“I… see. Did you let His Holiness know?” Jasmine asked, wondering what Xandra was thinking. Even if it had been hundreds of years, the slightest rumor of who she was would likely end in a mob trying to kill the elven woman. With her current power, she doubted Xandra would survive that.
“Yes. He considered, then mentioned that he likely wouldn’t stop her,” Naomi said, taking another sip of tea. “I just hope she decides to wander off somewhere else. It would make me a lot happier.”
“Mm… we’ll see,” Jasmine said, though she had her doubts.
Specifically, she sincerely doubted that Quentin would let Xandra leave the city on her own, not with who she was. No, someone would be going along with Xandra one way or another. The only question was whether that would be good for Xandra or bad.
Jasmine suspected it wouldn’t be bad, but there was no way to know for certain. As it was, she couldn’t interfere.
So she took another bite of the cookie, and wondered why she found Xandra so fascinating.
Chapter 9
“So you’re the one keeping an eye on me, this time? Was Naomi too scared? I’m surprised that Adrian didn’t volunteer,” Xandra said, examining Vanreth distrustfully. He was wearing the same armor as before, without the soot darkening his helmet, but this time he had such a bright red cloak that it almost hurt her eyes to look at, along with a pack that looked enchanted to her. He also didn’t look terribly happy, which she thought was only fair. She didn’t like him either.
“Adrian and Naomi are both too busy, so I got stuck with you, to my disappointment,” Vanreth replied gruffly. “If I had any choice, you wouldn’t be making this trip. I don’t trust you.”
“The feeling is entirely mutual. As for Adrian, since he didn’t comment about being busy, that means that your superiors didn’t trust him to do whatever they wanted done,” Xandra said, mentally analyzing the possibilities and quickly settling on the most likely one.
Naomi she just discarded as too weak for them to use, if they decided to kill her… No, Vanreth was the most likely person who could legitimately come with her without making it obvious how much they distrusted her. Adrian had a crush on her, which baffled Xandra to no end. She was not nice to him, which made his attraction even more confusing… unless he had certain tendencies that she didn’t care to think about. Despite what Naomi might think, Xandra wasn’t a sadist.
“I’d rather we got moving. The sooner we’re gone, the sooner I can be rid of you,” Vanreth told her, his scowl growing still deeper, and Xandra rolled her eyes.
“As you like,” she replied, turning to head toward the city’s teleportation plaza. He followed, much as she’d expected him to.
Like many cities she remembered, Lothdar had taken measures to protect itself from those who might teleport in with hostile intent. Unlike some, the teleportation plaza was inside a separate wall attached to the city’s primary wall, which had been heavily reinforced and multiple guard towers, both mundane and magical, surrounded the plaza. She did smirk at the towers that were little more than enormous pedestals with a statue of a phoenix atop them, as she wondered if the locals knew what the plural of phoenix was. She suspected that would be rather insulting… which was why she was saving the comment for a special occasion. It might very well cause multiple priests to die of heart failure. Phoenices just rhymed so well with certain other parts of the male body.
At least the guards were expecting her, and the mage at the gate scowled as he saw her. The blond-haired, blue-eyed human had tried to woo Xandra when she’d first come to ask about the plaza, and he hadn’t taken her rejection well. She had been blunt, but what of it? She knew she was developing a reputation by this point, and people should know better than to annoy her.
“You again. What do you want?” the man demanded, and the female guard standing next to him hid a smile behind a raised hand.
“Transport to Lothserr, for myself and the oaf I’ve been saddled with,” Xandra said, jerking her head toward Vanreth. “I will be supplying the mana for the teleportation.”
“You? How are you going to—” the man began, but his mouth snapped shut as he looked past her, and he paled. “Sir Vanreth!”
“You might want to work on your professionalism, Edwin,” Vanreth said, his voice a bit dark. “Whether you like her or not, she’s following the rules.”
