by Pirateaba
“If I may have your attention?”
Ressa looked at him and her gaze could have frozen ice. Ksmvr paid no attention; his other two hands were holding a dagger and a bottle respectively.
“I advise you to surrender and retreat before my Captain orders me to attack. I am fairly confident it will result in your death or maiming.”
Ceria felt like she had inhaled her tongue. Everyone else in the inn goggled at Ksmvr. Ressa said only one word as her eyes narrowed.
“What?”
The Antinium nodded at Ressa.
“You have the stance of a trained warrior, but you lack armor and visible arms. Unless you hold a magical item of considerable potency or possess unarmed combat Skills, I believe I will be able to kill you if my allies and I attack in tandem.”
The Antinium finished with this confident declaration and waited for the maid’s response. After a moment she realized people were staring at him.
“…What? Are we not intending to kill her if she insists on taking Ryoka?”
Ceria’s head was starting to hurt. She pointed at the Antinium.
“Ksmvr—stand down. No one is going to hurt her, and certainly not kill her.”
“Ah. My mistake.”
Ksmvr nodded apologetically and stepped back. Ressa turned back to Ryoka. Ceria tried to quiet her beating heart. Try again?
“Can we talk about this? If Ryoka doesn’t want to leave—”
“Fine. I’ll go.”
Ceria turned in astonishment. Ryoka sighed and stepped forwards. Ressa regarded her with what looked like surprise as well.
“Ryoka?”
The Runner shrugged at Ceria, looking resigned.
“I’ve got no choice. I knew this was coming. Ceria, I’ve got to go.”
“But—”
The look in Ryoka’s eyes told her not to ask any more questions. Ceria glanced around and remembered her audience. She held Ryoka’s gaze.
“You’re sure?”
“Pretty much.”
Ryoka turned and glared at Ressa.
“Where is Magnolia now?”
“Invrisil. You will be taken to her estate which lies next to the city.”
The name of the city made Ryoka and Ceria blink. She saw Ryoka turn and look back at her, and then her friend turned back to Ressa.
“Okay. I’ll go. But on one condition. Give me fifteen minutes to prepare before we leave.”
The maid seemed to think this over. She looked sharply at Ryoka.
“Running will do you no good.”
“I know.”
The two locked gazes for one more second. Then Ressa’s head dipped almost imperceptibly.
“I will wait for you in the carriage. Do not force me to retrieve you.”
Without another word, she turned and walked out of the inn. Ceria stared at her back in shock, and then saw the door to the carriage open. Ryoka sighed softly, and looked at her.
“You’ll have to tell Erin.”
Then the chaos began and Ceria could only try and keep up.
—-
Holy crap, this is it. Either I’m dead or I’m going to be interrogated and tortured horribly before I die. Or maybe I survive, but I’m not placing my bets on a happy ending.
The instant Ressa walks out the door it’s all go. I turn and drag Ceria upstairs; too slowly, because people are already crowding around me and the other Horns of Hammerad, asking questions and shouting, speculating.
“Out of the way!”
I shout at them as I push for the stairs. Ceria seems to get what I’m trying to do and helps me push.
“Move aside! We have to hurry!”
They don’t want to let us go. People are pulling at me, asking me how I know Magnolia Reinhart, what my business is with her. I want to punch them but I don’t have time for a brawl—
“[Frozen Wind].”
Someone whispers the spell. I hear shrieks, and then feel the cold air blow past me, freezing me in an instant. Pisces lowers his hands as the crowd suddenly backs up. The spell he cast wasn’t deadly, but damn, it looks painful. He pushes both of us up the stairs and Yvlon and Ksmvr are behind us in a flash.
“In here.”
I push into Ceria’s room and take a breath. She looks at me, wide-eyed and bursting with questions, but I know I can’t answer any of them right now. I don’t even know if I should. I can’t drag her into this. God, what is Magnolia going to ask me?
“Ryoka, what—”
“Fifteen minutes. Probably more like ten.”
