Ruethwyn smiled at Tadrick, considering for a moment before she nodded. “You’re right, Tadrick… I was ahead of you. I’m still ahead, but you’ve all closed the gap significantly. I spent most of the year on artificing to try and cover the gaps in my skills. Oh, it may not be obvious, but I’ve made about… twenty items that I’m hoping will help me in my quest against the dragon. Unfortunately, that means I’ve somewhat neglected other subjects. Five additional years of instruction only gives me so much more time, especially when it was split across multiple spheres, and I didn’t exactly run around with an elemental summoned most of the time.”
“Really?” Korima exclaimed, then had the grace to look embarrassed as she glanced away. “Sorry, I just… I’ve been sort of frustrated by how far behind I felt I was.”
Ruethwyn smiled and shook her head. “Don’t worry about it, Korima. I’m glad you’re all advancing quickly. Hopefully I’ll get my body fixed, and even if my mana core isn’t repaired… well, it’s a chance to improve more easily.”
“That seems fair. Speaking of which, since we do have a rather lot of time, do you mind if I ask some questions about artificing?” Tadrick asked, sitting forward in his seat. “I’ve been thinking it might be a good idea to learn to enchant my own gear.”
Thinking about how long the day ahead would be, Ruethwyn nodded, smiling at him. “Sure, that’d be fine. It isn’t like there’s much else to do.”
“Great!” Tadrick said, smiling broadly. The other two looked interested as well, and as the carriage moved, Ruethwyn prepared herself for a long conversation.
Chapter 29
The trip had gone surprisingly smoothly after leaving the inn. Between discussions on artificing, which had slowly changed into a discussion of the sphere of energy, Ruethwyn had seen the landscape outside the carriage slowly change. The ground was hillier as they traveled north, and the forest grew less elegant and more primal, the sort of forest that would be difficult to travel through on foot.
There were reasonably frequent minor villages and towns as well, which wasn’t too surprising, since they were following a river. Ruethwyn saw a few barges dotting the river as they floated downstream, which she thought might be an easier way to get back to the capital when she returned.
They had a single break for lunch, parking alongside the road to eat, and Korima had insisted on creating an illusion of Ruethwyn leaving the carriage first. When no attack appeared, they’d gone ahead and exited the carriage to eat, though the entire experience was somewhat tense. Ruethwyn did appreciate that the attempt on her life had mostly ended the bickering between Sella and Tadrick, but she really would prefer not to feel like she had a target painted on her back.
Reaching Corwal had been easy enough, and Ruethwyn had been surprised by the more crowded, compact city nestled among the foothills of the mountains. The buildings were still elegant and sweeping, but more of them were of stone, there were fewer parks and trees inside the city, and a stone wall had been erected around it. It was unusual for most elven cities in that regard, and it gave Ruethwyn a better idea of how a human city might feel, though from what she’d read their cities made even Corwal look spacious.
Korima had repeated her illusion, which hadn’t drawn an attack this time either, so they’d gone inside their inn for the night. Ruethwyn couldn’t help but wonder if she’d actually been attacked by mistake. She didn’t say as much, but she couldn’t help but wonder, after all the anxiety of the day.
The night had been restful enough, and they’d continued the next morning. The road toward Waterstone wasn’t as heavily traveled and the carriage had to move slowly on it. Today the others seemed a little more tired, as they hadn’t gotten into a conversation on magic yet.
Ruethwyn was sitting back, her eyes half-closed as she tried to remember what Sinera had told her about Valisair. If she remembered right, the fey city was supposed to be toward the middle of the Frostglades, but that was a rather large area. On the other hand, Sinera had also mentioned the powerful magic pervading the city, and for something like that, there almost had to be a magical node. If she could track the ley lines, Ruethwyn might—
The flicker of movement caught Ruethwyn’s attention this time, and she instinctively ducked an instant before the crossbow bolt slammed into the window. Fortunately, Korima had reinforced the windows again that morning, because the bolt ricocheted off into the forest with a loud whine. Ruethwyn flicked her wrist instantly, and her wand dropped into her hand from its sheathe. Opening the window took another moment, but Ruethwyn kept her gaze fixed on where the attack had come from.
