by Eric Vall
“No kidding,” the mimic said as she gawked at me. “You really have a scary angel lady in your head?”
Charmed to meet you, Sera hummed.
I couldn’t tell if the Archon was being sarcastic or if she was just genuinely creepy, but I decided not to relay the message.
“She’s definitely in there,” I told Erin instead.
The five of us lingered around the outpost for a while as we tended our wounds and searched for any injured survivors. Though we didn’t find a single person, I felt confident that it was a good sign.
As I sat and smeared a poultice on a long scratch on Layla’s chin, a distant voice called to us over the wind.
I turned to see who it was, and sure enough, there was the mayor’s recognizable paunchy form coming toward us at a casual jog. A group of people followed behind him, and further out, even more survivors followed as distant specks across the field.
I waved one hand as the mayor approached, and I grinned as the man waved back with effort.
“Would you look at that,” Varleth said in an impressed tone. “I wonder where they all disappeared to?”
“I’m just glad they did,” I replied. “Though, I feel bad about all the rebuilding they’ll have to do.”
Varleth nodded and frowned. “We can’t stay here. I don’t think there’s any help we can give them.”
I examined the outpost around us. Both inns were burnt to the ground, and many of the larger buildings that may have accommodated us were in similarly bad shape.
“Then we’ll have to move on,” I said as I looked over the town. “Erin, where did your airship go?”
The mimic sighed. “I set her down right next to the blaze to speed things up, since I was worried about your fight with Gawain going poorly. I should’ve just run the extra distance. Her wings got scorched, and she suffered some cabin hull damage. I wouldn’t want to fly her before she gets completely repaired, and that’s a job the military will have to undertake.”
I’d been afraid that was the answer. “So, we’re pretty sure your airship is a complete loss for the next week or two until the military sends out a team of repairmen. They’ve got their hands full, so we can’t count on a timely response.”
“Sounds about right,” Varleth agreed. “We’ll need another way out.”
I pulled out the map from my bag and spread it over the broken pavement. I put one finger on the tiny dot that marked the outpost, and measured the distance between the nearest town markings around it.
“The closest town isn’t very close at all,” I reported. “Sunset is in two hours, so our choices are limited to walking all night or camping.”
“How many miles?” Varleth asked.
“About eighteen,” I said as I peered at the scale. “Could take five hours, could take twice that. I don’t know whether it’ll be rocky or if there’s a climb.”
The mayor arrived as we pondered the vague markings on the map.
“Oh, heroes,” he wheezed as he bent over, “let me … give you … my deepest thanks.“
“Really, you don’t need to thank us for anything,” Cyra said as she came over.
The mayor shook his head as he gulped in a steadier breath of air. “Without your warning, we wouldn’t have been able to evacuate to our new monster shelter in time. We decided to build it in an old mining tunnel after last year’s catastrophe.”
“That was forward-thinking,” Erin approved.
The mayor let out a strained chuckle. “I was still worried we’d be smoked out of hiding if that fire mage’s attack had gone on much longer.”
“There weren’t any injuries?” Layla asked.
“A few burns here and there, and a farming family almost got trapped inside their barn,” the mayor explained as he shivered at the thought. “But no, we were mostly fine. The man tried to ask for a meal at the Oresmelt Inn, so the innkeeper there gave him what he wanted and quietly told everybody else to get out.”
“Hard to keep up a charade like that,” I noted. “I’m glad you got far enough before he noticed.”
The mayor nodded with wide eyes. “He didn’t seem happy when he found out. Who is that madman, anyway?”
My lips pressed together as my throat tightened. “A sick mage. He used to be a friend of ours, and we’re trying to take him in for treatment.”
The mayor frowned. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize you knew each other.”
I shrugged it off. “It’s okay, I’m sure our situation is very confusing to anybody else.”
And the mayor didn’t even know the half of it. Possession, ancient deities, the history of the Shadowscape itself, all of it was wrapped up in our chase after Gawain.
