by Pirateaba
A pause. Durene sounds downcast.
“No…those sound like great Skills. Mine isn’t that good.”
“Durene…I made those up. Whatever Skill you have is wonderful. But you did ask.”
I sigh, but smile at her. Durene perks back up.
“You did? Okay, then. Well I got…are you sure you don’t want to guess again? No? Okay, I got…[Quick Strike]!”
“Oh! That’s great!”
I try to sound as happy as she is. Honestly, I have no idea if that’s a good Skill. It sounds…cheap? But Durene seems happy about it.
“Let me show you how it works. I was going to try it with Beniar.”
“Yes, Durene told me all about it. [Quick Strike]’s a basic move. It’s more common to get [Power Strike] and move from there, but Durene’s strong enough. I’ve a shield—why don’t you try and touch me? She hasn’t so far Emperor Laken. Today might be her lucky day, though.”
Beniar’s a bit too cocky and full of pent-up energy at the moment. I’ve seen him training with Durene and the others and he doesn’t let anyone touch him with a sword no matter how hard they try. I suppose he’s got the Skills, but it does seem like bullying at times.
Durene’s never come close before. She has that wooden club of course, and her shield, and both are too slow for Beniar who’s adept at dodging and keeping his distance. Now Durene takes a stance and gingerly swings at him.
“Too slow!”
Beniar laughs as he ducks her club and nimbly springs forward to tap Durene on the stomach with his practice sword. She jumps and swings her shield at him, but he’s already moving back. I sigh internally, frustrated a bit.
It’s not that Durene’s that slow, I think she’s also afraid of hitting Beniar, a fact which he capitalizes on. I’ve seen them do this before, and I don’t want to see Beniar bullying Durene for a few minutes. However, today’s my lucky day.
“Take this!”
Durene lashes out with her shield and Beniar sways back. The shield misses him and he grins. He’s taking a step back when Durene shouts.
“[Quick Strike]!”
Her arm blurs. I hear Beniar’s voice and a thud almost at the same time.
“Oh sh—”
To his credit, I think Beniar saw it coming. He tried to block and then dodge when he saw the club coming. But he was too slow.
Thanks to my [Emperor] senses, I saw the entire thing. Beniar stepping back, the sudden acceleration of Durene’s club to wicked fast speeds—and the impact. I enjoyed it more than I should.
In the aftermath, Durene stands horror-struck over Beniar as everyone turns to stare at her.
“I didn’t mean to! I didn’t—is he alive?”
He’s groaning on the ground, which answers her question. I squat next to him and speak gently.
“Good thing Durene was aiming for your chest, huh, Beniar? I don’t want to imagine what your head would have been like.”
“Agh! No, sire.”
—-
A bit of fun, a bit of frustration. Neither occurrence goes unnoticed. Soon, Beniar’s up and treating Durene with a lot more respect, and Prost’s seeking me out.
“I heard what happened, Emperor Laken. I’ve had a word with that Rehanna woman, and let me apologize for her words, sire. Few folk think like her—”
“But they do think like her, Prost. Don’t worry, I’m not offended—or vengeful. But if people feel that way, I’d like to know. Preferably without the rudeness, but I’d still rather know than not.”
“Yes, sire. I’m sure she’d never have said as much, but that woman’s a hothead and a malcontent. And I think she was prompted to it.”
That gets my attention. I stop as Prost and I walk around the village.
“Prompted, Prost?”
“Yes, sire. Rehanna won’t speak to me—stubborn as a mule—but her friends say she’s been talking with someone else, getting an earful of what to say to you, maybe. Apparently she’s been having a drink as she does. Building courage to say such things.”
“Alcohol? I didn’t buy more than a cask—we don’t have any in the village, unless the Windrest people brought it…?”
“No, your Majesty. And Rehanna didn’t have any herself. There’s only one group that brought some drink with them—”
“The adventurers.”
“Yes, sire. If you want I can ask around, see who’s been spreading rumors about you—”
“No, Prost. Thank you. I think…I have an idea of who it might be. I’ll handle it myself.”
“Yes, sire.”
