by Pirateaba
“Dead gods. Shivertail lost a fight?”
Erin realized her inn had gone quiet. She looked over and saw some of the guardsmen were on their feet. They looked pale. Olesm turned and nodded.
“His army was already reduced, but until armies are sent to destroy the Goblin Lord, the city will be on alert. Captain Zevara will tell you more.”
The guardsmen exchanged glances and some of the other patrons in Erin’s inn rose and began putting money on the table. She hesitated, but Toren was there to sweep away plates and coins. Olesm looked at Ceria.
“The Council would never accept my request to leave. Even without me, Liscor’s walls would never fall in the time it took for reinforcements to arrive, but I’m the strongest [Tactician] around so…”
He spread his hands helplessly.
“I’m here to stay.”
Erin’s heart ached. Ceria hesitated, and reached out for Olesm. He moved past her and put something on the table.
“I found this earlier today. You should use it.”
Confused, Erin watched as Olesm cleared the table and then spread the parchment out. It turned out to be a map, a faded parchment detailing some vast complex. It had branching pathways, what looked like secret rooms—
“What is it? I mean, it’s a map, right?”
“A map. Yes.”
Ceria and Yvlon studied the map as Pisces stared hard at the symbols covering the parchment. They were faded, and Erin couldn’t read them. It looked like the odd script the Drakes used. She’d seen proper English writing, but this was different. But Psices could clearly read the language. His lips moved, and then he looked up and turned white.
“Albez. You have a map?”
Ceria’s reaction was immediate. Her head raised and turned so fast Erin thought she’d get whiplash. She looked at Yvlon, and the two immediately raced to the windows. Erin stared at they began shutting them.
“Erin, can we lock this door?”
“What? S—”
Ceria barred the inn’s door and then helped Yvlon cover the last of the windows. The inn was suddenly very dark, but Pisces cast [Light] as the two adventurers went back to the map. Ceria’s face was pale, but her hands were shaking with excitement. Yvlon looked the same.
“Dead gods. Look at it! This is a map of Albez!”
“Are you sure?”
Yvlon looked at Ceria. The half-Elf paused.
“There should be landmarks. You’ve been there too, Yvlon. Can you see…?”
“There.”
The armored finger pointed down at a round building on the map. Erin craned over to see.
“That’s exactly like the ruined building that Carn Wolves use as a base sometimes, isn’t it? The one with the broken dome”
“You’re right!”
Ceria stared at the map hungrily. Her finger traced the page.
“Look, if you see here—that’s got to be a secret room. It leads directly to what looks like a storeroom. If we could go there and verify—Olesm, do you know how valuable this is?”
The Drake nodded slowly. He smiled at Ceria, sadly, Erin thought.
“I had some idea. Look. It’s a gift. You need this, don’t you?”
“Olesm, this could be our big break.”
Erin still didn’t know what was happening. She looked from Olesm to Ceria to Yvlon and back again. Ksmvr was doing the same thing.
“What does it mean? This is good, right?”
Yvlon nodded slowly. She spoke as she studied the map.
“The Ruins of Albez are up north. They’re famous for well, being full of treasure. But most of it was cleaned out decades ago; adventuring teams can find something extremely valuable now and then, but it’s usually a fruitless effort.”
Pisces’ eyes were alight with avarice as he studied the ancient parchment.
“But if we had a map of the entire place and we knew where to search, we might find treasures never found before! It’s just a matter of hiding the fact we know as we request permission to explore and dealing with the monsters and traps there. But the potential—”
“No one has ever had a map of the ruins before, Erin. No one.”
Ceria stared at the parchment, and her hands gripped together tightly.
“This is big. Possibly bigger than the ruins here. Because most of the traps, all of the big monsters and guardians of this dungeon are already gone. Albez was unearthed during an earthquake. So if there is treasure, it might be unguarded. And the best stuff might be waiting for us.”
She looked up at Erin, and the girl felt a shiver of excitement as she saw the look in Ceria’s eyes. There was something blazing in the depths of the half-Elf’s eyes. A look reflected across the other three adventurers, even Ksmvr.
“This could change everything.”
—-
They left after four hours. Erin had been present for all of it, letting Lyon retreat to her room and Toren clean up and wander off as she listened to the adventurers argue and talk. Olesm had left early too, and Erin wished she’d had something to say to him. He’d been gloomy, and unfortunately, Ceria had been so excited she hadn’t said more than goodbye as he’d gone.
But the adventurers were consumed with a passion that Erin had only seen once before, the last day she’d seen the Horns of Hammerad together. No; this was even greater than that, in a way. Because the treasure was out there. They knew it, and they wanted to find it first.
They borrowed money from Erin. A lot of her gold, which they promised to repay when they got back. If it meant they would come back, Erin would have given them all of it.
She offered food and supplies and even Toren, but they only took the first bit. They were heading into the city to buy as much as they could, leaving Erin in her inn.
It made her feel lonely, just a bit. Her life wasn’t like that, full of passion and danger and possibilities. Part of Erin had wanted to say ‘take me too’, but she wasn’t a killer. Or an adventurer.