I cut her off as I snap. I pace around the room, already trying to figure out the fastest way through the streets.
“Figure out how much gold you need to give me, and get all those damaged artifacts and whatever else you want me to get analyzed. I’ll take it—I’ve got a bag of holding of my own.”
“You do?”
I touch the bag Teriarch gave me at my side.
“It should fit everything. Can you put a bag of holding in a bag of holding?”
“Do not attempt that.”
Pisces stares at me intently as he stands against one wall. Ksmvr and Yvlon are just staring as Ceria sits on her bed. I nod at him.
“I’ll keep the backpack and the other pouch separate, then. Have it all ready before I get back; I need to go and that stupid maid isn’t going to wait.”
“We can do that.”
Yvlon speaks, looking at the others for confirmation. I meet her eyes; should I say anything? We didn’t even say hello, and suddenly we’re doing this. I still remember punching her—
“Ryoka, are you sure about this? You don’t have to go if you’re not sure.”
I tear my eyes away and look at Ceria.
“I think I have to. If I don’t, there will be trouble.”
Now that I know how big a fish Magnolia Reinhart is, I have no desire to push her. Pisces nods.
“It would be best if Miss Ryoka went with the servants without a fuss. We are only fortunate that the fools down below were not completely insensible to reason, or else we all might be in a serious predicament.”
We all stare at him. Pisces still reeks of booze, but he doesn’t look nearly as unsteady as he was a few seconds ago. Ceria gapes at him.
“Wait. You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
He sneers. Of course. I nod at him, and turn to the door.
“Get everything you need to give me. I’ll be back—”
“Where are you going?”
Ceria looks worried. I turn.
“Runner’s Guild.”
“What?”
No time to answer. I rush down the stairs, nearly trampling the innkeeper who’s trying to listen at the door, and push out of the crowd. I get one glimpse at the coach—surrounded by a crowd of people who don’t quite dare to get any closer—and then I’m running full-tilt down the icy street. Damn. My feet are cold. At least I have one of Erin’s jars of Corusdeer soup. I should have gotten more.
As I run I fumble at my belt. I call out, ignoring the looks I’m getting as I run down the street towards the Guild.
“Ivolethe. You’re going to have to get out.”
The faerie flies from my pouch and up to my head.
“You go to meet this woman? The others seem truly fearful of her name; it betokens much of her, does it not?”
“It does. And you—you’ve got to stay away from her. You can’t go in her house. Magnolia’s extremely dangerous.”
Is she? I’ve never figured out how dangerous she is, but I know that she’s smart and she employs [Assassins] and she’s rich. I’m going with maximum paranoia to be on the safe side, and at the top of my list is not getting Ivolethe in the same position as she was with Persua.
“I will follow ye.”
Ivolethe agrees readily, which makes me feel relieved. But then she flies closer to my face.
“Know this, Ryoka. I am your friend, but in matters of life and death, I must not interfere. We have broken the rule twice;
but we had cause and sacrifice, you understand? It must not, will not happen thrice. Remember that.”
“I understand.”
I’m on my own. Ivolethe nods, and flies up. She lets me run on until I get to the Runner’s Guild. How much time has passed? Only three minutes? Five?
I slam the doors open and rush up to the front desk. I thrust aside a female Runner, ignoring her shout of anger and point at the [Receptionist]. He blinks at me.
“Get me…every delivery you have for Invrisil.”
“What?”
Everyone says that word. Why? It just wastes time. I pant as I clarify my statement in as few words as possible.
“I’m about to go directly to Invrisil. Today. If you have a multi-part delivery…Courier deliveries…anything. I want it.”
Multi-part deliveries are like Courier deliveries, only the people sending the packages can’t pay the exorbitant amounts demanded by Couriers. So they hire City Runners to take the delivery as far as they can go, and then another Runner will complete the request. It’s a useful relay system, although it still costs a lot.
The man at the desk spreads his hands as I try to calculate how much the carriage can carry.
“I’m sorry Miss…Ryoka, is it? I can’t just—”
I grab him and drag him over the desk. He yelps, and I growl at him.