Oh boy. That’s not good. I excuse myself and leave Prost behind and go for a walk. I have a bad feeling in my chest. I’ve had it before, but I was worrying about the Goblins. Now…a few things are falling into place.
Pieces. It’s just pieces in my head, but they fit together in a way I don’t like. A few odd events have caught my attention. Someone breaking into my cottage while I was away, the missing Mossbear fur and it attacking the village—and now someone stirring up trouble and prompting people to challenge me.
It could all be coincidence, but I know for a fact that the people of Windrest were all settling in on the day my cottage was broken into. None of them would have known where I lived, much less done anything on that day.
And the Windfrozen riders were all riding patrol—save for Beniar and a few who were training the volunteers from the village. That rules them out.
So that only leaves the Celestial Trackers and the people of Riverfarm as suspects. If you rule out Riverfarm—because if they were going to snoop, why not do it when I wasn’t there?—then that leaves only one group.
And of that group…only one person I can think of would want to get ahold of Mossbear fur. After all, [Witches] can hex opponents and cast all kinds of spells. Why not do voodoo tricks with hair? As for my cottage and stirring up the Windrest villagers, well, if it’s all part of a larger reason…
Suspicions. I can’t rely just on my intuition and throwaway guesses for this. I have to confirm it.
It’s not hard to find Jeighya. He’s not patrolling and the man is maintaining his bow. I sit with him and he reacts—well, cautiously but with a good deal of friendliness. I’m not some aloof [Emperor] and we have bonded over a dead Goblin’s corpse.
“I’ve been wondering about your group, Jeighya. It seems weird to me that a [Witch] is part of your party. I’ve never met one and I was hoping you could explain their class to me. I’d ask Wiskeria, but I wouldn’t want to be rude.”
“Oh? I’d be happy to share what I know, your majesty. [Witches] are a rare class, I’ll say, but they’ve got useful Skills and spells most common [Mages] would turn their nose up at learning. Wiskeria’s been a boon to us, for all she’s new.”
“New?”
My heart sinks. The man with the bow nods as he fumbles with an arrow.
“She wasn’t in our party last spring. Wiskeria and Odveig—they’re old friends. Older’n they seem, I know. Odveig formed our group a while back—she’s not always leading us, but she’s always around Invrisil.”
“Oh. I thought she’d been part of your group forever. And Odveig’s not your leader?”
He pauses, scratches at his beard.
“Not so much that she’s not our leader as much as that we don’t adventure together all the time like most groups, sire. Begging your pardon. We don’t take on that many contracts each year; a lot of us make our livings from hunting and join up when she says there’s word of a good contract. But Wiskeria now, she joined the group not two months ago. Came out of nowhere, but Odveig knew her and she’s a good thinker. Her spells have gotten us out of a lot of scraps.”
“I see. And she’s got a lot of talents? Did I hear she can manipulate animals?”
“Oh yes! Very helpful that is. I saw her pull a Corusdeer’s fur out one time and summoned an entire herd later. Helped us take down some Snow Golems. ‘Course, it’s harder to make animals do what doesn’t come naturally, but Coru
sdeer love killing Snow Golems. Natural enemies.”
“You don’t say.”
Wiskeria. I let Jeighya drone on about monsters as the worry in my heard grows. It was just a suspicion. Now…now I think I have a serious problem.
—-
That night I summoned Wiskeria to Durene’s cottage. It wasn’t hard; I mentioned that I wanted to see her, and so she came. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Nothing out of the ordinary with Durene being there either. Frostwing being gone might have raised an eyebrow, but she doesn’t mention it. Durene barring the door though…
“Your majesty? Is something wrong?”
Wiskeria glances towards Durene as I sit at her dining table, across from Wiskeria. I sigh. I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to be right.
“Nothing much. I just wanted to clear up a few things, Wiskeria.”
The [Witch] glances towards Durene and back at me.
“I’m at your majesty’s service.”
“Are you? Good. So tell me something. Why’s there a clump of Mossbear fur in your pouches?”
