by K.N. Lee
“I’m with you.”
“Good, thank you. Summon Charlotte, make sure you both eat a good lunch. Baezu won’t be much longer with Sorven. We need to be in place before he returns. It’s going to be a long day.”
“Agreed. I’ll see you at the cafeteria in a few.”
“See you soon. Kanaan?”
“Yeah?”
I hand him one of my bags, the one holding the salted wolf flanks.
“Take this to the cafeteria, please.”
“Will do.” He gives me a little smart-ass salute. Clearly, he’s thrilled with how I’m handling things.
Tough. Like it or not, I’m calling the shots now, at least for this quest. Curing corruption shouldn’t cost us our humanity. I’ll do everything I can to ensure it doesn’t.
I find Kit’sanari exactly where I thought I would, in the Upper Hall of the main building.
“Tier’an, is something the matter?” Her furrowed brow doesn’t do much to lessen the striking power of that piercing green gaze, but it’ll take more than a pretty pair of eyes to affect me now.
“Yes. Something is definitely the matter.”
“Well, are you going to tell me what’s wrong or just stand there glaring at me?”
“You’ve got a lot of nerve, acting all pissed off when you know damn well what’s wrong. I talked to Kanaan this morning. About the cure. About destroying our fallen questmasters further. Ringing any bells?”
Elder Kit’sanari’s already pale, but what little color she has drains from her face.
I’ve made a terrible mistake. I assumed she knew.
“Elder Kit’sanari? Are you okay?”
Some of the color returns to her face, along with a look of steely resolve. Those eyes penetrate deep inside me and a sharp ache pulses behind my eyes.
“If what you say is true, then we must stop the proceedings immediately. We cannot risk making matters even worse.”
“No, I agree. That’s what I came here to talk to you about. Sorry I snapped at you. I was thinking… I guess that I’d have to be persuasive to get you to hear me out. I really thought you already knew the risk involved with testing the cure on a human corruption.”
“I am aware now. Come, I’ll speak with Elder Dannison—”
“It’s already done. I set him and Kanaan straight just now, and Benoit’s on board. Now all we have to do is wait for Baezu to return with Sorven so we can guard him. I’ll tell you about it on the way to the cafeteria.”
“That’s an excellent start, Tier’an, but we need to make sure Dannison doesn’t go behind our backs and send his own party out to get Beringer.”
“Good point. Any of the guildmasters could easily assemble a raid party and go after him themselves.”
“Thoram won’t. I’ll talk to him. Get your people to the northern border. As soon as Baezu’s group returns, I want Sorven in our possession.” Lightning flickers in those brilliant eyes, excitement evident in the set of her shoulders. Who would have thought Kit’sanari was the type to enjoy drama and action?
“Great. Recruit as many of the guildmasters as you can. If they’re on board, pretty much everyone else will follow.”
She nods and leaves without another word.
Did I just give Elder Kit’sanari an order?
Did she actually just obey an order I gave her?
Weirdest. Day. Ever.
When I arrived at the northern border, Kanaan and Charlotte were already there waiting for me.
“Where’s Benoit?”
Kanaan gestured toward the guard tower. “They saw Baezu’s group approaching. Benoit left to intercept them and bring them up to date on your orders. He wanted to make sure you had time to do whatever you needed to do here, in Neissfold.”
“Good thinking. I’d like to buy Kit’sanari a little more time to meet with the elders and guildmasters.” With a little bit of guilt, I think back on how I spoke to her when I confronted her and made a mental note to apologize again later. “You two head back to Building B.” I hand over the tumbler spikes to Kanaan. “Go ahead and mix the elixir. Have it ready for when I give the all clear to proceed.”
“Wait, I thought you didn’t trust me with them?”
“Kanaan, you’re one of the few people I do trust. Petty quarrels aside, I know you’ll do the right thing. Dannison… Well, I just don’t know him well enough yet. But you? I trust you with my life. I’m pretty sure I can trust you with theirs, too.”
