The Witch's City

by M. Gregg Roe

  Siljan plunged into the bush, which was, of course, absolutely bristling with sharp thorns. She found her father’s sword and picked it up, surprised as always by how heavy it was. It hurt just as much to leave the bush. Her father had now stepped back and was frowning at what remained of his spear. The wooden shaft had probably broken instantly when he tried to stab the huge construct.

  Hagen seemed to be faring well. His armor, shield, and sword were all heavily enchanted, and he was an experienced warrior. Siljan was far more concerned about Gabriel and Milric. The giant had fled after being severely wounded, but Milric had been hurt in the process. Gabriel was now fighting off yet another of the hammer-armed constructs by himself as Milric watched.

  Danj smiled and dropped his spear haft as Siljan handed over his sword. She stepped up and promptly cast Recovery on her father, channeling as much vitality to him as she could manage, because she could see that he was getting weak. When she finished, he leaped forward and began to slash at the construct. Siljan backed away and began to make her way toward Milric. She wasn’t much use fighting these things, but she would do her job as a cleric and heal people.

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  Petra had to do something. Hankin had tried to save her and now he was dying. She concentrated on the small construct’s left foot and willed it to move backward with all her might. A sharp pain pierced her head, but it worked. The creature twisted to its left and fell into the stream.

  Petra looked farther and saw Branwyn standing right next to the giant as it tried to hit her with its huge club. Orange flame suddenly enveloped both of them, followed by a concussive thud. When the flames cleared, Branwyn was standing completely unharmed and the giant was lying on its back, charred and smoldering.

  The construct began to raise itself out of the water as Branwyn flew straight toward it from behind. She landed directly behind it and brought her mace down on its head using both hands. The head completely collapsed and the individual spheres separated and fell into the stream. Petra breathed a sigh of relief and sat back. She could feel blood once again running out of both her nose and ears.

  Branwyn healed Hankin before coming over to her. He was still lying motionless, but from her expression, Petra knew he would live. As Branwyn walked toward her, they both turned at the sound of another construct pushing its way through the woods. She watched as it ignored them, heading parallel to the stream and toward where she knew the Collector’s vehicle was located. She suspected that it had been recalled, which meant that she was finally safe.

  As soon as Branwyn was close enough, Petra raised her head and asked, “Are Hanna and Valwyn—”

  “They are fine,” said Branwyn, smiling. “They escaped their captors as well. You will be seeing them soon.”

  “That’s wonderful,” said Petra, and then passed out.

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  The jarring impact as his sword struck the metal shield caused Saxloc to lose his grip. The construct was both stronger and faster than he had expected. Its armor was surprisingly hard to even dent. He had told Audrey to stay back and try to hit it from behind, but it was smart as well, putting its back to a tree to prevent just that tactic. The only reason that he was even still alive was his Blur spell. The construct was having difficulty in determining exactly where he was and its sword strokes kept missing, although not by much.

  Audrey screamed as she ran up and drove the end of her staff into the construct’s right knee, actually denting it. As the construct pivoted to face her, Saxloc took advantage and stepped back. He retrieved his sword and then cast Recovery on himself, feeling his energy return. He looked up just as Audrey used her staff to block a sword swing. The sword penetrated most of the way through the wood, and the staff snapped in two as she pulled it back. It stepped up and attacked her with its shield, striking her hard on her left side. Audrey dropped the pieces of her staff as she staggered back with a dazed look, the left arm and shoulder of her shirt already darkening with blood.

  Saxloc ran up behind the construct and attacked the base of its helmet. As he had hoped, it promptly turned on him instead of finishing off Audrey. With its full attention once again upon him, he was soon struggling. A crossbow bolt suddenly thudded into its right side. He saw Gabriel tossing his crossbow aside as he drew his sword and charged. It turned to face Gabriel and Saxloc promptly slipped behind it. Because he used a shield and was very strong, Gabriel was able to hold his own against the construct. Saxloc went back to attacking its helmet and was startled when it flew off and the thing collapsed into an assortment of metal pieces. Gabriel nodded at him and then began to look around for threats.

  Audrey was sitting with her back against a large tree and there was an alarming amount of blood staining the dirt and vegetation to her left. But Siljan was there kneeling in front of her, her eyes closed and hands glowing as she healed Audrey’s injuries. Audrey noticed him walking over and smiled weakly.

  There was a sound in the woods now that Saxloc could more feel than hear. And it was growing stronger. He exchanged glances with Gabriel and then shrugged.

  Siljan stood up and frowned. “It sounds like the boss of the constructs is leaving,” she said loudly. “At least I think that’s what we’re hearing.”

  “Shouldn’t we do something?” asked Audrey, practically yelling to be heard above the sound. She was cautiously running her right hand over her left arm and shoulder.

  “No,” replied Siljan. “No one has the strength. Don’t worry about it.”

  Audrey stood up. “Thank you, Siljan!”

  “You’re welcome! Let’s go find the others!”

