by Logan Jacobs
Before I could see what Merlin was going to do with the goblin, however, another of the little creatures broke away from harassing Eustace and charged me on my left with a stick. The end had been gnawed into a sharp point that the goblin had aimed for my thigh.
I reached out and grabbed the end of the stick before the goblin could reach me, however, and hauled it up in both of my hands like a bat. The surprised goblin hadn’t let go.
“Maruk!” I shouted, and the orc turned blindly toward the sound of my voice at the exact moment that I swung the stick. The force of my swing sent the goblin flying right into Maruk’s shield, and it hit dead-center with an audible splat.
Maruk reacted instinctively and kicked out with an armored boot at the fallen goblin. It squeaked as it was once again hurtled through the air and crashed into three other goblins. The goblins scattered like bowling pins and rolled away, and they flailed as they tried to right themselves again.
I grabbed Lavinia by the wrist and pulled her across the clearing to the trailhead after me as the remaining goblins gathered together to mount a counterattack.
“Six feet forward at eleven o’clock, Maruk!” I warned, but before the orc had even taken a step, there was a crash of branches above as the goblin Merlin had snatched up fell down into the clearing directly on top of the last assembled goblins.
The monstrous little creatures shrieked and howled as their huddle exploded outward and they fell over one another. The stone goblin that Merlin had dropped had broken into three pieces, and in the chaos, a few others had injured themselves, but there were still five that were struggling to get to their feet again.
Maruk moved forward to meet them, but they’d seen enough of their fellows whacked aside to exercise caution, and they danced around the orc without letting him get too close. They had the added advantage of sight, of course, while Maruk had to guess where they were based only on sound.
Aerin had joined the orc once Merlin had escaped, but the goblins gave her axe a wide berth as well, and she sliced through nothing but air.
A careful glance told me that Eustace was crouched against a bush at the base of the ridge, but I knew the basilisk would most likely still try to make a dash for the trail where Lavinia and I stood if it meant escape from the goblins.
“Lavinia, give me the net and take off your blindfold,” I said quickly. “Eustace is at your 8 o’clock, but I need you to take out the rest of the goblins while I catch him. Don’t look in his direction.”
The ranger complied immediately, and as soon as she thrust the net into my hands, she had a set of three arrows nocked and aimed at the goblins in the clearing before us.
My stomach clenched in anticipation as I readied the net in my left hand and held out my right toward the basilisk, my gaze trained at the ground by Eustace’s feet.
I sent forth the fog illusion again, and I hoped it would be enough to force Eustace to pause so I could throw the net.
I didn’t look, but I heard a series of pained cries and thuds as the others brought down the remaining goblins. Eustace fluttered his wings nervously as my fog illusion enveloped him.
My hand was sweaty around the rope as I cast the net out at the basilisk, and the net whistled as it sailed through the air. Then there was a crash of the weights in the undergrowth followed by Eustace’s startled squawk as he was caught.
The basilisk flapped his wings in a panic as I let the illusion drop and darted forward to close the net more securely around him. I could hear Lavinia, Aerin, and Maruk come up behind me.
“Goblins are dead,” the ladona ranger reported while I pulled the net closed around Eustace.
Now the light of the basilisk's mana danced wildly as he thrashed and struggled to escape the net, but to no avail. Wary of his sharp beak and the one and a half-inch long spurs on the creature's ankles, I reached carefully toward the light to pin him down, and I was relieved when I felt the feathers of his wings beneath my hands.
His owner had demonstrated how to grab a basilisk properly to us when we'd met with the farmer earlier, but after a few attempts, we'd all learned that it was easier said than done. Still, I'd been the best basilisk wrangler out of the four of us, and I could use my magic to interrupt Eustace's mana temporarily so that he couldn't petrify us while we secured a hood over his eyes and caged him, so getting him out from under the net was also up to me.
The basilisk squawked indignantly as I held him to the ground with one hand and reached under the net to grab his long serpentine tail with the other. I channeled magic through my hand on his back to quell his mana and prevent him from turning anyone to stone, and then I pushed up my blindfold. It might have been safer to leave it on while I got him out, but the petrifying effects would be minimal for a human, and this was difficult enough of an undertaking even when I could see what I was doing.
