This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/grierks on 2025-12-13 04:08:45+00:00.
Helbram’s eyes fluttered open slowly, but the ache in his heart continued unabated, unaffected by the usual morning dullness over his other senses. He shifted in his cot until he sat at its edge, breaths deep and slow to calm the pain. His hands rubbed over his face and cradled it as he sat in silence, the echoes of unfulfilled dreams bouncing through his mind. He knew that the girl wasn’t real, a vision of a future that would no longer come to pass, one that he thought he hardened his heart to many moons ago.
Yet, why did it hurt just as much when he first saw it?
He closed his eyes and lifted his head up, taking in a final deep breath. Pushing away the girl’s smiling face, those eyes that were the same as his, should have been easy by now. It still wasn’t, and so he resigned himself to the torment of her visage until it finally faded away, the wake of her absence turning pain into an empty void that gnawed a larger gap in his soul.
The tent’s entrance flapped open as footsteps thundered in. “Oi, sleepy head, the beasts may be hibernatin’ but that doesn’ mean you ha-... are you alright?” Leaf’s tone had shifted from light to concern the moment he was fully under the canvas.
“I’m-” Helbram sighed. “I am fine.” He opened his eyes and flashed his friend a small smile. “Did I really sleep in that much?”
The hunter’s eyes narrowed at him, but whatever furrowed his brow did not press any further. “Yes, usually you would have been awake about an hour ago.”
“Well, I blame you,” Helbram said as he stood up. He stretched his arms and let a groan slip through his teeth when his muscles started to relax. “Had you not chosen such comfortable hides to sleep on, I would not have been so lulled into a deep slumber.”
Leaf scoffed. “Don’t blame me for havin’ good taste.” He looked Helbram in the eyes again, a searching air to his own sky blue irises, but once again he did not press any further. “Anyways, get ready, I’m sure we’re bound to have a busy day.”
“No doubt…” Helbram hefted his armor, which was piled neatly next to his cot, onto the hides and laid it out. “Has breakfast been started?”
“Aye, and with a pot of tea, too.” Leaf turned and stopped once he reached the entrance of the tent. “Consderin’ that we did most of the work, we’re expecting a heavy gratuity for our services.”
“I can see a rather lonesome tour of woodchopping in my future,” Helbram said in a dull tone.
“I wouldn’t say lonesome, there’ll be plenty of ribbing involved.” His companion flashed him a grin and stepped out of the tent.
Helbram could only follow after it with a shake of his head and a smirk to himself. Minutes passed as he strapped on his brigandine, the black armor piece fitting snug over his broad chest. His boots followed next, then his pauldrons, but he kept his hands free of his gauntlets for the time being and strapped those to his waist. After slipping a hand through his hair to brush it into the semblance of order, he picked up his helmet and examined its surface. The armor piece, despite the enchantment that was placed on it, was scuffed and nicked in various places; the consequences of battles that had been fought at a pace many would find too frequent. It was recently polished, a small project of Helbram’s own while they were on the road, and when he examined his visor, he expected his own tired face to be looking at him.
The girl stared back at him instead.
He clenched his jaw and closed his eyes once again to let the sting of her face fade away. Upon opening them, she was gone, and his face was staring back at him, a clear mask trying to conceal the pain that smouldered beneath.
“It is just a dream, Helbram,” he admonished himself while he strapped the helmet to the other side of his waist.
After taking another moment to gather himself and make his mask not so transparent, he grabbed his shield and flipped it idly in his palms as he stepped out of the tent. The sizzling of a frying pain greeted him first, followed by faint scents of eggs and a few sausages, luxuries they had picked up in Dunwich not so long ago. Soft scents of black tea slipped through the smell at times, and the combination made him all too aware of the rumbling in his stomach. Jahora stooped over the fire pit, humming a tune to herself as she shifted pans from directly over the flames to just off to the side of the burning wood.
“Morning, Jahora. Deciding to start this excursion off on a high note, I see.” Helbram took a seat on a fallen log that had been rolled next to the fire.”
