“Any ideas?” asked Raedren. Unlike the other two, he already had most of his strength back.
“I open the floor to suggestions,” said Mazik, waving a hand lazily.
“Destroy it,” said Gavi, with uncommon directness.
“I like it. Let’s do it,” said Mazik.
Ten minutes later, Mazik slumped back against the wall, exhausted again.
“Okay, so that’s out,” he said, letting the knife fall from limp fingers. “Not even a damn scratch.”
“But a blacksmith might be able to do it,” said Gavi as she rubbed her sore shoulders. The corner of the basement looked like it had suffered a miniature nuclear meltdown, which wasn’t far from the truth.
“Maybe,” said Mazik, his brain beginning to wake up now. “Though if I were those cultists, I’d be watching all the forges around here, if it can be destroyed at all. Though, they can’t really watch all of them, right? We just need to find one that’s unguarded. I’m probably just being paranoid anyway. Though if we were more paranoid, they wouldn’t have found us earlier. Still, we could end up running around without…”
“He’s arguing with himself again,” said Gavi.
Raedren nodded. “It’s a common occurrence.”
“Well, I like the idea,” said Mazik. “Anybody know a good blacksmith?”
“I’m not even sure where we are,” said Gavi, leaning back against the wall. She shivered and pulled her skirt as far as it would go over her knees and wrapped her arms around her legs.
Mazik groaned, pushing himself halfway up. “I guess we need to figure that out, then.”
A hand pushed against his chest, gently forcing him back down.
“Sit,” said Raedren as he shifted to his knees, his hands already glowing.
“I told you, I’m fine,” said Mazik.
Ignoring his friend’s protests, Raedren began administering to Mazik’s wounds. It didn’t take long for him to realize that something was in the way.
“Off with the shirt,” said Raedren.
“You sound like such a gentlemen when you say it that way.”
“Well, I do try,” said Raedren, his attention never wavering.
Mazik tugged his shirt off and tossed it toward his robes, missing completely. Then he winced, both from the pain in his wounds and the coldness of the wall, before settling back.
“Génde stor Avlte en kan lor leura che Aflnagin Acnatch dert può iyr jeut dernan—Dull Pain,” said Raedren. The mana around his palms changed to a pale green and seeped into the worst of Mazik’s wounds.
“Why don’t we go to the city guard?” Raedren suggested. Mazik’s eyes were closed, his face relaxed.
“They would probably know where to find a blacksmith,” said Gavi.
“Um,” said Mazik, his lips opening slowly. “We can look for them too. We can go for whichever one we see first.”
“At the risk of making this sexy, please loosen your pants,” said Raedren as he traced a long bruise on Mazik’s side that disappeared beneath his belt.
“Sure sure…” said Mazik groggily. He undid his pants and pulled them down, exposing his underwear. Boxer briefs, Gavi noticed. She turned away.
“Mmmm,” said Raedren as mana radiated off his hands and seeped into Mazik’s skin. After another minute, he straightened up. “That should do it. Did I miss anywhere?”
There was no response.
“Maz?” said Raedren. He moved until he could see his friend’s face. “Ah.”
“Asleep?” asked Gavi.
“Yup.”
Mazik’s chest rose and fell, his face peaceful thanks to the perfect relaxation of exhaustion. His head began to tilt gently to the side, and then toppled. He continued sleeping on his own shoulder.
“Awww, how cute,” said Gavi. She poked him on the cheek. He kept on sleeping.
“I guess we should let him rest,” said Raedren. He shuffled around his recumbent friend until he was crouched next to Gavi. “I’ll take care of you now.”
“You’re not going to make me strip, are you?” asked Gavi.
“Maybe,” said Raedren. “But I promise not to enjoy it.”
“You’re so kind.”
