by Logan Jacobs
We’d found the inhabitants, at least. Most were packed onto the benches, though one man stood up on the stage. Lucky for us, his head was bowed, and he did indeed appear to be in prayer.
I felt someone tug on my sleeve, and I glanced over at Emeline. She pointed towards the middle of the stage, and I saw what had her attention. There was a table set up behind the chairs, with a white cloth, and a vase of flowers. There was also a collection of seemingly random items on the table, like a silver cup, a rainbow-colored ball, and a statue of what looked like a penguin. More importantly, there was a candle, unlit, and carefully preserved in a clear glass box.
The man on the stage looked up, and he and I stared at each other in surprise. I saw his mana start to glow, and I raised my hand in response.
“Who are you?” the man demanded. He wore robes, though not like any I had seen at the mage academy. These were much simpler, made of a coarser fabric and with no ornamentation. As the man called on his mana, I also saw protection spells woven into the fabric.
The other mages leapt to their feet, and there were shouts from the pack. I felt my own team prepare to charge forward, but several of the mages were now drawing on their mana.
“We’ve come for the candle,” I replied. I wanted to give the Shadow Foxes time to get into better positions, and even as I spoke, I felt them shift.
“The Academy sent you,” the man on the stage called out. “Well, you can tell your master that you failed. The monks of Awana protect the holies as we have done since the day they were brought here, and we will do so long after the Academy has fallen.”
“The candle is on the stage,” I warned the Foxes. “We need to get up there and retrieve it.”
“Behind me, if you will,” Maruk replied as he checked the positioning of his shields.
“Emeline, give us cover,” I ordered. “Lavinia, whenever you’re ready.”
The two women nodded, and then Maruk charged forward. He plowed a path through the monks, and they fell to either side of him. I saw two others fall, with arrows protruding from their foreheads, while a third fell to the floor, and tried to pull himself to safety with Lavinia’s arrow caught in his shoulder. A large fireball erupted near a group of mages that had been preparing a counterattack, and the familiar screams and smell of charred flesh filled the air.
I followed behind Maruk, my mana knife at the ready. Dehn was on my heels until he let out a war cry and threw himself into a group of mages. I saw Dehn take a fireball to the chest, but he threw himself forward, and landed on one of the mages. The fire spread up the mage's robes, and his companions rushed to put it out.
We had the advantage of surprise, but the monks recovered quickly. Our progress to the stage was at a near standstill, and Maruk was being battered with both weapons and magic. A foul-smelling smoke curled around the room, and I saw Lena toss another bottle into the melee. An air mage summoned a wind, and the smoke blew back towards Lena and Aerin. The elves coughed and scratched at their throats as their opponents began to close in, but Merlin swept in as a hawk and attacked with beak and talons.
Yvaine appeared next to Maruk, and she was able to beat back some of the attack with a flurry of her rapier, so I seized the moment to rush forward and leapt onto the stage. The speaker glared at me, and I saw his mana start to glow as he raised his hand. I raised my own hand in response and closed my fist around his mana. The light that had pulsed up his arm suddenly disappeared, and the man grabbed for his throat. I shot past him and grabbed the box with the candle from the table.
“You cannot take that,” the man choked out as he lunged towards me. “The Academy will destroy it.”
“They want to preserve the Shodra,” I replied as I sidestepped the man. He saw my mana blade and stepped away from me.
“Lies,” he cried. “They always lie. But I know the truth about the Academy and the manipulators.”
I froze for a moment as his words rang in my ears. His frantic expression turned into a malicious grin, and he eyed me warily.
“Oh, I could tell you about your kind,” the mage hissed. “Leave the candle, and stay here with us, and I can tell you everything your heart desires about yourself and the Shodra.”
There was a loud crash then, and I heard Emeline’s startled scream cut off. I risked a look back and saw that the Foxes were surrounded. The mages had recovered, and fire pelted down on Maruk and Yvaine, while water had enveloped Emeline and Aerin. Lavinia had found a small outcrop to use, but she had only a handful of arrows left. Merlin snarled at anyone who got too close to the archer, but even he was hard pressed to keep dodging the flames that shot towards them. I couldn’t see Lena or Dehn, though I saw another wisp of smoke, and heard Dehn’s battle cry.
“They’re doomed,” the mage whispered. “But you could save yourself. Join us.”
I looked back at the mage and saw a maniacal light in his eye that reminded me of the cultists we’d faced just a short time ago. He may not have been a necromancer, but he had his own evil plans, of that I was sure. He must have read something in my eyes as well, because his mana lit up like a neon sign. I closed my fist just as the light reached his fingertips, then drove my mana blade into his heart. A surprised expression crossed his face, and then he fell backwards, dead.
I turned towards the mayhem in the rest of the room and raised my hand. I poured my mana outwards, into the weapons carried by the Foxes, and I saw them glow in return. My friends seemed to sense the power that now surged through their weapons, and they fought with a renewed urgency.
I picked out the water elementalist who held Emeline and Aerin, and I closed my fist over his mana. The mage shot a confused look towards the other monks as the water splashed to the ground. Emeline spluttered, but Aerin was already on her feet, and she charged towards the mage, axe at the ready.