“Yes, sir,” Edwin said, and the plump man looked at Xandra in annoyance for a moment before speaking, this time more respectfully. “Five marks each.”
“Of course. And I’m not paying for him. If the temple is going to have someone follow me everywhere, they can pay for the privilege,” Xandra said, pulling out the silver coins and handing them to the mage.
“I don’t have to pay while on official business,” Vanreth shot back, and Xandra glanced at him, raising an eyebrow.
“Oh? Even when you’re no longer inside the borders of your little theocracy?” Xandra asked skeptically. “If so, I may as well not supply your mana and save it for myself.”
Vanreth scowled at her, and when he spoke, his voice was grudging. “No, not beyond the borders. Your contribution is appreciated, however.”
“Good. Then we’d best go,” Xandra replied, turning back to the gate, which the female guard had opened while they were talking.
The gate opened to the plaza, allowing her to see the guard towers more clearly, as well as the teleportation plaza itself. There were several magi present, along with twenty or so other people who looked like they were rather wealthy. On the ground in the center of the plaza was a large, elaborate mosaic that was thirty feet across, and Xandra’s gaze flicked over it, noticing how some of the runes were shimmering. Evidently they were expecting someone to teleport in at any moment.
She was halfway to the mosaic when the circle flashed and there was a ripple of soft cracks as nine people abruptly appeared on top of the mosaic. One of the magi on the edge of the circle spoke immediately, her voice carrying clearly through the plaza. “Alright, everyone off the platform! We’ve got outbound guests. If you’re using the platform to reach another destination, meet with the gentleman on my left! If you’re visiting Lothdar, head for the gate!”
The people began moving, and as they did so, a male mage approached Xandra, looking slightly flustered. The brown-haired man took a breath, then nodded to her while he held a crystal orb that was about two inches across. “You were to provide mana for two passengers, I believe.”
“That is correct. How much mana do you require, and where?” Xandra asked, looking back at the mage calmly.
He offered the orb and spoke, sounding faintly relieved. “In here, if you’re able to transfer it. We can also take drops of mana directly, if that’s how you were going to pay. As for how much, it will take ten drops for each of you.”
“Ah, that’s all? Excellent,” Xandra replied, smiling as she reached out to touch the orb.
Sensing the channels into the orb, which was a high-capacity storage device, she focused as she drew on her mana core. In truth it was harder to only put the required drops of mana into the orb than to transfer them to begin with, and they flashed out of her effortlessly. In an instant it was done, and she pulled away.
“There, done. Twenty drops are in your orb,” Xandra told him, satisfied. On the other hand, the mage did a double take, looking at her, then at the orb.
“That quickly? Let me check… oh! My apologies, I’ve never seen anyone transfer mana without some type of manifestation!” the mage said, a look of amazement on his face as he examined the orb. “That was incredible!”
“I’m highly skilled in the sphere of energy,” Xandra said, inclining her head slightly, appreciating the man’s acknowledgement. “Alas, I cannot teleport myself, or I wouldn’t be here.”
“Ah, of course. Well, where were you going?” the mage said, straightening a bit. The mosaic had been cleared already, and she could see a mage moving forward with a similar orb to the one he was carrying, likely to recharge
the circle.
“Lothserr,” Xandra said, watching the man work, and winced as she noticed some of the mana bleed off during the transfer. It wasn’t much, but it was just enough to slightly wear on the enchantments on both the orb and the teleportation platform, which… irritated her.
“Ah, in that case you’re going to have to wait for the group after this one. Lothserr is the second group we’re sending out, after Codex Island,” the man said, and gestured toward the waiting group. “If you’ll wait with them? We’ll call when it’s your turn.”
“Thank you,” Xandra told him, inclining her head slightly, then walked toward the crowd at a sedate pace. She didn’t want to talk to anyone sooner than she had to.
“Why were you polite to him? You’ve been rude to everyone else I’ve seen so far,” Vanreth asked from behind her, a hint of suspicion in his voice.
