. “It wasn’t your fault.”
“I…”
“You said it yourself. ‘You can’t blame yourself when you’re taken advantage of’, right? Those were your words.” Fjord went to place a hand over Caleb’s shoulder, light, ghosting over him rather than applying any real pressure, so Caleb could pull away if he wanted.
“But it’s different.” Caleb replied instead. “I am me. You are you.”
“And what is that supposed to mean?”
“I’m not a good person, Fjord.” Caleb ran a shaky hand through his hair. “You haven’t-”
“I’ve seen enough about you to know how bullshit that is.” Fjord interjected. Caleb turned to him and was met with a hard stare, yet one that felt warm to the gaze. “I’ve seen how kind you are. I’ve seen how selfless you can be. To a fault, honestly.” Caleb felt Fjord’s hand on his arm, and it was at that moment that Caleb realized how tightly he had a chunk of his hair balled in a fist, the tension suddenly painful as he let up his grip. Fjord moved his hand off, and Caleb tried not to acknowledge how cold his arm suddenly felt. “Caleb… when we realized we had no idea where the fuck you were, and you weren’t answering Nott, I… I panicked.” Fjord’s head shook, and his eyes closed as he steadied himself. “Caleb. I thought we lost ya’. I had horror flashes to the slavers again. Imagining you in a situation similar to the hell that I was in. Being torn from you again… Caleb. I can’t lose you like that.”
“Ja, I know how important the group is to you, Fjord.”
“No, Caleb, I-” Fjord faltered, chuckling slightly. “Yes, everyone has grown on me… but. I was referring to you specifically, Caleb.” Fjord scratched the back of his head, not able to look at Caleb. “Obviously I don’t want anything bad to happen to anyone in the group. But you? When I realized you were in danger? And I had no idea where the fuck you were?”
“Fjord.” Caleb's eyes traced Fjord’s figure, took in the tension that rifled him. The shaky hand, the bouncing leg. “What are you trying to say?”
“I care about you, Caleb.” Fjord sighed. “A lot. I can’t stand the thought of something happening and you leaving my side.”
Moments passed. “Caleb?” Fjord asked.
Caleb’s hands met in his lap, and his vision cast downwards.
“The bottle.” Caleb choked out. “When Jester asked you if you had a crush on someone…”
Fjord’s face reddened, and a groan escaped his lips as a hand hit his forehead. “I’m not a big fan of that game, just so ya’ know.” Fjord smiled, regardless. “But. Yes. I was referring to you.”
Caleb coughed. “I… I had imagined you meant her.”
“Naw. Jester and I have fun jokingly flirting back and forth, but there’s nothing to it.” Fjord shook his head. “I don’t know, I… I just feel a connection with you that I haven’t felt in a long time with anyone.”
“I feel similarly, Fjord.” Caleb moved ever so slightly closer as he turned to more directly face the Half-Orc. “But I…”
“I know you have a lot going on up there.” Fjord gave Caleb a gentle poke on his forehead, and returned the smile that Caleb gave him. “I don’t want it to feel like I’m trying to push you into anything. I just… with everything that happened today, I couldn’t handle the regret of not telling you how I feel now that I have the chance.”
There was a pause. Uncertainty flashed in Caleb's eyes before he leaned forward, his head resting on Fjord’s shoulder. Fjord moved a hand to rest on Caleb’s arm.
There was more to discuss, they both knew that. Issues to work out. But for now, in this moment?
They were here, and they had each other. And that was the only truth either of them needed.