But a tiny part of her wanted to be. A small bit of Erin wanted to join them, and so she was sitting at a table, head propped up on her hands, thinking.
“Maybe I can be an adventurer. I’ve got Skills.”
She had some skills. And she had two levels in the [Warrior] class. Okay, that wasn’t great, but maybe she could train?
It was a beguiling thought. Erin had never considered herself a fighter, which is why she hadn’t leveled, according to Selys. But maybe if she wanted to…
Was there an [Adventurer] class? Probably not if Ceria and Yvlon didn’t have one, but could you make a class? Erin had never thought of that before. Perhaps—
Someone knocked on her door. Erin jumped, and then realized Ceria and Yvlon hadn’t even unshuttered the windows. They’d been terribly afraid someone would find out they had the map, especially one of the Gold-rank teams.
“Coming!”
Erin went over to the door and opened it. She expected another guest, perhaps coming for dinner. But instead, she blinked and her jaw dropped when she saw the butler.
He had to be a butler. Either that, or he was the coolest-looking manservant in the world. His hair was dark and combed, his coat and leggings were dark black with a white shirt perfectly tucked beneath, and he looked at Erin with an expression of courteous expectation. Silver lined the edges of his coat, and the buttons looked like they were made of gold.
Erin stared. She felt like she’d walked out of this world, and back into England or somewhere like that. The butler stood in the trampled snow outside, as more flakes began to fall around his head.
“Miss Erin Solstice? I am a [Butler] in Lady Magnolia Reinhart’s employ.”
Even his voice sounded formal and amazingly cool. Erin had no other words for it. Just…cool.
“What? Um, what? How do you know my name?”
“I am not at liberty to say, miss. Would you care to accompany me? I have an invitation for you to join Lady Magnolia Reinhart at her estate in Invrisil.”
He st
epped back, another smooth motion, and raised his hand to indicate the carriage. Erin hadn’t even seen the carriage before that. It was a dark green edged with gold, and the wheels were painted black. And it had horses that looked like ghosts.
“Wh—”
Two spectral horses stood in the snow, pawing at the ground and snorting as if they were real. But they were both a bright, golden color and shimmered with magical energy. The [Butler] inclined his head slightly.
“Lady Reinhart hopes you will accept her invitation to join her. No harm will come to you.”
“W—b—why? What does she want with me?”
Ryoka had mentioned a Lady Magnolia, hadn’t she? Had she gotten her confused with Erin? But the [Butler] didn’t seem perturbed.
“To take you to the others, of course. Lady Magnolia wishes to reunite you with your people.”
“My people? I have people? Who are my people?”
The [Butler] raised one eyebrow.
“The other people from your world. Lady Magnolia has found eight others, not including Miss Ryoka Griffon and yourself. They are gathered with her, under her protection. Would you like to meet them?”
Erin stared. And then she looked at the carriage and the magical horses. And the [Butler]. And at the carriage and horses again.
Suddenly, she wasn’t sure if Ceria and the others were the ones she should be envious of.
2.28
I walk because it still hurts to run. I move because it’s just a bit better than staying still.
But yeah. I’m in pain.
Overhead, the sky is clear for a brief window of time, exposing clear skies. But clouds are coming in fast, and there will be a blizzard before nightfall. I’m no meteorologist, but I’ve got a bunch of flying faeries that tell me this is so. And I believe them.
I’m not crazy, I swear.
Some days I think I am, actually. In the past, I was sure I was sane despite what other people thought*. Now though, I’m beginning to wonder if this is all because I’ve snapped and I’m in the straightjacket at last.
*Lots of diagnoses from people with long degrees. What all the talk of social disorders really meant was that I was an uncooperative brat who hated authority figures. I locked a therapist in his office one time and walked out with the key. Good memories.
But as I take another step in the snow, I decide that fantasy doesn’t hurt nearly as much as this reality. My entire body is—
Frankly, it feels like I’ve been hit with a car and then beaten with sticks for a few hours. I feel like curling into a ball and crying every time I move, but that would hurt even more.
The potion Teriarch gave me has worn off by now, obviously. I sort of slowed down about twenty minutes after I drank it.
I say twenty minutes, but what I really mean is this endless blur of motion – all sped up in my head, but at the time it was all moving at normal speed for me. I ran out of that battlefield, and back towards Liscor. I think I covered over fifty miles in those twenty minutes—I could be way off, but I was literally running faster than a car so who knows.
Anyways, after the potion wore off I just fell down. The faeries laughed their little asses off when I started feeling the pain from my legs, but I somehow managed to drag myself into a cave they found for me.
That’s another thing. The faeries were with me while I was running, the entire time. They were actually faster than I was—no, I don’t even think they were having a hard time keeping up. How fast are they really?
Back to the important bit. You know how you can tear muscles if you run really hard? Imagine what running that fast does to your body.
I had several healing potions in my pack before I made it to the Necromancer. They were good quality potions too. They’re gone now, and my body still hurts.
For two days I think I sat in a cave, trying to heal my torn muscles and just—just remembering. After I stopped, for a while I couldn’t even process the world around me. My mind was still too busy catching up from where I’d left it.