He looks at the bag like it contains all of life’s greatest mysteries and he’s too afraid to learn the truth to even breathe too hard in its direction. When he finally meets my gaze again, he’s adorably confused. “Thank you, Tier’an. That means a lot to me.”
“Go on, you’ve got work do.”
He smiles and gives another salute. “Yes, ma’am!”
Kanaan and Charlotte head back to town to do their thing. As for me, I set out for the northern guard tower to locate my group.
I don’t get far, haven’t even reached the tower yet, when Benoit and the rest of the team emerge from thick treeline of The Grove. They’ve managed to capture Sorven. Baezu, Sam, Jozani, and Kimber each hold a temporarily dead limb.
Benoit’s looking over my shoulder, at something past me. His eyes widen in a look of horror.
“Tier’an, look out!”
I free one of my blades and drop into a spin, aiming somewhat high and angling downward. The sharp edge slices across someone’s thigh. Not enough to kill them, but the strike will allow me a bit of distance.
I reorient myself as quickly as I can and take stock of the situation.
Eli’s staggering away from me, one hand on his bleeding thigh and the other clutching his tome to his chest. A blue glow envelops his hand and he sends the healing magic to his wound.
“Eli? What the hell are you doing?”
Benoit is beside me, shaking with rage. “He was going to kill you, I’m sure of it.”
“No, he wouldn’t—”
“We’re going to free Sorven, even if we have to kill all of you to do it.”
“We?”
The two others from Benoit’s group who jumped ship during the vote strode into the clearing, in full view of the guard tower.
What the hell is he thinking?
“Eli, there are only three of you.” Benoit and I alone could handle them.
“I don’t care. We will not stand for this. Better to die fighting than roll over and play dead.”
Behind me, Joz, Sam, Baezu, Alya, and Kimber watch silently, presumably still holding on to Sorven.
“Listen, even if we killed the three of you and went about our business, you’d just respawn in town, needing a rez. What good does that do anyone?”
“I will rebuke the light, refuse to return, and my specter would haunt you until the end of your days.”
“Brutal.”
“This isn’t funny, Tier’an! They are people. Our people.”
“That’s why I’ve demanded certain precautions prior to the experiment to ensure a greater degree of success.” Damn, that sounded impressive as hell. Well, to me, anyway.
At least it made him pause.
“Eli, will you at least consider speaking with Kit’sanari, hearing about the new plan?”
Some of his anger had retreated, but it returned in full belligerent force at my question. “And if I don’t? What are you going to do?”
I raise one hand in the air, curl all but two fingers against my palm, and make a downward swiping motion.
Two arrows zip past me and land inches away from the two guys with Eli.
I had no idea if that would work, but I’m so relieved it did. I would have looked so stupid if nothing had happened.
Eli’s ‘henchmen’ or whatever wisely take a few steps back. He didn’t even flinch.
“I’m prepared to die for what I believe in, Tier’an. Are you really going to go that far?”
“Of course not. We’ll throw you in jail. Bind your abilitie
s. Then leave you there until this whole mess is settled.”
His eyes narrow but he doesn’t say anything.
“Will you at least listen to what Kit’sanari has to say?”
One of his henchmen speaks up. “Eli, if something has changed, I want to know.”
“Fine. Whatever. Let’s go find her. But I’m warning you, Tier’an, this isn’t over. I don’t care what anyone says, experimenting on humans is wrong. Period.”
With a wave of thanks to the archers in the tower, I lead the group back into Neissfold, to Building B, where it is my sincerest wish we can restore humanity to a fallen questmaster without sacrificing our own.
By the time we all trickle inside, Building B is filled to maximum capacity. Kanaan and Charlotte had to carefully push the three tables against one wall so we could all fit. Dannison stood nearby, holding a tray of six vials—a magic humanity potion. Hopefully.
Elder Kit’sanari finds a spot near the center of the room. “All right, Tier’an. What are we doing? Lead the way.”