The mayor hesitated as he looked at us. “You’re sure you can actually cure him?”
I winced, since it was the exact question we’d all wondered at one point or another. “We’re not sure, but we have to try.”
The mayor smiled and regarded the five of us with bright eyes. “It’s admirable that you’re still trying to save him. I’m glad there are still valiant young warriors like you who are willing to do things the hard way.”
As more outpost survivors arrived, people gathered around us to thank us for our hard work in saving their town. It was odd to have rescued a town from the very man who once would have helped us close rifts and defeat monsters.
Some of the faces who came to thank us were familiar. I traded warm greetings with Jym and the miner woman who’d first told us about the crystal cave. Even after these few hours back in civilization, they looked much healthier and calmer than they had before.
Right when I thought we’d gotten to the end of the flow of townsfolk, Deresa came flying out of the crowd with her shoulder-length brown hair trailing behind her.
She launched herself at Varleth with a gleeful sound, latched her arms around him, and spun the two of them in a stumbling circle.
“U-uh, Deresa,” Varleth stammered uncharacteristically as he held his arms stiffly at his sides.
Deresa leaned her head back to stare at Varleth’s face with soft, heart-melting eyes.
He returned her gaze for an uneasy moment before he looked around helplessly at the rest of the team.
Layla smiled and drew close to the lovebirds. “Deresa, I’m so happy you came and found him. He’s been talking about you nonstop. I could tell he was on the verge of a broken heart if you didn’t show up.”
Varleth glared murderous daggers at Layla, but she smiled back innocently and ignored the look.
“Oh, Varleth,” Deresa cooed, “I’m so sorry I had to leave you. Please tell me you’re alright. I couldn’t bear to see you injured in battle.”
“I’m fine,” he managed around the frozen grimace his face was stuck in.
Erin leaned in close to whisper in my ear. “Who the hell is this girl? Does Varleth know her?”
“We met her in the caves,” I explained as I stifled my laughter. “She was just a possession victim. Varleth barely knows her better than you do.”
Erin stared at Deresa for a long minute before she turned her bemused gaze back to me. “Did she suffer brain damage or something? I don’t understand why she thinks she’s in love with Varleth.”
“I truly have no idea,” I replied. “Though I guess he can appeal to those looking for a mysterious, brooding type.”
Erin squinted. “Does she realize he only has eyes for his work?”
“I’m not so sure he does,” I whispered back with a delighted grin.
Sure enough, a pink flush spread up Varleth’s neck and landed on his cheeks as he attempted to extract himself from Deresa’s grip.
“I’m fine, thank you. Thank you. Thanks, but I’m fine,” the banisher babbled in a daze as he patted Deresa around the shoulders, but the woman just ignored his attempts and managed to snuggle more against his chest.
“She fried his brain,” Erin gasped.
I tutted and shook my head. “What a tragedy. We’re going to need a new ba
nisher.”
You wouldn’t need one if you let me in. Sera purred. My power could give you abilities you’ve never dreamed of. You also wouldn’t need any of these other women to pour your seed into. I would keep you pleasured beyond anything you have ever experienced.
Like hell that was going to happen. I shook my head to clear away the Archon’s sinister temptations, but I could tell this was going to be a regular thing with her.
While Varleth struggled with Deresa’s affection, I turned my attention back to the map. A few miners and other outpost people helped me fill in the gaps in the surrounding area, and slowly my map became more complete.
An obvious trail emerged that would take us upward through the dip between two mountains. The path would be rocky and possibly wet if snowmelt was coming down the mountain, but it was probably our fastest way to the next town.
Polkenny would be a good-sized town to stop in and rest ourselves as we planned for our next moves. Some of the miners called it a tourist trap, but that was good news as far as I was concerned. The richer classes of Mistral traveled to the foot of the Bathi mountains to enjoy Polkenny’s scenic views and hot springs, and it would mean a better chance for us to pick up an airship ride out of here.