I saw another mage lift his hands towards Lavinia, and I managed to cut him off before he could do much more than send a few sparks in her direction. Lavinia nailed him with an arrow, and I turned to see how the rest of the Foxes fared. I spotted Dehn finally, covered in blood amidst a growing pile of bodies. Lena was nearby, her arms full of jars.
The Shadow Foxes had the upper hand now, and the mages seemed to realize that. I counted eight who scurried from the room before the guild could finish them off. The few who were still standing were throwing up defensive spells, buying time for their fellow mages to escape.
“Let’s go!” I called out as I jumped down from the stage. I ran out of the auditorium with the rest of my team hot on my tail. I whistled for Merlin, and he shot to the front. He led the way back up the stairs, past the maze of rooms, and finally into the courtyard.
There was still no sign of a gate, but we startled three of the escaped mages, who were crossing the yard. An air mage threw a hurricane force wind in our direction, but I closed off his mana before he could do much more than overturn a rickety wheel barrow. Lavinia fired an arrow, and the mage fell to the ground.
The other two mages had disappeared through a small door, and Merlin ran after them. I followed the puca, and I could hear the rest of my team charge along behind me.
The door led to a dark passageway that curved past several rock formations. At the end, there was another staircase, and Merlin started down without hesitation. The stairwell was poorly lit, and I hesitated while I tried to see how far down the stairs ran. Emeline launched a mage light, and I gave her a nod of thanks as I started down.
The stairs led to a dank cellar. There were rows of shelves, filled with what looked like assorted jams, jellies, and pickled vegetables. I could hear water dripping somewhere and smell the tang of cold stone.
“Where’d they go?” Lavinia asked quietly as we peered down each row.
“Not sure,” I replied. Merlin barked from somewhere up ahead, and we moved towards him.
We found Merlin by what looked like a very large well. He was peering over the edge, and I could see the rope was slowly unwinding. I looked down the well and saw
the tops of two heads. One of the mages looked up and saw me. He yelped, and then he pulled on something in the basket they stood in. The basket began to descend more quickly, and they were soon out of sight. I heard a thunk as the basket must have hit the ground below.
“I guess this is the door,” I announced.
“Figures,” Lavinia replied.
“It’s rather clever,” Lena said.
I examined the hoist and found what looked like a control mechanism. After a couple of false starts, I was able to pull the basket back to the top.
“Who wants to go first?” I asked.
“Me and Dehn,” Lavinia replied. “We can make sure there’s no one waiting on the other end before the rest of you come down.”
“Yes!” Dehn agreed as he hopped into the basket.
I managed to lower the basket without spilling anyone, though Lavinia complained the entire time that I was too slow. I heard the basket land, and Dehn’s stomp as he jumped out of the basket.
“All clear,” Lavinia called up a few moments later.
I sent Lena and Yvaine next, followed by Aerin and Emeline. Maruk was on his own, and then it was just me and Merlin. I pulled myself into the basket, trying to guess how to operate the thing from inside. There were two knobs near the rope, and I twisted one experimentally. The basket began to plummet, and Merlin let out a squawk. I twisted the knob back the other way, and the basket came to a shuddering halt halfway down the tunnel.
“Everything okay?” Aerin called up.
“Doing great,” I yelled back. Merlin stuck his tongue out to show what he thought about that statement.
“You could change into a dragon and fly us down,” I pointed out. Merlin scratched at an ear and gave me his best innocent stare. I returned my attention to the controls, and with a bit more care, managed to guide us to the ground in one piece.
We were in another cave, though I could see the last of the daylight just ahead. Aerin and Maruk were waiting for me, but the rest of the Shadow Foxes were gathered near the exit.
“Any sign of the mages?” I asked.
“They left a trail if you want to follow them,” Lavinia replied. Dehn grinned at the prospect, but night was closing in. Besides, we had the candle, and the team could use some rest.
“No need,” I replied. “I think they’ll be trying to get well away from here while they can, and we got what we came for.”
“Awww, dang,” Dehn muttered.
“It’s a long walk down the mountain,” Lavinia pointed out. “We should set up camp.”
“We could set up camp,” Yvaine agreed.
“Or we could go back to San Lorraine,” Lena finished.
“It would probably be safer than camping out here on the mountainside with angry mages running around,” Yvaine added.
“And I could get dry,” Aerin added as she shivered in the cool air.
“Me, too,” Emeline agreed.
“You can get dry in front of a fire,” Lavinia argued. “And those monks we didn’t kill could decide to go to San Lorraine.”
“Unlikely,” Maruk said. “Though even if they did, I imagine they would want to avoid any contact with us.”
“I’ll admit, a bed does sound appealing,” I replied. “So, back to San Lorraine. Maybe we can use some of these special carts in the morning.”
“Fine,” Lavinia sighed. “Follow me. I can find the road from here.”
Merlin, back in puca form, moved ahead of her. Lavinia toed him out of the way, and Merlin hissed in protest.
“Out of my way, fuzz butt,” Lavinia ordered. “I don’t trust you to lead us to the front door.”