“Holy gods!” Tadrick exclaimed, jerking upright in his seat.
At almost the same moment, Ruethwyn murmured the word to activate her wand, letting it draw on her mana bracelet. A spear of water launched into the forest, and then trees were blocking her line of fire.
“Tadrick, stop us!” Ruethwyn snapped out, her heart pounding as she watched the forest for movement. It was hard with the carriage moving.
“Right. Evan, stop!” Tadrick called out, to the sound of quiet swearing from the front of the carriage, then it slowed.
“Rue, what’re you doing?” Sella demanded, but Ruethwyn saw that the young woman had already woven a thin, shimmering shield around herself. It wasn’t the same as the ones Ruethwyn favored, but that wasn’t surprising.
As soon as the carriage slowed enough, Ruethwyn threw the door open and hopped out, charging her shield with mana as she did so. A moment later, she replied. “I’m trying to deal with my attacker, of course. I don’t like being hunted.”
A growl startled Ruethwyn, and then the giant fox that was Korima hopped down next to her. Tadrick jumped out a second later, his face grim.
“Where, Rue?” The young man asked, drawing his sword.
“That way, about… fifty paces out? She’s probably gone, though,” Ruethwyn said, her eyes going over the area cautiously. “Still, be careful. I don’t want to count on her having left, if it even is a her. This could be a different person than who attacked before.”
There was a soft growl from Korima, but the fox nodded sharply, then slipped into the woods, her fur shimmering, then she almost faded into the forest around them. The sight of Korima’s natural magic was something of a surprise to Ruethwyn, and she hesitated before focusing on the forest.
“Master Tadrick?” Evan asked, the driver looking concerned. “I think you shouldn’t be out of the carriage. We’re not that far from Waterstone.”
“I know. Keep your head down, Evan. We’re not going to let an assassin chase us everywhere if we can help it,” Tadrick retorted, and then he started into the forest, and Ruethwyn followed.
Sella was behind them, Ruethwyn realized a moment later, but she didn’t spare much of her attention to keep an eye on her friend. Sella was likely in the safest position, and she trusted the woman to watch her back.
“Rue!” Tadrick snapped, and she took a quick step to the left, interposing a tree between her and anything in front of her.
The crossbow bolt that lashed out this time was glittering with light, and Ruethwyn winced as it punched through her shield, causing her to swear under her breath, then called out. “Enchanted bolts! Be careful!”
“I see her!” Tadrick exclaimed, and Ruethwyn stepped out from behind the tree to see an elven woman out in the open.
The woman was mundane looking, with blonde hair and brown eyes that Ruethwyn might see anywhere in Selwyn, and her travel-worn clothing was normal as could be. The woman tossed her crossbow aside in frustration and pulled out her dagger, the blade of which was glittering red. Ruethwyn frowned, but aimed her wand at the woman.
“Throw down your weapon! I’d really rather not hurt you, but I’m rather tired of being shot at,” Ruethwyn called out, taking a couple of steps closer to the woman.
“Shut up and die already,” the woman retorted sourly, looking malevolently at Ruethwyn. Then she stabbed herself in the chest, and Ruethwyn stiffen
ed in surprise.
“What are you doing?” Sella cried out, but it was already much too late because the woman staggered.
Ruethwyn started lowering her wand, wondering what to do. It was then that she caught sight of the woman’s eyes again, and her heart skipped a beat because, rather than brown, they were now bright red, and the veins were huge.
“Look out, I think she’s—” Ruethwyn began, but then she was interrupted by a bellow of rage.
The woman’s body warped in front of them, and Ruethwyn took a quick step back, her eyes widening in horror. Scales burst through the cloth of the woman’s shirt, and her head warped, reshaping into a bull-like head with four wicked horns and boar-like tusks. She gained four feet of height in a moment, and her arms sprouted blades around her elbows as large, wicked claws appeared on her fingertips. In seconds the transformation was complete, and Ruethwyn swore as she looked up at the demonic monster, its hide covered in leather-like scales.