“That mage was doing his job, and wasn’t trying to waste my time, seduce me, or cheat me. As such, he got a modicum of respect. He also wasn’t a complete fool,” Xandra replied, letting Vanreth draw whatever implications he wanted from her words. “I do not care for fools, in case it isn’t abundantly clear.”
The man didn’t reply for a couple of seconds, and when he did, his voice was quiet, but not quite quiet enough for her to avoid hearing him. “Takes one to know one.”
“I did say that I was a young idiot, yes?” Xandra replied, glancing over her shoulder just in time to catch sight of his face flushing in embarrassment. “If you hadn’t caused such a disaster in your rescue attempt, I wouldn’t have been nearly as scathing. However, you idiots deserved every bit of it.”
This time Vanreth didn’t say anything, which Xandra thought was a wise decision. He shouldn’t attempt to participate in a battle of words when he was obviously unarmed.
Stopping a few paces away from the other passengers, Xandra resisted the urge to sigh as a couple of them looked toward her curiously. Obviously, her hope that they’d take the distance to mean that she should be left alone was about to be dashed.
Hopefully the teleportation would come quickly, and they could be on their way. From what she’d been able to tell, it should be two teleportations to the city closest to her destination. Hopefully they would get there before midday, but she had little faith in that.
People were always dashing her hopes.
Chapter 10
Never in his life had Vanreth spoken so many prayers to grant him patience in a row, not even in the privacy of his own mind. On the other hand, never before had he encountered someone as infuriating as Xandra was, and he glared at her back, frustrated that he was with her at all.
The woman was beautiful, he had to admit that as she stood with her back as straight as an arrow. Xandra’s arrogance seemed to be etched bone deep, as she seemed to look down on everyone, and then she would occasionally surprise him by being polite to a random passerby, which confused and infuriated him further.
Xandra hadn’t changed much from when she was in the Domain of Ashen Hopes. She’d removed her collar and the tattoo on her stomach, but she’d otherwise only changed her clothing. Now she wore close-fitting black leather pants and boots, and today’s halter top was a deep purple. She also wore a good deal of jewelry, including a navel piercing, many of them set with glowing amethysts. For weapons she had a dagger and wand in sheaths on her left hip, and a satchel slung across her body. She drew the eye without even intending to, which was another reason he disliked her so much. She was dangerous.
High Priest Quentin had assigned Vanreth to accompany Xandra personally, after which he’d explained exactly who the woman was. At that point Vanreth had asked why they didn’t execute Xandra for her known crimes, and the priest’s response had been humbling. Vanreth hated to think about it, but he mentally replayed the statement to remind himself of why he was doing this.
“Sir Vanreth, that question doesn’t become you. Her past was terrible, yes… but all we have to go off of are ancient records which do not have enough detail. It is possible, however unlikely, that Xandra’s actions were justified. History is written by the victors, after all,” Quentin had chided gently, resting a hand on one of the history books. “Beyond that, she was in the Domain of Ashen Hopes for more than a millennium. If that is not punishment enough for most sins, I don’t know what is, and everyone deserves a chance to mend their ways, assuming they aren’t actively hostile. I want you to follow her to ensure that she doesn’t turn evil on viewing her past, or on leaving the city. You may strike her down if she does, but otherwise let her do as she wills. Judging the hearts of the living is for the gods, not us.”
Vanreth wasn’t certain he agreed with that, but he also wasn’t going to disobey the High Priest under the circumstances. Besides, he gave decent odds that she would turn evil, with how she acted most of the time, and he would take satisfaction in putting her down if that happened. Assuming he didn’t find out via her testing one of her more powerful spells on him, at least.
Eventually their turn to teleport out of Lothdar came, and they appeared in Lothserr unerringly, though the teleportation did leave Vanreth’s stomach churning mildly. If Xandra felt it, she didn’t show any sign of it on her face, instead immediately approaching the mage in charge of scheduling to let him know they were going to Simmar, in the Republic of Jirr. She paid for herself, then charged the mana stone and stepped aside. Again the mage holding the stone had to double-check that she’d actually charged it, as no one saw a thing when she did so. Not even Vanreth, who was looking for side effects and saw nothing. That worried him, as it indicated that at least in that sphere she was more skilled than he’d thought she was.
