There came a pause, and the words echoed through the street, muffled by ash but loud nonetheless.
As one, the green-armored soldiers slammed the butts of their halberds on the ground and fell into formation. Gonzolo ducked down behind the barricade.
“We are the servants of Therasimalazyn, you feckless fool!” the commander barked, sheathing his sword. “The Scions of the Dragon! And we shall see his will done. You have three days to gather all crystals in this area and render them unto us. Or we shall cut you down and take that which is lawfully his!”
With that he spun on his heel and stalked away. The rest of the troupe followed, a full dozen men and women jingling as they went, their heavy mail swaying in green unison.
“Scions of the Dragon,” Bastien said, watching them go. “Is he finally starting to do something beyond lurk around?”
“They’re false, they have to be,” Chase said without hesitation. “Corinthia said Nebs told her the dragon was female... sort of, Nebs used the word ‘she’. These people say the dragon’s a he. That’s one of those little details a god wouldn’t get wrong, I don’t think.”
“False or not, that armor cost some serious gold. And they’ve all got it,” Bastien whispered. “If it’s a con game, somebody sunk a lot of money into this. And why crystals?”
“Crystals are used for enchanting, aren’t they?” Chase said. “I think we need to have a discussion with Dolce’s mother, that one Enchanter that Gonzolo mentioned. “
Though the more she thought of it, the more something Renny had said nagged at her. He’d said that Wizards and Necromancers and others could do dangerous magical research, but it was limited by resources and funds.
What sort of dangerous stuff could magical researchers do with a major city’s worth of crystals?
“I need to follow them,” she realized. “Can you get me down there safely?”
“Sure, but sneaking’s not really my thing,” The Muscle Wizaard said.
“No, but it’s mine,” Chase said. “You go check in with Gonzolo and the others, let them know what we found and have a good sitdown with Dolce’s mom, ask about crystals. I’ll come back if it gets too unsafe or if they don’t go anywhere useful.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“Well,” Chase said, looking at the street, and the inch of solid ash coating it, broken in places where the suspicious Scions had marched over it. “If I don’t come back then you’ve got a pretty clear trail, at least.”
Minutes later they were safely down, and she hugged his knee. “I’ll be fine. See you soon!”
He ruffled her headscarf in response. Chase tucked her mask over her face and hurried out, following the tracks.
She couldn’t say why she was doing this... no, no, she realized. I can, actually.
At the heart of it all, she was still an Oracle. And Oracles did best when they followed their intuition. And that nagging feeling in the back of her skull told her that this was the proper way to go.
And once she had the core of it, the other reasons to do this fell into place. It was a way to gain information on a new faction, a chance to figure out how much trouble they’d be for herself and her people.
To her surprise, Gonzolo and the other vigilantes flickered through her mind as she thought that, and Chase stopped and put her hand against a lamppost.
They weren’t her people, were they? They were just some Gnomish citizens who had pulled together to keep their neighborhood safe until the threat was gone.
Just like any halven community worth their breadcrumbs would do...
Chase felt her lips twist under the mask. They kind of were her people now. They had faces and names, and they lived in funny little apartments with quirky clocks and other oddities that they treated like they were ordinary.
She understood them, and that was the problem, because it made them people and now she wanted to help them.
“Damn it,” Chase muttered.
It had been so easy, before the dragon came. Get in, find Thomasi, get out. But the dragon had kicked the pieces off the table, burned half of the table itself. Now other people were picking up the pieces, and they were doing it in such a fashion that her people might suffer as a result.
“I don’t think I can walk away,” Chase said, setting out after the trail again. She could hear them now, the jingle of mail on metal ahead. She slowed her pace, trying to make sure she didn’t run into them accidentally. That would be both embarrassing and dangerous.
They didn’t take a straight path, though. They meandered, moving back and forth across the streets and around burned chunks of masonry that had once been tall buildings.
After a time, Chase felt a cough building in the back of her throat.
You have been afflicted with smoke inhalation!
Pausing, she reached into her apron pocket and pulled out a small jar. Cracking it open, she reached down into the moist dirt within, pausing once her fingers touched wriggling flesh.
“Transfer Condition,” she said, clearing her throat before she could cough.
Instantly she felt better. The poor earthworm writhed in her hands, though. She pulled it out and dropped it on the cobbles, crushing it beneath her foot to put it out of its misery.
“Sorry,” she whispered and capped the jar again, before hurrying to catch up.
The woms didn’t deserve it, but coughing at the wrong time here would be... bad.
Chase caught up to them just as they started yelling again. Doing her best to keep silent, she moved to the side of the nearest wall and slunk along it, peering down the shadowed street.
And apparently doing well enough, as new words flashed across her view.
Your Stealth skill is now level 19!
Chase froze, glancing around quietly, quietly until she found the green-armored form across the way. They’d left a sentry this time, someone to watch their backs while they harassed people.
“Foresight,” she whispered, and winced as she saw her shadowy self step out into the crossroad and instantly run back, fearful. Right, not doing THAT then.