*
Mazik stirred a couple hours later. Something soft fell off his head as he sat up, his neck creaking. His eyes opened, and he looked around groggily. He was still in the basement. There were the wine racks, the crates of merchandise, the cold walls, the discarded clothing, Gavi without a shirt on, the—
Mazik’s eyes snapped open, his mind fully awake. There was Gavi, standing a few meters away, shaking the water out of her blouse while wearing a skirt and no shirt. Mazik stared at her naked back, bare except for a simple white bra, and was secretly glad she was turned the other way.
Gavi draped her wet blouse over the wine rack, accidentally knocking the clean shirt already hanging there onto the ground. She bent over to pick it up, inadvertently giving Mazik and excellent view of…
Mazik shook his head, choking off that thought.
Were Mazik a smarter man, he would have looked away. He was not. He kept staring, and that’s when the situation got awkward, because Gavi turned around.
Gavi’s eyes widened, and so did Mazik’s. Gavi’s hands flew up to cover her chest, and Mazik kept staring. Gavi turned partially away, crossing her legs so her skirt didn’t fall off, but that only ended up accentuating what she was already showing. Mazik kept staring.
Finally, Gavi cleared her throat. “Erh. You’re awake.”
“Uhm, yes. Hi,” said Mazik. He tried to look away, but only managed to get as far as her face. “I guess you found some other clothes.”
Gavi turned back around and pulled on the clean shirt. “Yes. This is a clothing store. Couldn’t find pants my size, though,” she grumbled as she buttoned up the shirt. “I covered your head with the towel while I was changing, but I guess that, uh, didn’t work…” She trailed off, blushing.
“Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to look.”
“It’s okay,” said Gavi as she squeezed water out of her skirt.
“If I meant to, I wouldn’t have gotten caught,” added Mazik.
Gavi turned around and stuck her tongue out at him. “Ass.”
Mazik grinned, glad the awkwardness had mostly passed. “Well, I guess there’s only one thing for me to do now.” He began taking off his boots.
“…I’m going to assume you’re not doing what it looks like you’re doing.”
“Of course I am!” said Mazik cheerily. “Fair’s fair, right?” he said as he sat up, fiddling with his belt. “I saw you, so you should see me.”
“Wait wait wait, you don’t have to—” Gavi started to say, but Mazik stood up and—
Turned so his back was facing her. His naked back. He looked over his shoulder and winked.
“A back for a back. We even?” he said, letting his pants droop to give her a peek of his underwear.
Gavi’s face warmed up, but she wasn’t about to let Mazik know that. She snorted and shook her head. “Yes, it’s fine. You have a lovely back,” she said as she grabbed another shirt and threw it at him.
“Why thank you,” said Mazik with a mischievous grin. He pulled the shirt on and sat down, leaving it unbuttoned. He patted the ground next to him. “Come on, sit down.”
Gavi stared at him for half a second, and then walked over and sat.
“How are you feeling?” asked Gavi.
“Better,” said Mazik. He stretched his arms over his head, and then settled back. “Magick just isn’t the same as relaxation and a nap.”
“True.” Gavi glanced at Mazik, and couldn’t help but notice how fit he was51. She blushed and turned away, focusing on a pebble in front of her.
Silence filled the basement. It wasn’t an awkward silence, but the silence of two people who were comfortable enough around each other that they didn’t need to be saying something all the time.
After a minute, Gavi shivered. “It’s cold in here
.”
“Yeah,” said Mazik, who could have buttoned his shirt, but didn’t.
“I’ll look for a blanket or something,” said Gavi, pushing herself to her feet.
“I’ll help,” said Mazik, starting to rise.
“Don’t worry about it,” said Gavi as she waved him down. She walked over to the crates that filled most of the basement and opened one up. “You just rest. I’ve already gone through a bunch of these, so I think I know where to find one.”
A minute later, Gavi pulled a single quilt out of a box and held it up. “I could only find one.”
“That’s fine. We can share,” said Mazik, waving her over. “I promise I won’t try anything. I do have a girlfriend.”
“I know,” said Gavi. She sat back down and draped the dull checkered quilt over their shoulders. Their arms touched for a second before Gavi scooted away.