The ridge of spikes along the top of his tail bit into the flesh of my palm, but I held it tight as I pulled the basilisk out from beneath the net.
He must have sensed the opportunity for escape because he began to flap and squawk with renewed urgency as I moved my other hand from his back to pin his right wing to his side and get ahold of his leg.
"You got him, Gabriel?" Aerin asked nervously.
"Almost," I grunted as I caught the basilisk's legs between the fingers of one hand the way the farmer had shown us and held his wings down with the other to keep him from flapping them in my face. Eustace struggled to kick free, but I held him snugly against my chest, and then I channeled my power to suppress his mana again. He had a distinct smell, reminiscent of livestock and slightly sour. I remembered something the farmer had mentioned about the creatures' natural oils and hoped the odor wouldn't stick.
"Alright," I said finally. "I got him, you can take your blindfolds off."
"I'll just wait until Aerin's done with her part," Maruk replied.
"Have some faith in Gabriel," Aerin chided as she removed her blindfold and pulled out the hood Eustace's owner had given us to cover the basilisk's eyes.
"I don't know, I think Maruk's got a point," Lavinia said. She took her blindfold off as well and bent to retrieve the net. "He wouldn't make a very pretty statue."
The orc scoffed. "Now you're just being mean."
"There, the hood's on," Aerin said with a chuckle. "You're safe, Maruk."
"You saw what happened to the quality of the wool of the sheep that were turned," Maruk said as he pushed his blindfold up tentatively. "I don't want that thing to ruin my clothes."
"You're not even wearing wool," Lavinia pointed out. "Do you have the cage?"
"Here," Maruk said as he handed over the small wooden cage the farmer had given us. "This leather was hand-treated by a tanner in Morelia, and I would never be able to replace it. You know how difficult it is to find nice things in my size? Humans and elves only ever think of themselves."
"Yeah, that didn't escape my notice, Maruk," Lavinia replied drily. "Let me know when you find a hood that fits over horns."
Aerin helped me wrestle Eustace into the cage and secure the latch.
"Well, crisis averted," the elf announced. "Let's get this little guy back home and collect our reward. I think we can bargain for a bit extra since we had to come all the way out here. Didn't that old farmer say we wouldn't have to go across the stream to find him?"
"I think he said he'd be surprised if we did," I answered. "That's not really the same thing. Besides, the stream is less than a mile away. He wasn't that far off."
Aerin straightened up proudly. "You all would be swindled left and right if I weren't around. I'm going to ask, anyway."
I laughed. "You do that, Aerin."
At my feet, Merlin stood up on his hind legs and sniffed at the basilisk in the cage. Evidently, the puca made Eustace uncomfortable, and he squawked and began to raise the leathery frills around his neck in warning.
Merlin was undeterred, and he answered with a perfect imitation of the basilisk's cry before he leapt down with a t
wist and transformed into a basilisk himself. We had yet to see the limits of the puca's shapeshifting abilities, but this was new to me. Even in this form, Merlin retained his green eyes and goatlike pupils, and his feathers and scales were the same ashy black as his fur in his ordinary form, but otherwise, he looked every bit a basilisk. He raised the frills around his neck and crowed at Eustace, and the true basilisk squawked again and cowered down in the cage.
"Bully," Lavinia snorted.
Merlin crowed again and flapped his wings.
I nudged him with my toe. "Knock it off, you." As intelligent as Merlin was, he had a mischievous streak. "Aerin's not going to get her bonus if you torment him."
The puca hopped around and flapped his wings a bit more before he relented and shifted back into his true form, but the basilisk didn't seem much appeased as we started off back through the forest.
It took about an hour to reach the farmer's property that consisted of a few acres on which stood a small wooden hut and a large coop side by side. The whole place was surrounded by a fence, and the posts were carved with runes that apparently kept away foxes and other such potential predators, but not pucas. The farmer, a gray-haired old man with deeply tanned skin and a floppy hat, was outside with the rest of his flock when we approached, and he waved us through the gate enthusiastically when he caught sight of us.