“Gods, grant my blade your blessing,” Tadrick said, and Ruethwyn swallowed hard.
“Die, mortal,” the creature said, its voice oddly warbling and high-pitched, taking a step forward.
“I think not!” Sella cried out, and Ruethwyn flinched as a blast of lightning flashed past her and hit the creature in the chest.
It staggered backward, grunting, but didn’t fall, and Ruethwyn raised her wand, throwing a lot a mana into it as she activated it. The water blasted into the creature’s arm, sending a spray of blood through the forest. To her horror, the flesh began knitting an instant later.
“Ah, crap,” Ruethwyn said, wincing as the monster charged forward and hit her shield, hard.
There was a cracking sound as the glittering barrier nearly broke, but it didn’t quite manage to break through. The cracks in the shield were recovering, but the monster’s other hand was coming around, and Ruethwyn braced herself, beginning a more complex incantation.
Tadrick hadn’t been idle, though. His own incantation was short and sharp, and he swung his sword hard as it finished. A spray of metal shards lashed out through the air and slammed into the monster in front of Ruethwyn, interrupting its attack. It roared loudly, obviously angry as it bled from multiple wounds, but it was recovering quickly. At least until the blast of fire hit it from behind.
Ruethwyn flinched at the sight of a column of fire, and the monster screamed as the torrent hit it for a long second. When the column ended, Ruethwyn saw Korima’s fox form behind the monster, wisps of flame dying around her mouth as it closed. Yet even still it was healing.
“I’ll kill all of you! You cannot kill me, you pathetic children!” The monster shrieked.
Ruethwyn’s incantation came to an end and she raised a hand sharply, pain exploding through her body as she used her magic. All around the monster, the ground was suddenly covered in frost, and a dozen chains of ice burst from the earth, lashing around the creature and holding it. As the monster struggled, Ruethwyn realized that the dagger was still buried in its chest, and a moment of inspiration struck her.
“Tadrick, the dagger!” Ruethwyn called out.
“Right, I’ll try—” Tadrick charged forward, then swore as one of the chains broke, ducking as the monster lashed out at him and he blocked the blow. He was knocked back several steps and swore. “Gods, she’s strong!”
He charged back in, and in moments, he and the monster were exchanging blows, the creature just barely holding him off while the chains began to splinter. Ruethwyn raised her wand and took aim at one of the monster’s knees, then sent a blast of water through the joint. The monster cried out as it fell to a knee, and another blast of lightning from Sella slammed into its chest, this one stronger than the last.
“Hey, monster! Here’s my pet rock!” Korima called out, reverting to her normal form and tossing a large rock at it. “Catch!”
At her incantation the rock began to fly through the air at a dizzying speed, hitting the creature in the arms and legs multiple times, even as it bounced off and struck over and over again. Seizing the distraction, Tadrick slipped past the monster’s claws and brought his sword down on the creature’s elbow, almost lopping it clean off and prompting another scream of pain.
“Alright, now to deal with you!” Tadrick said, jumping up and grabbing onto the dagger with one hand.
The chains were shattering, and Ruethwyn hesitated, trying to figure out where to attack the monster. Before she could, Tadrick grunted, spinning and putting his legs against the creature’s torso, and pushed off hard, springing away and ripping the dagger from the creature’s chest as he did so, a trail of blood arcing through the air behind him.
Behind him, the creature screamed, and its wounds stopped healing. Then its body began to melt, and Ruethwyn cringed.
“Guardian protect us… ugh…” Sella covered her mouth, and Tadrick yelped and dropped the dagger.
Both the dagger and the monster that had been the assassin began to melt away, and the creature’s scream turned to a burbling, bubbling sound as its face collapsed. In only seconds it was little more than a pool of red liquid on the ground that slowly bubbled and hissed.
“That… wasn’t what I expected,” Ruethwyn said, swallowing hard.
“I’m pretty sure that was a cultist of Larimos. After what Alaran told me…” Tadrick said, his voice grim as he quickly pulled off his glove and tossed it into the pool. “Korima, would you mind scorching this area? Don’t start the forest on fire, but he said that things like this need to be purified with fire.”