“Better?” asked Mazik.
“It is,” said Gavi.
They said nothing for a while. Then, a thought occurred to Mazik. “Wait. Where’s Rae?”
“After he finished dulling my wounds, he left to go find some guards.” Gavi’s heart was beating faster than she would have liked to admit. “Or a blacksmith. Whoever he finds first. You were asleep at the time, so he said he would come back and get us whenever he found someone.”
“So you stayed here to guard my sleeping butt?” said Mazik.
“Yup.”
The building above them creaked as its old wooden bones settled. In the distance they could hear the faint humming sound of the city that never slept, but here in the cellar it was just dark and dusty, light coming only from the few candles that Gavi and Raedren brought down while Mazik was asleep.
As the candle flames danced like maidens spinning at the height of a summer festival, Gavi wrapped her arms around her legs, resting her chin atop her knees. Mazik stared up at the ceiling. In this way, minutes passed.
“Hey,” said Gavi, softly.
“Hmm?”
“It’s kind of crazy, isn’t it? This whole thing.”
“This cellar thing, or the whole thing?” asked Mazik.
“The whole thing.”
Mazik nodded. “Yeah, it is. Who would have thought we’d be running for our lives from a bunch of murderous thugs?”
Gavi smiled. “But isn’t that what happens to you most days? At your day job, I mean.”
“Heh. Got me there,” said Mazik. He rolled his shoulders, his posture slipping lower as he relaxed. “At least with these guys I’m allowed to fight back. Apparently it would be a crime to punch a ‘potential customer,’” he said, air quotes and all. “Even if they deserve it.”
Gavi chuckled. “So does that mean you still prefer this?”
“Definitely.” Mazik laughed. “I mean, anything that leads to me seeing an attractive woman without a shirt on is great in my book, aaaand I shouldn’t have said that!”
“…no, it’s okay,” said Gavi softly. “I know you didn’t mean to, and I appreciate the compliment.”
“Erh, yeah…” Mazik scratched his forehead. “No problem.”
The silence probably only lasted a handful of seconds, but to Mazik it seemed like an eternity.
“But still, it is crazy,” said Gavi, her heels scraping through the dirt as she stretched her legs. “The warehouse last night, and now this. It’s amazing we haven’t gotten more badly injured than we have. Or…” She didn’t need to say it.
“Gotta thank Raedren for that one,” said Mazik. He rubbed his shoulder and winced. “Though I think we’ve still gotten pretty banged up.”
But Gavi didn’t hear him. She let her head fall against Mazik’s shoulder. Mazik stiffened. If Gavi noticed, she didn’t let on. She just stared forward, her mind focused inward.
More time passed.
“I need to thank you,” said Gavi. Her voice was soft and fragile.
“What for?” asked Mazik.
Gavi pulled her legs back to her body, her heels scraping furrows in the dirt floor.
“If it weren’t for you and Raedren, I would be dead a hundred times by now,” said Gavi. “Last night, and now today…” She held up an arm, and the quilt slipped away, revealing the cuts, bruises, and burns that littered her skin, each made shallow by the barriers that protected her.
Gavi slid her arm back beneath the quilt. “And me? I’m not really sure I’ve done anything.”
“What? No, that’s not true,” said Mazik. “What about driving the cart earlier? And you watched my back in the warehouse, and distracted that head cultist woman. Hell, we wouldn’t even be here without you. The maps, the planning, all that searching … and then you were the one who actually found the kidnappers and followed them back to their hideout. That was all you, Gavs!”
Gavi smiled tightly. “Thanks. But still…” She waved a hand. “None of that was … caster stuff, you know?”
“You used mana to fight the whole damn time,” said Mazik. He was starting to get heated. He didn’t like anyone putting down his friends, even themselves. “And you used it to keep up with the kidnappers you spotted, and, ya know, to see them in the first place.”
“Okay, but how much of that could I have done if I couldn’t use magick at all?” asked Gavi. Some of her normal vigor was returning, even if it was in the service of tearing herself down.