She freezes. I stare at her. It wasn’t hard to sense the distinct fur in Wiskeria’s belt pouch. And when I found it, I knew.
I knew.
Silence. I can sense Durene glaring at Wiskeria. She knows. I told her, and no one else. I didn’t want to alarm anyone in case I was wrong, but…the fur. I’m waiting for an explanation and hoping against hope that I’m mistaken.
Because I think Wiskeria’s trying to sabotage my village. I think she’s my enemy, and I don’t know why. But something Ryoka mentioned to me makes me think she might be in this Lady Magnolia Reinhart’s employ. It’s just a hunch, but Ryoka says Magnolia sent [Assassins] after her. Why not a spy masquerading as an adventurer in Wiskeria’s case?
At last, Wiskeria opens her mouth. She glances at me and Durene, and I’d bet she’s lost all color in her face. I always wondered what that would look like. How would that work? And why does it happen when you’re scared? Blood flow? It makes no sense.
“I—know how it must seem, your majesty. But I swear I took the fur before the Mossbear woke up, while it slept! I was sure I did it stealthily enough not to wake it—you have my oath on that!”
“Oh? And so this Mossbear just woke up around the same time you cut the hair? You didn’t set it on the village with a spell?”
“Me? Set it on the village?”
Wiskeria repeats my words as if she can’t believe what I’m saying. She hesitates. The pieces click together and she bursts out.
“But I—no! I would never intentionally wake it if there was no reason! Emperor Laken, please believe me! My taking the hair was just a precaution! I’ve no notion why the bear woke up. If it was my fault, it was a mistake I truly regret!”
“Really.”
I stare at her. Wiskeria’s trembling. Is it an act? I clear my throat.
“Very well. Say I believe you, Wiskeria. Onto another matter.”
“Another…?”
She says it as if she has no idea what might be coming next. I nod gently.
”Someone was in my cottage. It wasn’t one of the villagers. I’d suspect one of the Windfrozen Riders, but they were patrolling a good ways out from the village. However, I recall that the Celestial Trackers were deployed closer to the village. Just in case. Which means you could have snuck in on that day.”
“I—are you—”
I fold my arms. I can hear Durene’s teeth grinding from here. Wiskeria makes a few incoherent noises. Then—
“I didn’t do it. I cannot prove I wasn’t there, but—I would swear to it under truth spell.”
“Too bad we don’t have one. And I suppose you had nothing to do with a villager from Windrest named Rehanna challenging me publically today?”
“No! How could you assume I’d—”
“Mossbear attack, going through my cottage, inciting my subjects…all actions worthy of a [Spy].”
“You mean—me?”
Disbelief. Shock. A hint of outrage, but mostly confusion and fear. That’s what my ears tell me and my senses confirm Wiskeria’s posture matches these emotions. For a moment I feel uncertain.
She sounds very convincing for a spy. But isn’t that what any trained spy would sound like? My stomach hurts. I can only trust in what I’ve observed, the conclusions I’ve come to.
“Emperor Laken. Your majesty.”
Wiskeria licks her lips, clearly afraid. She glances at Durene again before speaking urgently to me.
“I did not do—any of the things you believe I did. I did take the Mossbear’s fur, but only as a precaution! Its attack was a mistake, and I swear that’s the truth.”
“And the other things? Are they coincidences?”
“Perhaps. Perhaps not. They seem suspicious—but I can only say I had nothing to do with them.”
She says it faintly, knowing how it must sound. I sigh.
“I don’t believe you, Wiskeria.”
I hold up a hand as she protests.
“…But I can’t prove you’re not telling the truth. So here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to imprison you. Take away your wand, put you in a house and under guard…and ask some questions. If you can’t answer them, or your friends can’t, well—”
“I can’t accept that. Sire.”
Wiskeria interrupts me, sounding panicked. She half-pushes back her chair.
“I would be in danger for my life if your villagers found out what I was accused of. They—your subjects would kill for you. I don’t want to die or be held captive for weeks.”
“Sit down.”
Durene growls at Wiskeria. The [Witch] hesitates, and does not. I look at her.