It took two more Foresights and a skill up before she figured out what she was doing. Waiting for the exact moment the sentry coughed and shifted, she darted out to the next lamppost, then scurried into a gaping hole in what was left of a walled courtyard. Creeping along the other side of the wall, she was able to listen in on their conversation. The pressure that the foresight had built up in her chest faded as she rode out the paradox, dodged the backlash.
But to her disappointment, the discussion followed the script she’d heard before. Right down to the three-day ultimatum.
The lot he was talking with didn’t seem as brave as Gonzolo, but she couldn’t fault them for that. They protested that they were poor; they’d never even seen a crystal before. They even sounded pretty sincere.
Evidently the Commander agreed with her. “Very well. In that case I charge you with scouring the area two blocks around your tenement. Search through it, glean every intact building for crystals. If you find nothing, then so be it. We will leave you in peace. If you find something we shall pay you for it, in food and gold.”
Nearer to the hole in the wall, she heard a jingle of chainmail as someone shifted, and a mutter. “Another peaceful friendly. Mark’em on the map, Anzio.”
A map? Now that could be useful.
“Silent Activation, Foresight,” Chase mouthed and tried to figure out a way to get out of the hole and get a closer look at the map.
Nothing worked.
Four more times she tried, and every attempt ended with her getting caught. With mounting dread, she felt the pain in her chest clench... until it burst and drained away.
Major divergence detected! Feedback generated!
Foresight inaccessible for 23:59 minutes and 56 seconds.
She shoved her hand into her mask, pushing the cloth back into her mouth. Biting down on her cloth-wrapped fingers to stifle her cry of pain, she rocked on he
r heels until it abated.
By then they were on the move again, jingling as they went, silent otherwise. They were watching carefully; she knew that from painful experience. And she’d just lost her best chance of going after them safely.
It took some serious thought then, a consideration as she questioned herself. How badly do I want to do this? What do I stand to gain?
Again, the vigilantes flashed through her mind.
The Scions of the Dragon, whoever they were, threatened her people.
With a breath to steady herself, she clambered out of the wall and followed after them, moving quietly and with all the caution she could muster. Slowly, slowly... “Piano, piano,” she whispered to herself, translating it in the old tongue. Perhaps she could get something more from this trip. Perhaps she might even get a chance at stealing that map, that would be something useful to take back.
The blocks went by, and the buildings shrank as she followed. They were going north, she thought, north into the worst-burnt sections around the Ginormosseum. They didn’t make any more stops along the way.
She found herself panting as the walk went on. This was tiring; her stamina was fading fast. Halven problems rearing their ugly head again, nothing she hadn’t dealt with all of her life. She hauled out the biscuits she’d saved from tea time, pulled her mask down, and found a place to sit as she ate.
And it was a good thing too, since the first patrol crossed the trail ahead a scant minute later.
LUCK+1
She hid for all she was worth, listening to them jingle, watching the halberds bob in unison as they went by. At least half a dozen people, and though she was too far off to make out the color of their armor it sounded the same.
Whoever the Scions of the Dragon were, they had enough people to patrol territory. Which meant she was crossing into it...
Taking her time, sneaking as carefully as she could, Chase found her way through the streets, up until she hit a manned barricade.
Then it took some backtracking, picking through burned buildings until she found the remnants of a church. The worship room was all soot and half-burned pews, but the steeple was intact and that was what mattered. Up she went, until she was at the very top of the bell tower and had a view of the city ahead.
What she saw was surprising.
Three swathes of destruction converged here, three great blackened lines where the dragon had swooped low over the city and burned wood and melted stone. In the center of the three lines stood a single intact compound the size of two city blocks. It looked like a wealthy man’s estate, with a main building and several outbuildings, but the more she studied it the more there were inconsistencies.
There were no concessions to beauty or comfort. Every building was plain and made of stone. There were no gardens, no trees, nothing of comfort about it. The windows were reinforced with heavy shutters...
...and there were at least forty people in green on the walls and walking the perimeter.
This was no rich man’s estate. This was a fortress.
Even with her luck, she didn’t have a chance of sneaking in there. Especially with her Foresight gone.
That decided her, but just as she was about to turn around and head back, motion caught her eye. There were figures on the rooftop, two people in clean green armor, armor that hadn’t been coated by the ashfall. They were escorting a child, and her curly bright blonde hair gleamed in the light of the late afternoon sun.
Something made Chase hesitate. Some feeling she couldn’t put her finger on, some growing formless fear. Why was she waiting? What could she learn, here?
Then the child pulled a braid out from its headscarf and nibbled on the end, and Chase knew.
“Greta!” she gasped, then slammed her hands over her mouth.
There was no one there to hear. Nobody reacted, no noise from outside or around.
And the more she watched the figure walk around the roof, escorted by her green guard, the more she knew. That was her sister down there. That was Greta. She was dressed differently than she’d last seen her and Chase couldn’t make out facial features at that distance, but she knew it was her sister.
Why was her sister here?
Was she a prisoner?
What did the dragon’s servants want with her?
Chase reached for her cards, then paused.