Occupying himself with talking to a couple of the guards helped Vanreth relax somewhat, but a few minutes later it was time for them to go, and the teleportation left the mountainous city of Lothserr behind them.
Simmar was very different than the previous two cities, though. Rather than appearing in an open plaza, they appeared indoors, inside a guarded chamber with multiple arrow slits in the walls, which made Vanreth grimace unhappily. He understood the defensive precaution, but he’d never really like arriving indoors, as the echo of their arrival was rather loud. A man in a bright yellow tunic and with blue trousers was waiting for them, his mustache waxed and with a monocle over one eye. Behind him were six guards, which was far more than they should need for the room, and ten people waiting to use the teleportation platform.
“Entry fee of one mark each, please,” the man barked, which didn’t sound like a request at all, and Vanreth’s eyebrows rose.
“Since when did the republic charge for people arriving via a teleportation?” Vanreth asked, scowling slightly.
“We don’t. You are, however, arriving within Simmar’s city limits, and thus the entry fee for the city applies. As you are obviously used to luxuries, you are charged the tax for those carrying luxury goods,” the man said, looking quite satisfied with the explanation.
“We aren’t entering Simmar! We’re going to—” Vanreth began, only for Xandra to interrupt.
“Don’t bother, Vanreth. This is obviously a recent change, and I doubt they’ll be able to sustain the practice for long,” Xandra said coldly, looking down at the floor, and a hint of derision flickered across her face. “Just like their teleportation circle won’t last much longer. We will have to take a different route back to Lothdar.”
“What?” Vanreth asked, taken aback by her statement, and he saw the confusion on the official’s face. A curious murmur ran through the people waiting as well.
“It’s obvious. These incompetents haven’t had an artificer maintain the platform in at least fifty years, based on the wear I’m seeing,” Xandra said, looking down and clicking her tongue as she reached into her belt pouch and pulled out a pair of silver coins. “It’s going to fail within a dozen uses, and I doubt even a master artificer is going to be able to save it. I’m certainly not willing to use it, not when I doubt I’d arrive in one piece. We’ll find a
nother way back, and you can tell the high priest about their new tax. I’m certain he’ll be ecstatic to hear about it… as well as their incompetence. Here are your coins.”
The official’s face paled as Xandra spoke, taking the coins numbly. Vanreth was still trying to figure out what Xandra had done when a couple of the people waiting turned to the exit, and were quickly followed by more of the people. By the time he realized what had happened, all ten were heading out of the room.
“Ah… who are you?” the monocled man asked, looking at her, then Vanreth. Xandra ignored him, instead heading for the door.
“Sir Vanreth Bladebound, paladin of the Phoenix Queen, and Knight of Loth,” Vanreth replied shortly, quickly following Xandra.
“But…” the man began, but he stopped as Vanreth and Xandra didn’t slow down.
They quickly emerged onto a muddy street, one which was technically inside the city, Vanreth supposed, despite not being inside the city walls. Near the entrance were the people who’d just walked out, and as he passed he could hear them yelling at a mage.
“…not going through that deathtrap! What are you doing with our money, if you’re not maintaining it properly!” a man roared angrily, gesturing at the building, which was squat and heavily reinforced. “I want a refund, now!”
“Now, calm down! The platform has been operating just fine for decades, and will for—” the mage replied, looking a little panicked, but he was cut off.
“Don’t give me that! I’m not going through the portal until we get an independent mage to examine it, and…” a woman said, but they quickly moved away far enough that Vanreth couldn’t quite make out their words anymore.
“Was any of that true? If not, you’ve caused quite a bit of chaos out of—” Vanreth began suspiciously.
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