“I don’t have time for this. Give me the deliveries.”
Ten minutes later, I’m rushing back down the street. Turns out even a [Receptionist] can run fast when you’re literally kicking him around. I have a bundle of deliveries in my hand and more in my pack—some are damn heavy. Two more Runners are racing after me, carrying more things bound for Invrisil. I couldn’t take everything, but I got a huge amount.
Ressa stares at me as I fling open the carriage door and start shoving packages inside. Her intimidating glare* doesn’t stop me from piling the rich seat next to her with deliveries. I’m secretly enjoying every second of this, but I keep my face straight.
*Yeah, I’ll admit it, she scares me a bit. She’s like a perfect Victorian maid if you secretly suspected that they could kill you with their bare hands.
“Sorry, you’re going to have to budge over. I’ve got some really big stuff to take as well.”
“What are you doing?”
“Deliveries. I’m a Runner.”
I slam the door in Ressa’s face before she can respond and turn to the panting Runners behind me. They’re breathing hard from that little run? Disgraceful.
“Okay, load the rest of the deliveries into the coach.”
Is it a coach or carriage? Wait, they’re both the same thing, aren’t they? My mind’s running too fast to focus on anything. I point to the vehicle, ignoring the hesitation on the faces of the Runners.
“Go on.”
“Are you sure?”
The female Runner looks hesitant. Understandable I guess; this definitely doesn’t look like a bulk transport. I nod.
“Get it on there. Hurry up!”
The voice of command is a wonderful thing. They get to work, and I look around and see if I can spot Ceria and the others. I wonder if Ressa will snap when I bring all of their gear as well.
God. This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever done, and I’ve got a list. But it makes sense! I’m getting a free ride to Invrisil, or rather I don’t have any choice, so I might as well milk it for all I’ve got. I’ll get paid, I can help my friends out—
The Runners are hesitating as they open the door and find Ressa glaring at them. I think they’d be more comfortable with a snake in the carriage. I certainly would be.
“Well? Go on; toss it in. Ignore the [Maid].”
I’m playing a dangerous game here. I’ll probably end in me getting my ass handed to me, but I don’t care. If Ressa thinks she can push me around—
Well, she’s right, but I’m getting my revenge this way. I gesture at the Runners, and hear a cough behind me.
“Miss? There is a trunk, as well as space above.”
I turn and see the [Butler]. Honestly, I’d put him completely out of my mind. But now that I look at him and his dapper suit—I sort of want to deck him as well as Ressa. He reminds me too much of my folks’ home. True, they didn’t have servants, but…
Actually, we did, didn’t we? I mean, it wasn’t as if we had our own butlers and so on, but gardeners, pool people, personal masseuses and so on—that’s a lot of people at your beck and call.
Damn it, mom and dad.
Anyways, what was he saying? A trunk?
“Where?”
He points. My eyes find a subtly disguised trunk on the back of the big carriage.
Holy crap, there is! Do all carriages have trunks? Well…obviously. I haven’t ridden in any before now, in my defense. And can it fit all the deliveries? I open it and peer inside. Wow. It can!
But then, this is no ordinary carriage. If the ones from my world are like regular cars, this one’s pretty much a combination of a truck, limousine, and race car. It’s huge, plenty big enough to hold a full assortment of passengers and the deliveries I’m bringing, and it looks lavish. Plush upholstery, gilded exterior—magic horses. Did I mention that?
“Ryoka!”
I turn from supervising the Runners as they pull the deliveries out of the carriage and redeploy them in the trunk to see Ceria and the other Horns of Hammerad. I realize I haven’t even said hello to Yvlon, Pisces, or…the Antinium.
Who is he? I remember Klbkch and Pawn, but this is the other one, isn’t it? How many Antinium does Erin know? I see they’ve got a bunch of pretty beat-up looking weapons in their hands. Are those the magical artifacts? God, they look so beat up. They don’t even glow—well, one is glowing, but it’s very faint.
“Here.”