“Thank you, Kit’sanari. Kanaan, you’ll need a sample from Beringer to check and ensure you won’t be injecting a new strain of virus or venom or whatever, right?”
“Yes. Just hold him still and I’ll draw a bit of blood.”
Jozani, her face as passive as ever, steps forward and offers him a vile of some dark, viscous liquid. “One step ahead.”
“Excellent, thank you. What else do you need, Kanaan?”
“This was it. I’ve already analyzed a sample of animal blood as best we’re able to. I’ll compile a comparison report on this and we’ll have a better idea of whether or not we should proceed.”
Kit’sanari, quiet until this moment, weighs in. “And if the cure isn’t likely to work?”
“I don’t know.” I don’t even want to consider that possibility. Everything is hinging on this cure. “We can’t keep sending people out to find a way off this island only to have them get infected or whatever. And, at this point, we can’t just do nothing. Nearly two hundred boss mobs are roaming the southern parts of this island. If they decide to organize on a large scale, Neissfold will fall. This cure has to work.”
Eli, with a smug smile on his face, says, “So what difference does it make whether or not the cure is compatible or whatever?”
Kanaan’s voice comes out as a low warning. “The difference, Eli, is that we won’t give them the elixir if there’s no chance it will work. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“No, I want you to leave them the hell alone—”
“And do what instead?” My already depleted reserves of patience just ran out. “Come on, Eli. We know what you don’t want us to do. But if you want us to even consider taking you seriously, present an alternative. What do you want us to do?”
“How about sending a group south, through Lakeside Circle? We keep sending out single questmasters, and they keep getting infected or whatever. Why not send out a raiding party? Wouldn’t they stand a better chance?”
Kit’sanari shakes her head. “We tried that once. A dozen of our best. The specters in the Forgotten Forest? That’s them.”
Hold up… For them to be specters means that they must have died at some point. “Wouldn’t you have resurrected them? Shouldn’t they be here?”
“No, I’m afraid not. I traveled with them, bound their souls to the ruins in that area, then teleported back to Neissfold. The reason we hadn’t sent anyone before—and haven’t sent anyone since—is because if they are killed, there’s a good chance they’ll be corrupted as well. We couldn’t risk them spawning in town as corruptions—”
“So, you forced them to bind their souls elsewhere?”
“No, Tier’an. To bind one’s soul requires explicit consent. I cannot bind a soul to any location if they aren’t willing to be bound.”
My head is spinning with the implications of that. Those people sacrificed everything to try to save us. “What happened to them? I mean, obviously, they’re dead, but are they corrupted? Could we possibly rescue them?”
“They have fallen. If the cure works, then perhaps a rescue is still possible, once we’ve captured and cured the rest of the corruptions wandering the south.
“In the meantime, we cannot risk contributing more of our people to The Corruption.”
“Agreed.”
Eli’s quiet, but he still doesn’t look satisfied. I have to wonder if he’s just reached a point where he can’t back down because he’ll feel stupid. He is pretty damn persistent.
“All right, so we’re right back to where we were before. Pending Kanaan’s report… well, let’s just wait and see what that reveals. We’ll meet back here tomorrow morning.
“Kit’sanari, what can we do with Beringer in the meantime?”
“The jail has binding spells built in. He won’t be able to cast while he’s in there.”
“Okay, good. Benoit, you and I can take him. Baezu, you and your team get some food and rest. I’ll see you all tomorrow.”
Just like that, everyone filters out except Kanaan and Charlotte.
“Charlotte, go with the others. You can come relieve Kanaan in a couple of hours. Otherwise he’ll forget to eat.”
With a laugh, she followed the rest of the group to the cafeteria.
Benoit grips Beringer under his shoulders. “Shall we?”
Silly man.
Nothing feels better after a long day than sinking into your mattress and bundling up under the covers. I could stay like this forever.
Before blissful sleep can take me, though, a loud pounding on my door scares the mess out of me.
“Ugh. What?”
“Tier’an! It’s me, Kanaan. We need you at the well.”