"Ah, is that my Eustace?" the man said as he reached into the cage and withdrew the basilisk with ease. Eustace made a low sound in his throat as the farmer tucked him beneath one arm, perfectly content now that he was home.
Merlin, now in the shape of a wiry-furred cat that he always used when we were around other people, stalked along the edge of the fence and peered in at the other basilisks. Like Eustace, they all wore hoods to cover their eyes, but they must have been able to sense Merlin another way because immediately the entire flock became flustered and ran toward the coop with ruffled feathers and nervous clucks.
The farmer scratched his chin. "Huh, they're not usually bothered by cats," he said with a shrug as he set Eustace on the ground, and the basilisk skipped off to join the rest of the flock in the coop. "Anyway, here's what I owe you. Thanks for bringing my boy back to me." He retrieved a handful of coins from his pocket and tipped them into Aerin's palm.
"You know, we did have to go all the way into the forest, past that stream that you told us about," the elf said in a leading tone. "That basilisk of yours is pretty good at hiding."
"Oh, did you now?” The farmer raised his bushy eyebrows. “I'm sorry for the trouble. Here, take this, too.”
Aerin winked slyly at me as the man reached into his pocket again, but her smile fell as the farmer placed what appeared to be an old brass whistle in her hand.
"Uh... thanks," the pennywise elf said, "but I was thinking something more along the lines of, well, money."
The farmer cocked his head. "Oh, no, no," he said quickly. "This is much better. It belonged to my grandfather. He fought in the civil war, you know. It's an antique."
"It certainly is," Maruk said quietly on my right, and Lavinia snickered as she elbowed him in the ribs.
"Thank you," I said as I stepped forward and put a hand on Aerin's shoulder. "We appreciate it."
"Of course!" he said cheerfully. "Thanks again for bringing my Eustace home. You all take care, now."
I whistled for Merlin as we waved goodbye to the farmer and set off down the road again toward the high white walls of Ovrista in the distance.
"What are we supposed to do with this?" Aerin grumbled as she turned the whistle in her hands. "I didn't want his old junk."
"You said you wanted something extra," I reminded her with a sidelong look. "I'm sure you can find someone to buy it."
"It is an antique," Maruk added teasingly.
Aerin pursed her lips as she pocketed the whistle. "Whatever. Let's just make sure the next bounty we collect has a decent reward. Gold or silver at least."
"Sure thing, Aerin," I said with a laugh. "Only the best from now on."
We reached Ovrista by late afternoon, and the weary guards outside the gates waved us through without so much as a glance. The city was sweltering even beneath the shade of the buildings that crowded alongside the narrow streets, and as we walked back toward our guild hall, all I could think about was collapsing into bed for a nap.
Our former base of operations had been a tiny apartment above a tavern called the Magpie, which was owned and operated by our friend Nesta. It was located in the poorest districts, those closest to the city walls, but after scoring a few high tier bounties, we'd been able to move out and get our own place. Our new guild hall was close to Ovrista's market district and in the part of the city where most of the guild halls were set up, though perhaps it was inaccurate to say that it was 'new.'
The building itself needed work. It had stood empty for several years before we'd purchased the space, and the neglect showed. We'd spent most of our first week after we'd moved in cleaning the place, dusting away the cobwebs, fixing the broken sections of the banisters, and so on. When we'd finished, we were left with a clean but overall uninspiring hall, though we all had our own plans to change that.
Maruk and Aerin could go on for hours about it. Maruk wanted lavish decor to rival the mansions of Ovrista's elite, from marble floors to brocade drapes and everything in between, while Aerin insisted on getting everything we could secondhand in the interest of saving money. When she could get a word in, Lavinia would try to remind them that the purpose of the hall was for the guild to have a place to train and so our money would be best spent on constructing an archery range, and the discussions usually went in circles from there until I intervened.