I wanted to chase after Gawain, but we simply had no idea where he was. The Shadowscape existed according to strange rules that destroyed any real hopes of navigating it. Mages who entered had no way of knowing where or when they’d end up, and besides that, the dangerous monsters that lurked throughout the realm made long-term missions impossible.
No, if we wanted to capture Gawain, we’d have to know exactly where he was first.
As I made my final decision, I folded up my map and stowed my belongings back into my bag as I waved my team over. “We’re going to Polkenny next. It’s too far to walk to after the long day we’ve already had, so we’re going to stop partway and camp in the mountains for one night.”
“We’re not staying here?” Layla asked with a curious tilt to her head.
I gestured at the destroyed town around us. “It’s either camp next to a building that reeks like smoke, or camp in the wild. I don’t think there are any comfy beds waiting for us here.”
“Alright,” Layla agreed amiably. “I wanted to stretch out my muscles with a good walk anyway.”
I grinned happily at my team. “Excellent. The faster we’re in Polkenny, the faster we get back to Varle or Gawain.”
Before we left, we bought a bite to eat from the bakery on the corner. Its pastries had remained mostly safe inside their glass display cases, and the woman who owned the shop was more than happy to make an extra buck now that she was faced with the task of repairing her store.
“Take however many you want,” the baker said as she scraped her graying hair back into a bun with a harried expression. “I’ll even give you a discount. I’m not going to be able to sell anything else for weeks.”
“No discount necessary,” I assured the woman. Then I paid with the money the mayor had given us before I tipped her generously as well.
We stowed our pastries in our travel bags before I purchased a round of lemon muffins to eat while we finished our business in town.
“Smoky,” Cyra commented as she bit thoughtfully into her muffin.
“I think more muffins should be given a house fire flavor,” Varleth agreed with a straight face. “My compliments to the baker.”
I rolled my eyes. “Dark humor is fun and all, but I think it’s only right that we spend the rest of the mayor’s money around town. We know he won’t take it back directly, but the people here need all the help they can get.”
The other four mages agreed, and we spent the rest of the hour wandering the outpost back and forth while we purchased the rest of our camping equipment.
Soon, we’d spent all we could, and I led us back to the statue of the miner we’d first seen before we’d gone on our journey to the caverns. Its stony figure had remained untouched by Gawain’s attack on the outpost. I poured out the few remaining coins onto the pedestal and smiled as we walked away with our good deeds done.
“I wish we had more to give,” Layla mused as she tightened the straps on her hiking pack.
“They’ll be okay,” I assured her. “Miners are a strong kind of people.”
Cyra smiled in agreement. “Gryff and I have worked with them plenty, and we know exactly what kind of tenacity they can show.”
The two of us laughed as we each remembered our personal experiences arguing with miners. Summoners who worked in the Wilds were well-acquainted with their sharp tongues and gritty attitudes.
We hiked for the rest of the evening as the sun dipped low in the sky. Every few feet, Cyra turned around to gasp at the sunset like she’d never seen it before in her life.
“Look at that,” she breathed as she tugged at my arm. “Those purples, those reds. Stunning.”
I snorted. “You sure do love the simple things in life.”
“Enjoying nature is a certain sign of maturity, Gryff,” Cyra huffed hotly at me. “That’s why elderly people like to stare at the scenery so much.”
“I beg to differ,” I argued. “Old people just can’t move as fast, they’d rather be hiking like a teenager if they had the opportunity.”
Cyra put her hands on her hips as her chocolate eyes danced. “I bet the ancient goddess in your head loves staring at the sunset. Just ask her.”
I enjoy the sunset, Sera answered with an eerie whisper. It looks just like blood spilling from the heavens. The sun bleeds as it dies each day, and bleeds when it is reborn. It is a cyclical nature that applies well to the temporary nature of mortals like you.
“I’m going to reject her opinion,” I decided. “Because it creeps me out, and I don’t think it should apply to this debate.”
“She likes the sunset, doesn’t she,” Cyra teased in victory. “I can tell by your face.”