“But of course,” the Mage said in a chipper tone, “and we can only keep such foods for so long, even if we did manage to procure an icebox.” She tapped her wooden spatula against the edge of the pan and let it hang off of its edge before giving Leaf an expectant stare. “I leave it to our hunter to manage our food supply from now on.”
Leaf snorted. “So I get the supplies but I’m not allowed to cook, is that how it is?”
“It’s not my fault you burnt breakfast last,” Jahora countered.
“I’m takin’ no blame for that.” His ears perked up at the sound of pattering. “There’s the real culprit right now.” He turned and caught Shadow mid leap before cradling the cub in his arms. The black wolf panted happily as Leaf rubbed the top of his head aggressively. “This oaf just had to look at me with such an adorable face, how could I resist not pettin’ him with my full attention?” He wrapped his hands around Shadow’s face and scrunched its features before pointing the beast at Jahora, who chortled at the sight.
“You may have a point, but only a slight one.” She left the hunter to his bliss and focused her attention to Helbram. “Care for a spot of tea?”
“Always,” he said.”
The mage poured the steaming, herbal scented brew into a tin cup and handed that to him. It might have been too hot in normal circumstances, but in the midst of the morning chill, his fingers were thankful for the relief.
“Honey?” Jahora offered, holding up a small jar.
“Not today, no.” He sipped at the bitter drink and looked over at the tent opposite to his. “Are the others still asleep?”
“Indeed.” The Mage poured a cup for herself. “Elly spent most of the night pouring over her notebooks, rather obsessively, I may add, while Aria is just sleeping in.” She clicked her teeth. “A rather bad habit to pick up.”
“Indeed,” Helbram said, “it is truly a mystery where she could have learned such behavior. You are up much earlier than usual, by the way.”
“Nonsense, this is when I’m always up. I just happen to linger in bed a bit longer afterwards.”
Helbram shook his head and let the small woman get back to her devices. His eyes strayed to the airship for a moment, the fading emptiness in his chest finally washed away as he traced its intricate make to the sky. His thoughts drifted to what may lay in wait in the structure’s interior, which started a stirring in his chest that nearly brought him to his feet right there. Such a high was not meant to last, for at the corner of his vision, he saw Leaf staring towards the mercenary’s camp.
He followed his friend’s gaze and saw that one of the mercenaries, a younger man with less stubble on his chin than the others, was walking towards them. The man’s eyes darted between Helbram and Leaf, unsure of which of them to focus on. Eventually, they settled on the hunter, who was not shy about his confusion when the man walked up to him.
“Xanchil wants to see you.” His eyes darted to the breakfast that was in the midst of cooking, and not so subtly licked his lips at the sight.
Leaf frowned. “Why?”
The mercenary shrugged. “Dunno, he just said he wanted to speak to the leader of this party.”
The hunter’s mouth opened, a correction no doubt ready to spring from the tip of his tongue, but Helbram spoke first.
“His duties will leave him otherwise occupied, at the moment.”
Leaf’s eyes widened and he turned to Helbram, but he said nothing when the warrior subtly raised a finger that only the hunter could see. “I can speak in his stead.”
“I dunno about that,” the man said in a wary tone, “Xanchil is very peculiar about his orders.”
“Then leave such things between me and him.” He stood up and motioned for the mercenary to take the lead. “Shall we?”
He gave Leaf a final glance as he was led to the mercenary camp, meeting his companion’s continued confusion with a small wave to let him know that there was a reason behind his actions. One that he hoped would pay off, given who he was dealing with.
Upon his approach to the camp, he took a measure of those that walked in its confines. To his surprise, not many of the men were out and about. It was still morning, but late enough that he had expected most to be awake. Instead, only a handful of them were outside or emerging from their tents, still rubbing their eyes or letting yawns stretch their jaws as they plopped around their semblance of a firepit. The place wasn’t a mess, but it felt… lived in, like the piles of rations and other supplies fell into designated messes as opposed to being laid out in an orderly fashion. The only thing that wasn’t like this were their weapons, which were either laid out on tables and spaced to allow for easy access or strapped to each of the men’s waists. Helbram did not feel like any of them were going to make use of their armaments anytime soon, but he k...
Content cut off. Read original on https://old.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/1plc7jt/hedge_knight_chapter_120/