“It’s my calling,” the infernal woman laughed lightly. Taking Stern’s arm gently, she led him to the table. “My voice is my third best feature.”
Gustav huffed. “Not this again.”
“Just because you’ve never had my first or second best is no reason to be sour, Gustav,” Suzana laughed.
“You only like women,” Jaq laughed. “Otherwise, I would’ve tried to find out what those are.”
“I only share them with the most special of women, at that,” Suzana grinned.
Melia’s dark skin mostly hid her blush, but it became noticeable when Suzana took the seat beside her and kissed her cheek. “How’s my guardian angel this morning? You snuck out of the room before I woke up.”
Stern took the last remaining empty seat and let the emotions of the table soak into him— it was refreshing compared to what he normally dealt with. His relief was short-lived when he became aware of all of them watching him. “Oh, right. The story.”
Pawly meowed next to him, wondering where she was supposed to sit because there were no empty chairs.
Stern lifted the heavy cat into his lap. “Sorry, Pawly, you’ll have to share with me today.”
“I’ve been curious,” Stella asked, “is she a summons?”
“Pawly is my oldest friend,” Stern said softly. “Let me introduce you. Pawly, these are Gustav, Stella, Jaq, Melia, and Suzana. Pawly is a summons. She’s been with me since I was a child.”
“So you’re an irregular, then,” Stella nodded. “I was fairly certain you were.”
Stern kept the grimace off his face at being called irregular— it was only slightly better to him than blighted. “I’ve been called that before.”
“This is taking us from the story,” Gustav grumbled.
“He’s right,” Jaq said around a mouthful of food.
“It’s a story all by itself,” Suzana sighed, “but fine. Stern, please tell us about the run yesterday.”
“It’s not much of a story,” Stern said. He pulled some meat over and left it for Pawly to eat. “A woman was asking for help retrieving her granddaughter’s shards. I heard her request and decided to go in after them. Another team offered to help and, when I met with them afterward, I paid them for the shards they’d collected.”
Suzana laughed lightly. “And that’s it?”
Stern exhaled slowly. “I might have had a small verbal altercation with another Walker before going into the dungeon.”
“Over what?” Melia asked, clearly curious.
“The fact they left her in the dungeon,” Stern said, his voice going hard. Clearing his throat, he looked at the table. Pawly was eagerly eating the food provided to her. “It was the crew she’d gone in with. Five of them, all in really nice gear, none of which looked more than scuffed.”
“She went in with a full crew and they didn’t collect her shards themselves?” Gustav asked, his voice dark.
“From what the guard said, the leader of the crew is the mayor’s son,” Stern continued, looking up to meet the dwarf’s angry eyes. “I doubt he’ll be happy when Cyra breathes again. She’ll know what happened in the dungeon.”
“She will,” Stella said. “I still recall my own death.”
Everyone at the table flinched slightly as guilt and sadness passed through them. Stern inhaled slowly and pushed away those emotions.
“Leaving one of your own and not trying to get them back or offering to pay others to get them back?” Melia asked, her wings rustling. “I dislike this mayor’s son and I don’t even know his name.”
“Skippy,” Stern snorted. “It’s all I know.”
“The other group, the one that was talking about you paying them so well,” Stella brought up, pushing on with the story. “Did you approach them?”
“No. The leader of the Sharp Ears crew approached me and said they’d help. I was happy that someone was willing to do the right thing, so I told them I would pay. When I met her afterward, I gave her what I thought was fair payment.”
“A bit of an overpayment, but it caught the attention of others,” Suzana smiled. “A very powerful crew who is relaxing here in town didn’t seem surprised by what they’d heard, though.”
Stern thought of the crew with the prismatic steel badges. “I guess they wouldn’t have been.”
“What about the run itself?” Gustav asked before pushing a plate loaded with food toward Stern. “And eat some.”
Stern gave the dwarf a thankful nod. “I will, but I can’t talk and eat at the same time.”
“Of course you can,” Jaq said around another mouthful of food.
“No, he can’t and not be disgusting,” Stella said primly.
Jaq frowned and went back to chewing his food.
“Have a bite,” Melia said. “We would like to hear about your dungeon runs, especially this one.”
“Okay,” Stern said, relaxing a little more and picking up a chicken wing. “Just give me a minute.”
~*~*~
“And that’s when I left the temple,” Stern finished, acutely aware of all the people listening to him.
“Hmm... I’m going to craft this into a good story,” Suzana said, her eyes having been closed for most of the retelling. “A very good story. But… can we see Pawly in all her glory? I want to do her justice.”
Stern looked down at Pawly sprawled across his lap. “Well?”
Pawly yawned, sat up, looked around the crowded room, then stepped onto the table and took a seat in the center of it. She cleaned a paw and rubbed her face.
Stern picked up the mug before him with his right hand. “You’ll want to clear the table,” he said.