“Sure, I can do that. Yuck…” Korima said, shivering. Then she began casting a spell as everyone stood back.
Ruethwyn watched as a blast of fire hit the liquid, and then another. It took a while to deal with the pool, but eventually there was nothing but a scorch mark on the ground.
What surprised her was how, halfway through, Sella was gently holding Ruethwyn’s shoulder. After a few moments, Ruethwyn murmured, “Maybe I shouldn’t come to your home. I don’t want to draw this down on your family.”
“No.” Sella’s voice was soft, but calm despite that. “We were all there. You were just the one who they knew about, Rue. We’ll figure this out, and at least we know, now. One problem at a time.”
“Alright,” Ruethwyn agreed, feeling tired.
She looked forward to getting to the Frostglades. At least the monsters there wouldn’t cause such complex problems.
Chapter 30
Ruethwyn watched in amusement as the tall elven man picked Sella up and spun in place, causing her to laugh and exclaim. “Father, put me down! I’m not a little girl anymore!”
“Hah, you’ll always be my little girl,” he replied, grinning broadly as he slowed and set her down. There was only a slight resemblance between the two, though it looked like Sella had inherited her brown hair and eyes from her father.
Waterstone wasn’t large, but it was at least half again the size Mellesyn had been, and the town was more obvious than Ruethwyn’s hometown. Almost half the buildings were stone, including the watchtower at the town’s center, complete with a newer-looking small manor house attached to it. Most of the other buildings were more traditional wooden structures, and there were even a few houses nestled among the branches of the larger trees in town.
A guard had hailed them as they approached, but when Sella had poked her head out the window, the man had called out to her by name and waved them onward with a smile. The carriage had drawn a good deal of attention, which reminded Ruethwyn of Mellesyn painfully, though she swallowed her discomfort. Ruethwyn refused to make Sella’s homecoming unpleasant.
They were in front of the tower, and Ruethwyn climbed down as the man, garbed in a tan shirt and leather breeches, looked over at them and nodded, asking. “Sella, why don’t you introduce me?”
“Sure! These are my friends, Korima, Ruethwyn, and Tadrick,” Sella said, nodding to each of them as she said their names. “Guys, this is my father, Sir Barton Vintas. My mother is inside, but her name is
Wenna.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sir Vintas,” Tadrick said, giving a measured bow to Barton, who laughed.
“No need for that, Master Daskar! Your family is of significantly higher rank than me, and I should be the one bowing to you, if anyone is going to be formal,” Barton replied, and his eyes played over Korima, then hesitated on Ruethwyn as he continued. “It’s good to meet all of you. I’ve heard a great deal about you from Sella’s letters, and I look forward to the chance to get to know you a bit better.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sir Barton!” Korima chirped, grinning at him as her ears flicked.
Ruethwyn nodded, smiling at him and added, “Agreed. I’ve heard a bit about you from Sella, usually when she was homesick, but also when we talked about other things.”
“Rue!” Sella exclaimed, flushing slightly. “Don’t embarrass me!”
Barton laughed at that, tousling her hair as he chuckled. Before he could speak, though, Tadrick spoke up. “That said, Sir Vintas, do you mind if we speak privately for a minute? Something happened along the trip, and it’s something you need to know about.”
“Indeed? Just you, or all of you?” Barton asked, his gaze growing sharper.
“All of us, Father. We had an… incident a few miles out of town,” Sella said, her expression turning pensive.
“That doesn’t sound good. Come on, then, let’s go into my office and you can tell me about it. Your man can go around to the stables and they’ll take care of him,” Barton said, his tone turning crisp and businesslike. He reminded Ruethwyn of Sir Alaran, even if Barton didn’t move quite as smoothly.
“Evan, you heard Sir Vintas. Go get the carriage settled, and I’ll see about arranging your lodging,” Tadrick said.
“Thank you, sir,” Evan replied, looking relieved. “I’ll have your things over soon.”
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