No. No, she’d pushed her luck already coming out this far. She needed to get back to the others before she did any divination. She needed help. She needed a professional. Someone who specialized in infiltration.
“I need to talk with Cagna,” Chase whispered, and hurried down the steeple as safely as she could manage.
It was a long, long trip back, and she took it as slowly and safely as she could manage. But time and again she found herself hurrying, the worry overcoming her and driving her faster.
Whatever the reason, whatever the circumstances, she had a strong feeling that Greta wasn’t there by choice.
Chase would have to save her sister.
And she had three days to figure out how.
CHAPTER 13: MIDNIGHT CROSSING
The cards riffled in her hands, and she filed them onto the table, one by one. She knew what she’d find before she laid them down, but still she tried anyway. It was the same thing that had come up the last two times she’d tried. The same cards, the same positions, and the same answers.
“She’s back!” Bastien called out, as the door opened. For a second Chase’s heart lifted, and relief filled her.
“Not Cagna,” he corrected, “Speranza.”
Chase’s heart sunk back down until it ended somewhere around her boots. “And Renny?”
“Me too!” The little fox called, in a surprisingly loud voice. Perhaps he was using his illusions to boost it? Hard to say.
Chase rose and looked out the window, staring up into the ash-choked darkness. The winds had picked up a bit, and occasionally she could see the moon. Not the stars, but the waxing moon, full and swelling.
Only for a bit, then it was gone again. Gnome had burned, and the aftermath of that wouldn’t be done any time soon.
“How goes it?” Speranza asked.
“Not so good,” Chase sighed and flopped down on the couch. She’d dragged it well away from the oil-spewing clock, and dealt the cards out onto the seat of a high-backed chair as additional protection. “Cagna should have been back hours ago; we’re dealing with a dragon cult or something weird; my sister’s their captive, and the cards are not seeing happy things.”
The blonde woman tossed her hair back, and shifted a strap over her tunic. Chase blinked at it, seeing a wooden handle poking over her shoulder. “That’s new.”
“It’s necessary. You object to me singing, and I understand that. I get where you’re coming from. This will let me use my Bard skills without getting croaked.” Her smile was crooked, but seemed genuine. “All those misspent nights in college playing with my ex’s guitar have come in handy.” The smile faded, as if she’d snuffed a candle. “But what’s this about a dragon cult? And your sister? Are our neighbors truly that troublesome?”
“Our neighbors? No. Their neighbors... well....” Chase explained what had happened earlier that day. Renny found his way into the room while she was doing so and curled up in her lap. She petted him absently as she spoke, taking comfort in the plush weight on her legs. Toy golems needed cuddles, and gave good ones, and she was happy for the company.
And then the comfort was gone as he sat bolt upright, almost clocking her in the chin. “Wait, Greta! You saw Greta? They have Greta? You’re sure?”
“It was a long ways off, but I’ve got good perception. And her mannerisms, the way she moved... it was Greta I’m sure of it,” Chase sighed. “I don’t know why these dragon people have her. The last I saw of her she was going with Dad and the others to hand over Vaffanculo.”
Speranza shifted then, and Chase remembered who she was talking with. “Um. I never told you about that, did I?”
&n
bsp; The bard was looking at her with an inscrutable expression. “No. I think you should. Right now.”
“There’s not much to say. After he was out he broke into Bothernot’s graveyard and started making minions. Then he came and tried to slaughter our whole village.” Chase said, unblinking, watching Speranza for tells, gauging her reaction. “We stopped him, with Thomasi’s help. And Thomasi recommended we turn him into the authorities. So the rest of my family left to do just that while we went with Thomasi.” Chase blinked, recalling. “But we went in different directions. Why would she end up in Gnome?”
“They say all roads lead here,” Speranza said, bowing her head. “Vaffanculo had issues. I’m sorry you had to bear the brunt of them.”
“He killed Maddie. He killed Gadram,” Renny said, ears flat. “I hate him! But we couldn’t kill him because he’d just revive and come back.” His ears straightened up. “But my friends will too, so—”
“At any rate!” Chase interrupted. She did not want Speranza knowing about soulstones and golem bodies, not until and unless the woman proved herself trustworthy of such a big secret. “We have to assume they have Dad and Mom and the others who went with them. And Vaffanculo too, unless they’ve executed him.”
“But why?” Speranza frowned.
“I don’t know.” Chase slammed her hand on the seat of the chair in front of her, making the cards jump. “I don’t... I don’t know why they want crystals. I don’t know the dragon’s agenda, I don’t know why he has servants, and I don’t know why they’re operating on a timer that’s suspiciously close to Corinthia’s dragon-destroying-the-world-deadline. I need Cagna. I need her to get a closer look at their base; I need her to do that cork-board thingy so we can start trying to figure out this mystery, and I need... I need her to tell me not to go after Greta.”
“What?” Renny gasped, glass eyes wide. “Why would she tell you that?”
“Because I want to drop everything and save her! She was supposed to be safe! Now she’s here!” Chase hopped to her feet and paced the room, gesturing as she went. “WHY is she here! She shouldn’t be here; this is the opposite of safe!”
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