I grumbled as the tawny-skinned summoner celebrated her win, and the group chattered on as we hiked.
Slowly, the sun sank away, and within the hour, night began to truly set in.
“We should stop before it’s too dark to see in front of our own faces,” I decided. “Let’s set up camp here.”
The five of us each pitched in to help unfold the canvas tarp for the ground, the bedrolls, and the blankets. I built a small structure from twigs and dry grass for the fire, and Kalon lit it with an enormous puff as she breathed out her weak, little flame.
“You’re a mighty dragon,” I told her solemnly as I patted Kalon on her walnut-sized head.
She chirped at me proudly before she scrambled back to Cyra’s shoulder.
“I wish I had a familiar,” I admitted as I watched the two of them together. “Your bond is so close.”
Varleth stopped collecting wood to turn and stare at me. “You have a woman living in your head,” he said. “Nothing is more close than that.”
“No kidding,” Layla said before she frowned sharply. “What are we going to do about that, anyway? Do you have a plan?”
“Not really,” I admitted slowly.
Not even one night together, and you want to get rid of me? Sera purred. I thought our kiss was amazing. I’m hurt you don’t feel the same way.
The Archon didn’t sound hurt, and she knew it.
“I’ll sleep on it and figure something out in the morning,” I told my team with a wave of one hand.
Lucky for me, they let me get away with the delay tactic. Everybody was too tired to argue anyway, and within minutes of our heads hitting our bedrolls, we were all fast asleep.
That night, I dreamed I was trapped in a cage of black feathers. Whenever I tried to push the walls away, the feathers sliced at my hands like the sharpest blades. However many feathers I peeled away, more covered my escape. It was an impossible task, like trying to kill an ogre with one finger.
You can’t resist forever. Why fight? Sera asked as I tossed and turned fitfully.
I fell in and out of s
leep all night, but I never stopped trying to escape the cage of feathers.
Come morning, I was more exhausted than I’d been the night before. I dug a pastry out of my bag and ate it mindlessly as I stared into the forest around us.
Cyra took one look at me and knitted her eyebrows in concern. “Not so restful of a night for you, huh? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I dismissed. “Haven’t figured out how to get rid of Sera, sorry.”
“That’s okay,” the tawny-skinned summoner told me as she reached out and squeezed my hand. “We don’t expect you to have all the answers, Gryff. You do a great job leading our team, but you’re human like the rest of us.”
“I don’t know what to do,” I admitted.
Cyra smiled softly. “It’s okay. Just focus on taking care of yourself, and we can pick up everything else. Just tell me if you’re feeling worse, okay? I don’t want you to end up like Gawain.”
Varleth walked over as he fiddled with the straps of his travel pack.
“I’ll be keeping an eye on you, Gryff,” he joked as he neared us.
I laughed, but I knew Varleth actually meant what he said. If something started to go wrong, and Sera took over my body, Varleth would be there to put a stop to it.
“Thank you,” I said gratefully. “You don’t know how much that means to me.”
“Don’t sweat it,” Cyra said as she walked away to pick up the campsite. “We know you’d do the same for us.”
The rest of the day’s walk was mostly downhill as we came out of the mountainous area. Though it should’ve been easier on the way down, I tripped about twice as often as I should have, and my mind was just as slow as my legs.
Some time later, Layla cheerily interrupted my thoughts. “Look, Gryff, there’s Polkenny. We’re almost there.”
She was right, and I gazed at the town in relief as we walked down the side of the mountain. It hadn’t taken us too long to get here with the athletic pace we’d set, perhaps seven hours in total, and it was just a little after noon.
“Perfect,” I breathed in relief. “We can find an inn, call an airship, and regroup with new plans.”
The town of Polkenny wasn’t quite as big as Millervale, but I noticed some telltale signs that spoke of its tourist clientele. Ritzy restaurants and inns lined the outer streets, and silly gift shops advertised pieces of rare ore or bottles of the clearest mountain spring water.