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  Hagen hadn’t felt so alive in a long time. The giant construct had been a fearsome opponent, not fast, but incredibly strong. A direct hit by one of its flails would certainly have been fatal. It had been a battle of attrition. They dodged its attacks and hammered at its legs, repeatedly targeting the same areas. When the construct finally died—if that was the right word—Hagen was so surprised that he was nearly clouted on the head by the falling chunks of metal.

  Danj was grinning as he used his right foot to prod a piece of metal that had fallen near him, a piece as large as his shield and nearly two inches thick. Hagen scanned the surrounding area. Two piles of scrap marked the demise of smaller constructs—the ones with hammers. He had gotten a glimpse of Gabriel and Siljan heading in the direction that Branwyn and the others had gone, but there was no sign of Milric.

  He signaled to Danj who was still searching, probably hoping to find some kind of treasure. Hagen doubted they would find anything of value unless some of the metal turned out to be something unusual. There was a noise coming from ahead, deep and pulsating, and Hagen headed in that direction. The woods were thick, but he followed the trail of destruction that had been created by the huge construct. It brought him to a large clearing that he could now see was in the center of three heavily-wooded hills. He found Milric standing at the edge of the trees, battered and bloody, but smiling slightly. It was too loud to talk, so Hagen simply waved his sword and nodded.

  The square metal structure was larger than he had expected. It looked old—streaked with rust and with numerous dents. It was nearly ten yards in the air, rising slowly. The noise, presumably caused by whatever was powering it, was intense, almost painful. Hagen could feel it in his chest. One of the hammer-armed constructs moved forward until it was directly underneath. It turned in one complete circle before abruptly falling to pieces. He knew it hadn’t actually been alive, but he couldn’t help feeling sorry for it, having been left behind like that.

  He walked up to Milric and the two of them watched as the structure continued to rise. It was nearly a hundred yards up when the noise it was emitting changed, becoming higher in pitch but less loud. It began to move north, no longer ascending, and he could see its speed gradually increasing. The direction might be meaningful or not. There was no way to know.

  “That explains why they didn’t just fly into Ro
hoville and take Petra,” commented Milric dryly.

  “And why they had to use intermediaries. Someone would probably have noticed huge metal things walking around town,” Hagen added with a smile.

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  When Branwyn reached him, Hankin had been barely alive, injured and bleeding from several wounds. His actions struck her as out of character, but maybe it was a sign of maturity. She simply healed the worst of his wounds and stabilized him, not knowing how much other healing would be required of her.

  She herself had nearly been killed due to what now seemed like a very bad idea. Part of being a fire magic specialist was knowing when to be careful, to not set the surrounding woods on fire in this case. Getting close had allowed her to kill the giant with a single Flameburst spell in an area where there were fewer trees. But he had nearly bashed in her head before she was able to get the spell off.

  Petra was her primary concern now that the strange noise had faded and there were no sounds of combat or things crashing through the woods. The girl was covered with hundreds of injuries, ranging from minor scratches to a deep stab wound. But they paled compared to what Branwyn was now sensing. Blood was seeping out of Petra’s ears and nose, but she was also bleeding inside her brain. Branwyn had encountered it before, but not often. She stopped the bleeding and healed the area as best she could. Then she turned her attention to Petra’s other injuries, healing all of the major ones.

  Branwyn’s suspicion was that Petra’s brain injury had been caused by her witch power, specifically by pushing herself much too hard. It was understandable under the circumstances, but also concerning. She would need to discuss the matter with Ermizad when they returned.

  Gabriel had begun to turn red at the sight of Petra’s near-naked form, and he was now standing some distance away with his back to them, ostensibly watching for threats. Siljan was sitting next to Hankin’s unconscious body looking concerned. Branwyn had never been able to figure out just what kind of relationship the two of them had. Saxloc was standing next to Audrey holding the remains of her quarterstaff as Audrey looked through her backpack. She pulled out a light brown shirt and then walked over.

  “Petra can wear this,” she said. “I’ve got pants too.”

  Branwyn took the shirt from her and held it up. “Thank you. This will do. On her, it will be like a short dress.”

  “I’m alive!” said Petra suddenly, sounding astonished. She raised her head and looked around. “Thank you for saving me. Do you have any food?”

  Branwyn handed Petra an apple. She hadn’t thought to bring clothes for Petra, but she had brought plenty of food and water.

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  Gabriel was well-satisfied. He had performed competently in combat and no one had died. The controller of the constructs, and presumed employer of the giants, had fled. That kind of thing happened frequently in the stories his parents and others told, and it had happened to him and his friends on more than one occasion. Intelligent villains always had an escape plan.

  It had been gratifying to witness Branwyn’s relief at seeing her husband alive (although certainly not unharmed). He could see the deep affection between the two of them as well as their concern for Petra, who was now thankfully covered by a shirt too large for her. The combination of her nudity and numerous injuries had been unsettling. And now she was headed his way.

  Petra smiled up at him and said, “Thank you, Gabriel. For coming to rescue me.”

  Gabriel returned her smile. Her skin still showed many scratches and bruises, but she had made use of the stream to clean off the dirt and dried blood. She had even made an effort to brush her hair.