Everyone picked up their mugs before everyone at the table focused on Pawly.
Stern combined her size increase with her tentacle improvement. He smiled at Pawly as she continued to sit there and clean her face as if nothing unusual was happening.
Sharply indrawn breaths and murmured conversations sprang up immediately as Pawly, now the size of a small tiger, sat on the table. Twin furry tentacles rose above her. The pads on the ends of the tentacles looked innocent enough until she flexed and the claws appeared. That drew even more attention to her.
“Are her paws larger than normal?” Jaq asked, looking at Pawly’s feet.
Stern winced. “She’s polydactyl. My father named her ‘Pawly’ because of it.”
Suzana giggled as she leaned forward to look at the large paws. “She certainly lives up to her name. The story makes more sense now, though. I can see how she’d be able to deal with the least of slimes.”
Stern looked to the door and blinked when he realized how far the sun had risen. “If you’ll excuse me, I have somewhere to be.” He shrank Pawly back down to normal size. “It was good to see you all again. Maybe we can chat again in the future.”
“Oh, we will,” Suzana grinned. “I have a feeling there will be many more stories from you.”
“Where are you heading?” Stella asked.
“To check on someone,” Stern said simply as he started for the door.
Pawly meowed and leapt off the table, following him.
Gustav watched them go before he looked at his crew. “What do you think?”
“Eyes,” Melia said softly.
Suzana sighed as she stood up and stretched, smirking when she felt the eyes on her. “If I must. But if things go badly…”
“Go ahead,” Jaq said as he downed the last of his mug. “No worries.”
Suzana left the inn, waving to those who stared after her and winking to a few as she went.
Gustav finished his mug and looked at Stella. “What do you think?”
“Petty politics,” Stella sighed. “I think we all know how this will go. Stern lived up to the ideal of what Walkers should be, of what the Rescue Squad is. He still has a ways to go, but he’ll be worth watching.”
Melia stood up and extended her wings briefly. “Let me go collect my things.”
“Yeah,” Jaq said,
standing up. “Might as well expect the worst.”
~*~*~
Stern walked as he normally did, hunched and moving with a quick stride with Pawly trotting along beside him. The trip to the temple was a good distance from the inn, but it was not quite midday when he arrived.
Entering the temple, he winced when the emotion of pain hit him in the face like a hammer. All the slabs still had people on them and the five acolytes were going from person to person, checking on them and trying to explain things to some of the families of the wounded.
One of the acolytes looked his way, jerked slightly in fear, then exhaled and headed his way. “Walker. She should be reborn any moment now,” the acolyte said when she reached him.
Stern nodded, frowning as he looked over the room. “Where is her grandmother?”
“She is sleeping. I was going to wake her in a moment.”
Stern exhaled, feeling like an idiot for his worry. “Sorry. Do you mind if I’m here?”
Her smile bloomed and she held out her hand. “Not at all. Please, this way.”
Stern didn’t resist her taking his hand and towing him through the temple. He caught the edges of people paying attention to them, and the pity he felt was hard to take. Breathing slowly, he did his best to ignore it.
Above the main altar, the four shards of a heart were glowing brightly, spinning slowly in the air. On the altar itself, a body was being produced, thankfully only a golden outline. The one thing anyone could say for certain was that the person was female and had rabbit-lykian blood, obvious because of her ears.
“Just stand here,” the acolyte told him. “I’ll be back with the reborn’s family.”
Stern stood against the wall, glad he wasn’t in his armor. It would have made him stand out even more in the temple. As it was, he kept getting a lot of looks. He kept his eyes on the altar to avoid meeting people’s gazes.
A few minutes later, the acolyte returned with the old woman in tow. With bright eyes, the old woman grabbed Stern’s hands and thanked him profusely. The acolyte smiled as she watched them.
“It’s time,” the acolyte said suddenly.
Letting go of Stern’s hands, the woman turned to face the altar. Stern looked up and his breath caught as he watched the rebirth. All five acolytes walked to the altar and knelt before it, bowing their heads as they sang a single note.
The golden form lifted into the air, floating behind the heart. A sense of peace washed over the room, and everyone who could looked toward the altar. The heart, which had been in four pieces and spinning, was now solid and had slowed its revolution. When it came to a stop, the heart and body moved until they occupied the same space.
An overwhelming presence weighed on everyone for a single breath. Then, the golden light vanished from the body, leaving Cyra in her ragged clothing floating in the air. The presence vanished and she opened her eyes. The sisters rose to their feet and reached out for Cyra, guiding her from above the altar to stand beside them.
“Welcome back,” the acolytes said, all smiles.
“My Cyra...” the woman sniffled, then rushed forward to grab her granddaughter.