“You have no choice, Wiskeria. I’m not about to risk another incident, or working with someone I can’t trust.”
I can’t. Not now so much is at stake. But Wiskeria is shaking her head.
“No, I can’t—won’t be held here when there are Goblins about! What if they attack?”
She speaks pleadingly to me.
“I’m willing to leave and void my contract, Emperor Laken. After the Goblins are dealt with. Or return with a truth spell testimony proving my innocence. But I can’t let you take my wand.”
“Wiskeria, I have no choice. You have to know how this looks—”
“I do. And I’m sorry for this. [Paralyzing Touch].”
Before I can react, I feel her finger on my chest. I gasp and my body goes rigid. Durene shouts. I sense Wiskeria going for the door.
My body’s frozen, but my mouth can still move.
“Wiskeria, stop! Don’t make this worse!”
She doesn’t reply. She’s ducking around Durene, hand raises, shimmering with magic. I can sense Durene hesitating. What do I do?
No good answer. But I know she can’t get away. I look to Durene standing by the door.
“Durene. Hit her. Gently, so she can’t get away.”
“No!”
Wiskeria backs up, hands raised as Durene makes a huge fist. She knows how strong Durene is. My half-Troll girlfriend could kill Wiskeria with a punch. Durene looms over Wiskeria, abandoning the door.
“Give up or I’ll hurt you.”
Wiskeria slowly raises her hands and backs towards a wall. She glances at me, and realizes she’s got no excuses. But she still speaks desperately.
“I’m innocent. You’ll see that in the end. Just don’t—I don’t want to die. Not here! I didn’t even want to take this contract on! I was against it!”
“What?”
Durene pauses for a second. Wiskeria speaks rapidly, eyes flicking left and right, too afraid to move and be hit.
“We normally take on contracts for monster exterminations, scouting, that sort of thing! We get the occasional request from the Reinhart family! I told Odveig there was no need to spend this much time on escort duty, but she insisted!”
“Odveig did?”
“Yes! She insisted! Said we’d get no better
deal though we could have been hunting Frost Golems or making gold coins selling pelts! I have no idea why she wanted—”
“Wiskeria? I heard [Emperor] Laken wanted to talk to you, and I heard shouting. What’s going…?”
Someone opens the door. I sense Odveig come in.
“What the—? Odveig?”
Wiskeria gapes at her friend. Durene turns, but keeps her focus on Wiskeria. I’m…
Dumbfounded. Was that coincidence? No, it can’t be. That was movie-level timing right there. Was Odveig outside? Why was she here? I didn’t notice she was outside the cottage!
And suddenly the pieces in my head change. Odveig. Wiskeria’s actions. One of the Celestial Trackers. I shout.
“Durene! She’s the spy! Get her!”
Durene swings around. Odveig curses.
“Damn. He is smart.”
She steps nimbly to one side, unhooking her mace. Wiskeria is gaping, staring at me. Durene raises a hand.
“Hey, stop—”
Durene grabs for Odveig. The [Macewoman] steps back and as Durene misses, slides forward like a ghost. She taps Durene behind the knee with her mace and Durene’s leg collapses.
“Huh?”
The half-Troll girl goes down onto one leg, sounding stunned. She turns, reaches for Odveig, and Odveig taps her on the head with the mace.
“Sleep.”
I hear Durene hit the ground. My protector, my mighty [Paladin] knocked out. Just like that.
“Odveig!”
Wiskeria raises her hand. Odveig steps back as Wiskeria tries to touch her with the [Paralyzing Touch] spell. She hits Wiskeria; I hear a cry.
“Sorry, Wis. I didn’t want to let you take the blame…or let you find out this way. But I have a few secrets.”
The [Witch] crumples to the ground. I’m still locked in place by her spell. I sense Odveig coming around behind me, still holding her mace.
“Well, you are a very intelligent young man, Laken Godart.”
“Thanks. Is this the part where you tell me why you did what you did?”
I’m stalling for time. Odveig shrugs.
“You guessed. I’m a spy. That’s not my class, but…how did you know I broke into the cottage? How did you find out what was in Wiskeria’s bags without looking?”