  “You are welcome,” he replied.

  “That’s everyone now,” she said, clearly referring to how she had been going around to each person. “And when we get back, I’m going to give Oljot a big kiss. Audrey showed me that thing he made to track me.”

  “I am impressed by how you were able to escape,” stated Gabriel. All three girls had shown great ingenuity in his opinion.

  “That was the easy part. The hard part was not getting caught. I’m really not very good outdoors. I don’t know what’s safe to eat. I need to read some books about that.”

  Gabriel put his right hand on her shoulder, startling her. “You did very well. Perhaps we could go out for dinner after we return to Rohoville?”

  Petra’s face lit up with a combination of surprise and joy. “Really?” she asked.

  “Yes,” he told her. “I am serious.”

  After what she had been through, he thought it the least he could do.

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  Danj felt happy. The little red-haired girl who liked his stories was safe. Many not good metal things had been killed. The not good leader had escaped, but that kind of thing happened. Eventually, they would battle it again and defeat it. Or not. Sometimes it took three tries.

  It was nice that his daughter had come along. She had used her magic to make him stronger and later healed him. Siljan was a good girl. And a cleric. Danj liked clerics. They kept you from dying. Most of the time, anyway. And if you died, they brought you back.

  Everything was good now. All three girls had been rescued and most of the not good people that had kidnapped them were dead. The one man was now in a cell under the castle. Hagen said that he had been misled by not good men, so Danj wasn’t going to kill him. Instead, he would talk to him each day, urging him to be good. And he would tell him stories. Everyone liked Danj’s stories.

  50

  ‡ Closure ‡

  The pattern was clear. Every time that Audrey went along with them on an adventure, she returned discouraged, complaining that she was incompetent and useless. But when the next opportunity arose, she would insist on going, unwilling to miss out and determined to prove herself.

  Saxloc was feeling rather discouraged himself. Being forced to flee one fight and then having to be saved by Audrey after he dropped his sword didn’t exactly inspire confidence. He needed to improve, and fast. But first, he had a role to play.

  “You did fine,” he assured her, doing his best to appear confident. They had each been given small rooms to stay in at the castle. He was now standing in hers as she sat on the bed wearing a white bathrobe because most of her clothes were being laundered.

  Audrey scowled. “I did terrible. I always do terrible. I quit.”

  Saxloc sighed theatrically and slumped his shoulders. “I didn’t do very well either. I guess I’ll quit too.”

  Audrey narrowed her eyes and pointed at him. “I see what you’re doing, but it’s not going to work. I give up. Now how much do I owe for breaking that quarterstaff?”

  He had been expecting that question and answered with authority. “Five silver. You can give it to me and I’ll pass it on to Captain Rodric.” He had just made it up to appease her guilt.

  “Nice try,” she commented with an amused look. “A quarterstaff like that would cost close to five times that much.”

  “Audrey, they don’t care about the loss of a quarterstaff. Weapons get broken all the time. If it makes you feel better, we can use the steel caps to make a new one.”

  “That actually does make me feel better. Let’s do that.”

  “All right.” He was planning to make her a gift of it when it was done.

  “You know,” she said with a saucy smile. “I’m not wearing anything under this robe.”

  Saxloc was certainly tempted, but he had a concern. “I thought you were only interested in Erwin now that he’s back.”

  “I like you and Erwin. And he’s planning to move back here,” she concluded sadly.

  It was the first Saxloc had heard of it, and it was an opportunity. “I see.”

  “Nearly dying apparently arouses me,” she said, now smiling again. “If you’re not interested, then I’m going to seduce Gabriel.”

  Saxloc laughed. “Then I have no choice. I must sacrifice myself to protect my friend’s honor.”

  ♦ ♦ ♦


  “Who was that?” asked Petra with a perplexed look.

  “That was Rosalind,” Valwyn told her, trying to look serious. “She hugs people she doesn’t know.” Hanna, standing nearby, smiled at her joke.

  “What?” Petra frowned and narrowed her eyes.

  “Siljan’s taking her back with her to study at her temple,” Valwyn explained. “She’s some friend of Saxloc’s or something.”

  “Her a cleric?” asked Petra. “She’s tiny.”

  “You’re tiny,” retorted Valwyn.

  “Your chest is tiny!” was Petra’s response as her face turned red.

  “Not as tiny as it used to be,” replied Valwyn and they both looked surprised.

  Her prayers had finally been answered. They weren’t much yet, but it was at least a start. Every night she had prayed to Arwon, beseeching him to grant her decent-sized breasts. Then she said another prayer, asking that her mother never find out that she was praying for something so selfish.

  “What happened to your dress?” asked Hanna. Petra was wearing a Novox sailor’s uniform, but it was too big for her.

  “Branches, thorns, sharp rocks, falling down—pretty much everything happened to it. And to me. I’m still sore.”

  “I lost my dagger and throwing knives,” pouted Hanna. “They were from Zardis.”

  Petra yawned as Valwyn said, “We can get you new ones.”