Stern smiled as he felt the sheer joy in the old woman and the surprise from Cyra. He looked at the young woman for a long moment, wanting to remember her later. A rabbit-lykian with long, floppy ears, Cyra was thin— not as thin as he was, but still much thinner than she should be. Her hair was a mix between dirty blonde and light brown, and the fur covering her ears was the same color. She closed her eyes tightly as tears escaped them, but Stern had still caught sight of her bright green irises. Her ragged clothing had collected blood, mud, and other stains, and had clearly been sewn together multiple times.
Shaking his head, Stern moved quietly away from the wall. Good, she’s alive again. Now to start getting my things in order to go to Whitewater.
Chapter Fifteen
Stern had only made it a square away from the temple when he slowed. There were five men coming his way— the one in the front was glaring at him, and the four behind him were smirking.
“Trash, I heard you collected some shards. I want them,” Skippy commanded as he and his group stopped a few feet from Stern.
Stern looked at the people nearby. They were all hurrying away, clearly seeing trouble brewing and not wanting to be involved. Pawly hissed beside him, her fur puffing up as she stared at the men.
“I don’t have any shards,” Stern said simply, flexing his fingers and getting ready to improve Pawly. “I delivered them to the temple yesterday.”
Skippy’s eyelid twitched and his lip curled back in a snarl. “You brought that useless filth back to life?”
“No,” Stern replied. “You’re standing right here. Cyra was reborn, though.”
“Skippy, look, here she comes,” one of the guys behind him said.
Stern looked back to see Cyra and her grandmother coming their way. Both women slowed upon seeing the five men confronting Stern. The old woman grabbed Cyra’s arm and started to drag her away.
“Get them!” Skippy hissed. “Klein, you’re with me. This man just assaulted us and we have to defend ourselves!”
Stern’s right hand twitched to his hip, but his daggers and armor were in his room. Taking a step back, he raised his empty hands. “I’m unarmed!” he said loudly.
Three of Skippy’s friends went rushing down a side street.
Klein unhooked a sheathed dagger from his belt and tossed it at Stern’s feet.
“You look armed enough to me. It’ll be in your hand when the guards get here,” Skippy laughed darkly.
Pawly growled and took a step forward.
Skippy looked at Pawly and snickered. “And your little cat will die, too.”
Pawly crouched, her eyes locked on Skippy.
“Klein, deal with him. I’m going to gut the cat.”
“Right.”
Stern backpedaled, wanting to let Klein pass Pawly before he made her a real threat. “Don’t do this. His father can’t stop what will happen if you do.”
“His father is the mayor, fool!” Klein scoffed, drawing his sword. “Now, you can stand still and I’ll make it quick or run and I’ll drag it out.”
Klein went past Pawly and Stern’s fingers wove through the patterns needed as his left hand rotated in a different pattern. Klein hesitated for a moment, thinking Stern might be casting a spell, but he didn’t see anything so he rushed forward.
Skippy had been walking forward with his sword drawn, snickering at Pawly. “Going to gut you... maybe I’ll be able to use them in something useful. Here, kitty, kitty.”
Pawly growled, the timbre shifting when she grew larger. Her twin tentacles raised above her shoulders. Now suddenly a foot to the right of where she’d been, she lunged forward.
When Klein heard the much deeper growl and then a scream, he spun to see what had happened. What he saw was a furry monster with bloody tentacles knocking a panicking Skippy to the ground.
“Skippy!” Klein shouted, rushing back to help his friend.
Stern charged forward, his long legs covering the ground quickly. His hands moved in the pattern his parents had drilled in him. Klein had no warning before pain flared in his right arm and his hand opened of its own accord. Klein let out a scream as his left hand yanked a dagger from his waist.
Wrapping his arms around the injured man’s neck, Stern hoped the chokehold would stop him quickly so he could help Pawly. Klein jerked, trying to get free, but Stern had locked his arms in place. Being so much taller than Klein, Stern saw the flash of the dagger coming free— keeping one arm wrapped around his neck, he used the other to grab Klein’s wrist.
More screams came from Skippy, but Stern couldn’t spare Pawly a glance, as he had to defend himself. Klein bucked in his arms and almost got his neck free, managing to catch a breath. Stern was straining against the man trying desperately to bring his dagger up to cut him. With a deep breath, he jerked Klein’s arm down. He stopped trying to resist his t
hrust, instead helping him push. Warmth splashed against Stern’s hand and Klein spasmed even more than he had before, trying to pull his dagger hand back. Stern grimaced, allowing Klein to pull the dagger free before forcing him to plunge it back into his body.
Pawly leapt off Skippy’s body under her and turned to help Stern only to find him lowering Klein to the ground. Letting out a chuff, she watched him carefully, as Stern looked shaky.
After he lay Klein on the ground, Stern looked at Pawly with wide eyes, breathing fast and shallow. His right hand was covered in blood. Pawly stared back— her tentacles, all four of her paws, and her mouth were also coated in blood.
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