At the moment, we had neither brocade drapes nor even combat dummies, but I'd made sure we each had decent beds, despite Lavinia and Aerin both arguing that we could simply sleep on the floor, and I'd commissioned a sign that bore the name and emblem of our guild, the Shadow Foxes, to hang outside. I’d earmarked one of the rooms on the lower story to be made into a kitchen when we had the funds, and another, a recreation room. Of the six rooms on the upper story, we’d each taken one for a bedroom. The rest was pending, but it was undoubtedly a step up from our two-room apartment above the Magpie, and it was a space to call our own.
As we approached the two-story building with its somber, bare facade and the graying wood tiles on the roof, I noticed that an elf woman sat outside on the steps, and she seemed to be studying a collection of small bones at her feet. She scooped them up when she saw us and tucked them away under her colorful shawl, and I realized she was the alchemist that Aerin and I had met in the black market a few weeks before, Magdalena.
She had changed her hair, and it was now a deep honey blonde, just slightly darker than the warm tan of her skin, but she wore the same flowing, multicolored garments and beaded jewelry that she had the last time I'd seen her. She’d tied a turquoise scarf around her narrow waist that appeared to have constellations painted on it, and the purple skirt that fluttered over her full hips was embroidered with silver thread. Though her fashion sense was a bit eccentric she was undoubtedly beautiful. She was a bit taller than Aerin, but not quite as tall as Lavinia, and she had an hourglass figure and a fresh rosy complexion.
She smiled broadly as she skipped over to meet us, and the tiny bells on the hem of her skirt jingled.
"Gabriel, Aerin!" she said cheerfully as she hugged each of us in turn, as though we were old friends. Then she stepped back and looked over at Lavinia and Maruk, and her violet eyes sparkled. "And you two must be Lavinia and Maruk. And Merlin!" She knelt and scratched Merlin beneath the chin. "I've been so looking forward to meeting all of you!"
"And who are you?" Lavinia asked warily, one eyebrow arched.
"Oh!" Magdalena blushed slightly. "How rude of me, of course, you haven't all met me yet. I'm Magdalena. I was the one who bought the maps to the Shadow Delves for you. I practice alchemy and divination."
"You told her about all of us?
" Lavinia asked.
Neither Aerin nor I had mentioned the others to Magdalena, there'd been no reason to do so, and honestly, I hadn't really expected we would see her again. I wasn't sure if it would be rude to say that, but thankfully, Aerin answered for the both of us.
"No," she said.
"Oh, no," Magdalena said brightly. "The bones told me about you, and they said you'd all be here."
"The bones?" Maruk echoed, his tone doubtful.
Magdalena didn't seem to notice, and she nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, of course. As I said, I practice divination."
"Or you read the guild registry at the charter office and then waited here all morning for us to get back," Aerin retorted.
I cleared my throat. "Uh, it's good to see you again, Magdalena," I said quickly. "Is there something we can help you with?"
The golden-haired elf turned her wide violet eyes to me and grinned. "There's a medallion your guild is searching for," she said confidently. "It's in the Canterrose Mountains, some flowers grow there that I need for my alchemy."
I frowned. Medallion? We’d won the rights to a private bounty to retrieve an enchanted medallion from the Stewards when we’d collected the Shadow Delves bounty. That could be what Magdalena was talking about, but since she wasn’t even part of a guild, I wondered how she could have known about it. Before I could ask her, though, Aerin spoke up.
"So, you want us to get these flowers for you?" the redheaded elf asked.
"Oh, no, actually, I was hoping I could accompany you when you went to retrieve the medallion. About that, you really should leave soon, before it's too late."
"What about your shop?" Aerin asked, her arms crossed over her chest.
"It'll still be here when I get back," Magdalena answered with a giggle. Aerin didn't look impressed, but Magdalena seemed not to notice. "Besides, standing at a booth all day is rather boring. I'd like a little adventure. So, can I go with you?"
"Um, sorry, but what was that you said about it being too late?" I asked.
Aerin sighed. "Gabriel, it's nothing. Divination isn't real magic, she's just making it up."