Seriously? “On my way!”
By the time I pull on a somewhat-fresh pair of pants, a vest, and a pair of boots, there’s a decent crowd at the well. Everyone from my group—except Eli—and everyone but Benoit’s two deserters from his group stand in a wide circle around Kit’sanari and—is that…
Three specters float around the well. Eli’s one of them. He’s saying something, but I can’t hear him. I’m thinking that’s probably a good thing. He doesn’t exactly look happy to see me.
“Kit’sanari, what’s going on?”
“Apparently, Eli and his cohorts tried to free Beringer, to no avail.”
“Oh, good. He’s still in his cell, then?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. I’m going back to bed.”
“Wait. Shouldn’t we…”
“What? Resurrect them? Sure, if you think that’s best. Kanaan, knock yourself out. See you all again in an hour when he pulls this crap again.”
The faces surrounding me share similar expressions of shock and horror, except for Joz. She looks pissed.
Fantastic.
“Joz, look, I’m sorry but Eli has done this to himself. If he’d—”
“I’m not angry with you, Tier’an.” Thankfully, she turns that dark, furious gaze on Eli. “I’m angry with him. I know what you’re suggesting and why. And I agree it’s the best we can do in this situation.”
Kit’sanari raises her eyebrows as if to ask permission for something.
“To be clear, I say we leave them here, as specters, until we’ve at least got Beringer and Sorven cured. Kanaan, your report will be ready in the morning, yes?”
“It’s ready now. Whatever virus infected the animals is the same one circulating in the humans. I have every hope the cure will work.”
“Oh. Excellent. Okay, well tomorrow we’ll give it a go.”
“Why not tonight?” Kit’sanari asks.
With the wickedest smile I have ever seen, Joz replies for me. “As punishment for his hijinks of tonight, he and his cohorts—as you put it—shall remain specters until such a time as Questmaster Bai orders his release.”
I freaking love Jozani. Wait, did she just call me Questmaster?
“That title is probably obsolete now, Joz.”
�
��Not really,” Kit’sanari says. “Only in need of a new definition, one you’re in the process of providing.”
Those eyes. I’m telling you, this woman’s wheels are always turning.
“Right. Okay, let’s put a pin in that.” As much as I love that title, we have other things to focus on. “Elder Kit’sanari, please instruct Elder Dannison to administer the elixir to Auburn Beringer tomorrow morning. Benoit, myself, and our groups will capture Gordon Sorven. We’ll reconvene here, at the well, tomorrow afternoon.”
With a round of nods and murmured replies, the small crowd disperses.
Eli glares at me with all the hatred he can muster as a specter.
“You really thought you were going to haunt me if you died? Your soul, just like everyone else’s, is bound to this well. You die, you respawn here and await resurrection. You don’t get to decide where your soul may wander, Eli. That’s not how it works, and in your anger, you forgot that. I hope, for your sake, you never forget it again.”
Clouds roll in just as Benoit, our team, and I leave Neissfold the following morning. They bring a nice cool breeze with them. Under the canopy in The Grove, the temperature drops several degrees. Still too warm for long sleeves, but perfect weather for a hunt. Feels like rain is coming soon, though, and a severe drop in temperature is probably on its way.
Dannison has his orders, and Kit’sanari stayed behind to assist him, of course. That leaves nine of us to bring in Beringer.
We should be fine.
“Benoit?”
“Yeah?”
“I think we need a tank on Beringer and one guarding our healers. Got anything by way of area effect aggro spells?”
“Sure do.”
“All right. If it’s okay with you, you’re with Kanaan and Charlotte. The rest of the group can help take down Beringer faster.”
“Are you sure that’ll be enough healing power? We could have Kimber and Joz hang back to assist.”
“Possibly, but we’ve got two pure healing casters with us. I think that’s fine. If we take Kimber and Jozani off of damage, it’ll take longer for us to kill Beringer and because of that, we’ll need more healing.
“I don’t know. What do you think?”