Merlin chirped at the ladona woman in protest, but quickly scurried up to my shoulders when she shot him a fiery glare. He wrapped himself around my neck, and contented himself with a few chirrups aimed at her back.
Lavinia set a fast pace, and we were back at the fork by nightfall. Several glowing orbs now lined the path towards the town, and we followed them back to San Lorraine. The city looked like a Christmas village now, it was covered in so many lights. I was nearly blinded as we stepped out of the darkness, and I saw the rest of the crew blink as well.
“I need a drink,” Dehn declared as we stopped in the center of the town.
“And food,” Aerin added.
“First, let’s find a place to stay,” I replied. “Then we can take care of the rest.”
“Let’s see,” Yvaine murmured as she glanced around the square. We were drawing looks from the other people now. In the bright lights of the town, it was hard to remain inconspicuous, especially with the blood that now covered our clothing.
“That one,” Yvaine declared. She picked her way past a group of tourists and around an elf who was performing magic tricks for a small crowd and strolled into the lobby of what was clearly a very high-end hotel. We marched into a lobby of marble floors, polished to within an inch of their life, grandiose displays of flowers, gilt mirrors on the walls, and even a table set up with samples of the local water. Yvaine lead us across the lobby, trailing dirt and blood and snow across the freshly waxed floor.
The desk clerk’s eyes grew wide when we approached, and he looked frantically around the lobby, as if hoping some other employee might appear and save him from whatever was about to happen. Yvaine stepped up to the desk and smiled her best marchioness smile.
“I’m the Marchioness of Constello,” she declared. “My companions and I require rooms for the night.”
“You… your companions,” the man mumbled as he looked at our attire, and then back at Yvaine.
“Of course,” she replied. “I understand this is short notice, and we would be willing to pay an additional fee for the rooms.”
Aerin coughed, and Lavinia nudged her.
“Um, I’m not sure if we have any rooms,” the man said. “I should ask my manager.”
“You are the concierge on duty, are you not?” Yvaine asked. “Surely it’s your job to know if there are rooms.”
“Er, um,” was all the man was able to say.
“Really,” Yvaine sniped as she stared at the poor clerk. “The quality of help these days.”
The man gulped loudly. Yvaine impatiently drummed her fingers on the desk. The rest of us dripped snow and mud onto the floor.
The standoff came to an end when another man sidled behind the desk. He tapped the clerk on the shoulder, and the clerk nearly sprinted towards a seating area where several guests were currently watching the proceedings while they sipped on water.
“Are you guests of the hotel?” the new clerk asked.
“Not yet,” Yvaine replied. “And I won’t ever be if this is indicative of the service you provide.”
“And you are?” the clerk asked with a smarmy smile.
“Yvaine Estrella, Marchioness of Constello.”
“Ah,” the clerk replied after he blinked three times. “And you require rooms for the night for yourself and your…?”
“My guild,” Yvaine replied. “And yes, we require rooms for the night.”
“And will anyone be… sharing rooms, or will you require separate rooms?” the clerk asked delicately.
Yvaine continued to smile at the clerk, while the rest of us glanced at each other and shuffled our feet.
“Separate rooms,” Yvaine declared, more to annoy the clerk than any real concern for anyone’s privacy.
“Well, let me see,” the clerk sniffed as he scanned a ledger that he pulled from the desk. After a moment, he added, “I have one room available that would accommodate the orc, but I’m afraid that would mean you would have to take a junior suite.” The clerk looked up and smiled again at Yvaine.
“That will be acceptable,” she said graciously. “Now, if you’ll show us to our rooms, we have confidential business to conduct. You’ll have dinners for all of us sent to Maruk’s suite and then see that we’re not disturbed for the remainder of the evening.”
“Of course,” the clerk sniffed as he pulled out
our keys from the rack behind him. Yvaine gave him a curt nod and then smiled at us. We had rooms, dinner, and important plans to discuss.
Chapter 18
I was up early the next morning, though I still couldn’t beat Lavinia. I found her in the hallway, as she crept back to her room.
“Good morning,” I called out as she fumbled with her room key. She dropped it and turned to me.
“You shouldn’t sneak up on people like that!” she hissed. She started to lean down, then placed a hand over her mouth.
“I wasn’t sneaking,” I replied as I scooped up the key and unlocked the door for her. She looked pale, and she had dark smudges under her eyes, like she hadn’t slept well. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine,” she said. “I just… had a nightmare.”
“You?” I asked in surprise. “About what?”
Lena strolled up before Lavinia could respond, wrapped in something that looked like a swan had exploded. She smiled at the two of us, then twirled so we could see the full, fluffy effect.
“What are you wearing?” Lavinia demanded.
“I found it last night,” she replied.
“You found it?” I repeated. I was just full of questions this morning.
“Someone just left it hanging outside their door,” Lena explained.
“Oh, gods above,” Lavinia moaned as she laid her head against her door.
“Um, Lena,” I said gently. “Usually when people leave things outside their hotel room door, it’s so the hotel employees will take it to be washed or ironed.”
“Oh,” Lena replied, her disappointment evident in the slump in her shoulders. “I suppose I should return it then.”
“That would probably be a good idea,” I agreed.