They shove the weapons at me and I fumble at my side. My bag of holding can hold everything they’ve got—one buckler, a sword, the blade of a sword, and a dagger. The pack and small bag that looks sort of like mine* into in the trunk. Ceria pours gold into the bag, several hundred gold coins! The crowd watching us is murmuring, and I just pray like hell they don’t try and rush us.
*Definitely a bag of holding. I mean, who wouldn’t use one? Forget wallets; I want this thing if I ever get back to my world. I can literally fit the kitchen sink in here.
“Do you have everything?”
“Think so. Did I miss any items?”
“No. And you’ve got the gold…? Good. And you know what to do?”
“I’ll get all of it looked at. Don’t worry.”
“And if you have to make a decision—”
“If I need to I’ll send a [Message] spell. I’ve got it.”
Ceria and Pisces try to tell me how to find the best mages to analyze the weapons. Yvlon tells me what price is worth paying for a mage and when I should walk away. Ksmvr tells me that I should attempt to use aggression and tact in my dealings, whatever that means. And then…then we just stand around awkwardly.
“Well. I guess I’ve got to go.”
Ceria smiles at me, worry clear in her eyes.
“I don’t believe this is happening, Ryoka. This is so—sudden.”
“Fortuitous, perhaps.”
Pisces remarks as he nods at the carriage. He eyes me.
“I would advise you to guard your tongue when you are meeting with Magnolia Reinhart, Miss Ryoka. It would be…unfortunate if something untoward were to occur on your journey.”
“It would be a zemblanity, you mean?”
“A…pardon me?”
I grin at Pisces’s face. He’s not the only person who can use words to befuddle people. I turn and nod at Yvlon. My eyes fix on her arms—I’d barely seen them before, but looking at them now, I’m both sickened and amazed at how her skin seems to meld with the metal. But I jerk my gaze away and meet Yvlon’s eyes instead. She nods at me, smiling with a trace of bitterness.
“Good luck, Ryoka.”
“Thanks.”
It feels like there’s a t
housand things we should say, but that’s all I have time for. I nod to Ksmvr—not much to say to him, really, and then I look at Ceria.
“I’ll be back soon.”
That’s all. I know, it’s like the worst thing I could say if I were in an action movie or a horror film. But really, I feel the same sort of foreboding come over me as I open the door of the carriage and step inside. Ressa doesn’t even look at me as I scoot into the spacious interior and wave at the Horns of Hammerad.
Famous last words. But I said them—and I did all this, offer to analyze the weapons, even grab all those deliveries—because I am afraid. I’m doing this because I want to believe there’s a time after meeting Magnolia. There probably is. I shouldn’t worry, but part of me does.
I ran from her at first. It was so long ago, I’d nearly forgotten. But she knows. She was the first person to figure out I where I came from, and I still remember how she could command me so easily. And now I’m on a trip to meet with her. I can only pray it’s one-way.
“Well?”
I try to make the word challenging as the door closes and I look at Ressa. She glances up at me, and turns her head.
“Reynold? Take us away.”
I hear the [Butler] moving outside the carriage—he’s in a pretty decent seat outside, even if it is exposed to the wind. He doesn’t crack the whip since there are no horses; rather, the coach begins to accelerate with only the faintest shift in equilibrium.
I stare out the window and see the world moving with surprising speed as the butler drives us down the street. I look outside and then see something odd.
People. Waving at us. Their mouths are open, and I open the door slightly to confirm what’s happening. Noise immediately enters the carriage. Not just noise; cheering.
Yes, that’s right. There’s people lining the streets, the crowd at the inn and countless people who came out to see what the fuss was about. Now they’re giving us a sendoff as if we were a bunch of celebrities—which we sort of are, I guess.
It’s still unbelievable to see. A sea of faces passes me by as the coach picks up speed. The citizens of Remendia are waving and laughing and even throwing…is that colored flour? Why? They’re waving and cheering—do they even know why Ressa is here or that it’s me? Or are they just that thrilled by the nobility?