Fast forwards to now. I finally left the damn cave and started moving again because I was feeling better, and because the faeries were getting bored and dumping snow into the cave. If I’d left it another day, I probably would have been trapped inside.
So yeah. That’s what my life has been recently. I stumble through the snow, heading back the way I’ve come. It’s a long way to Liscor, but I’ve got plenty to think about.
Like Az’kerash. The Necromancer. The battle, Wall Lord Il—whoever he was, and…
Periss.
“Damn it.”
It all happened so fast. I was a runner, and then a prisoner, and then a noncombatant in a warzone, and then…
I led them to their deaths. That was my fault. True, they were chasing me and probably going to hit me a lot and take me prisoner, but—
My fault. There’s no way to escape that. Periss might have been a loyal hound for her master, but she was also brave. And she let me go to fight what she saw as the greatest threat to her people.
The Necromancer. Az’kerash. Perril Chandler. I remember what I saw him creating, and my stomach heaves.
“Oh right. The letter.”
I pause.
“Fuck that dragon.”
I hate him so damn much. One of the faeries hears me muttering and floats down to laugh at me.
“What’s wrong? Is it not what ye expected?”
I glare at the faerie. How is it that I’ve probably talked to these floating freaks more than anyone else in this world or—most of my life?
“When I get told to deliver—no, when a Dragon casts a spell on me to do a delivery and pays me nearly a thousand gold pieces to send sometimg to a legendary Necromancer, I expect it to be important.”
“Hah!”
The faerie laughs in my face. She flips upwards and settles on my head. For some reason they really like sitting there. I’m not sure if she’s one I’ve talked to before; I think she is, but I’m not being racist when I say they really all do look alike. It’s hard to make out frozen features on minutiae, alright?
“If it ‘twas important, the Dragon would have used magic, fool! But he had no wish to break through the dead raiser’s wards and he wished to be polite. More fool you for thinking what ye carried was valuable.”
I grit my teeth, but she has a point. If Teriarch can alter memory and disguise himself as a Human – and if he can teleport me all the way back to Celum in a few seconds – he really doesn’t need even the best Couriers.
Polite damn Dragons. Who would have guessed?
“Fine. Whatever. Get off my head. You’re giving me a headache.”
“Ooh, and what will you do if I don’t?”
I raise my finger and point it at the faerie.
“[Flashlight].”
For a second the world around me lights up, and the faerie shouts in surprise. I grin as she takes off; swearing in what sounds like…Welsh? Their accents seem to vary between faeries, which is odd, but not so much if you assume they occupied different parts of Europe. I could swear I heard one of the faeries talking with a German accent, but they might have just been messing with my head.
But of course, any action against faeries prompts a greater or equal reaction. She dumps snow on my head. I swear and flash her again.
With my finger. It shines into the sky, so bright I can see the beam even in the light of the day. It turns out that I can adjust the intensity of the light very well, and so I blind the faerie again.
“Ye daft bugger!”
She flies around erratically, as I shine my light at her, and then she stops, flies back on my head, and grins at me.
“Ah, well. ‘Twas quite a good surprise!”
That’s faeries for you. Insult them a bit and they’ll hound you, but do something like that and they just regard it as a bit of fun. I’m starting to understand them more, but they always surprise me a bit. The faerie on my head doesn’t even seem to mind the light anymore. I frown at her as I
walk on, trying to substitute the pain in my head by thinking about faeries.
“Did you just turn off your eyes or something?”
“What? Are ye stupid? Nae. I just saw past the light, ‘tis all.”
“…I see.”
Multiple layers of vision? Obviously a faerie might have access to all kinds of spectrums of light. But even that might be too simple; she could very well just ignore the light on my wavelength if she wanted to. Huh.
A tiny head lowers into my line of sight as the faerie grins at me.
“If you really wanted to surprise us, ye’d do better to make the loud sound and noise along with the light!”
“What? Oh—you mean the [Flashbang] spell.”
That was a good one. I had no idea I could do it, but while I was in the cave I started experimenting with the two spells I did know. [Noise] and [Light]. My reasoning was that if I could alter the [Light] spell with some work, why not the [Noise] spell? Hell, why not combine the two?
A day and a half later, and two aching eardrums prove I’m right. The burst of noise and sound isn’t exactly like being hit by a real life stun grenade—and there’s a whole lot less death and injury since this is just light and sound, not actual explosive force like the damn things people use, ‘non-lethal’ my ass—but it works.
Sound and light. Light and sound, just amplified. It’s the easiest thing to remember, especially if you’ve actually seen a flash bang go off*.
*Yeah. Police drug raids, wild party, and I wasn’t actually doing drugs. But try explaining that to a bunch of officers tearing up the place. The one time my father’s connections actually bailed me out of trouble I didn’t start.
It’s a great spell, and I can see how useful it would have been with all those soldiers. Hell, it might have slowed Periss enough—well, the [Flashlight] spell works well enough just to blind people. The [Flashbang] spell is a bit more intensive, and it hits me as well which is a major problem. Since I can’t move the [Noise] spell, it’s always set to friendly fire which sucks. And there’s one more problem.