“Well—”
“And spotting them doesn’t count!” said Gavi. “That wasn’t my magick. As for pretty much everything else…” She laughed sadly. “I mean, take when we were running away earlier. I couldn’t do a thing. If I had stopped to try to stab someone, I would have been torn apart. All I could do was run.
“The cart, that was all because Dad taught me. In the warehouse, I just got beaten up and thrown around. At best I was a minor annoyance, just some amateur flailing around with a sword.” Another laugh, this one harsh. “An extra year in the military, and that’s the best I could do. I’m really…”
She shook her head. “I just feel like I’m a burden to you guys.”
A big hand landed on top of Gavi’s head. Gavi looked up at Mazik. He was smiling.
Gavi squinted as Mazik ruffled her hair, her blonde locks flying in disarray. Mazik stopped, and began patting her head instead. “I see why you like to do this. It’s fun!”
Gavi glared up at him. “You weren’t listening at all, were you?”
“Of course I was,” said Mazik. He released Gavi and settled back.
“Look, in a way you’re right,” said Mazik, staring at the ceiling again. “I won’t lie and tell you something that isn’t true. You’re not as powerful as me, much less Rae, and that’s just how things are. But here’s the thing. I…”
“You?” said Gavi, gently inquiring.
Mazik took a deep breath. “…we would have never tried something like this without you.”
Gavi blinked. “Huh? What do you mean?”
Mazik started to speak, then stopped. He started again, more slowly this time.
“I mean, okay, so the whole thing was my idea, so none of this would’ve happened without me,” said Mazik. He gave her a wry smile. “I guess I’m the only one stupid enough to think we could actually pull any of this off.”
“Well, you were right,” said Gavi, smiling. “At least so far.”
“Doesn’t make it any less crazy,” said Mazik, becoming serious again. “But just because I’m stupid, doesn’t mean I’m … well, stupid, but in another way.” He considered this statement. “I said that dumbly.” He paused again. “That too. Er—okay. What I’m trying to say is, I’m not stupid enough to do this without someone around to watch my back and keep me alive.”
“And that’s Raedren,” said Gavi.
“Right,” said Mazik. “So without me, we never would have had the idea, and without Rae, we wouldn’t have had the life-saving magick to take it from completely insane to just mostly.”
“And me?” said Gavi softly.
“Without you…” said Mazik, tra
iling off. He was trying to find the right words. “Well, you remember when we were discussing whether we were should try this or not?”
“Of course,” said Gavi. That conversation had precipitated major changes in her life, some of which hadn’t entirely come to pass. She didn’t think she would ever forget it.
“During that conversation, I think Rae said about four things, and probably half of them were one-word replies or sarcastic quips about beer.” Mazik chuckled. “You know him. He’s a natural-born follower, and he’s selfless as hell. He knows it, we know it, everyone who’s ever met him knows it.
“And there’s nothing wrong with that!” Mazik added. “But it means talking to him wouldn’t have told me whether I was being unrealistic or not. If he thought there was even the slightest chance I’d try to do it alone, he would have come along just to make sure I didn’t get myself killed.” Mazik shrugged. “That’s just the kind of guy he is.”
Gavi nodded. “Yeah, I know what you mean.”
“But you, you fought me on it,” said Mazik. “You picked apart my arguments and forced me to defend them. I knew that if you were in—or at least weren’t totally against it—then I wasn’t being totally ridiculous, and we might have a chance.
“And you did that again and again—at A&N, when we were planning at our apartment, and every time I floated some crazy idea yesterday and today. I knew you wouldn’t let a bad idea get past you, and that if you agreed, it was probably a good one.” Mazik grinned. “Or at least, a marginally sub-suicidal one.”
Gavi looked at him.
Mazik shrugged again. “So yeah, that’s it. I had the idea, and Rae has the magick to keep us alive, but without you, we still would have never tried. If you hadn’t at least agreed to help, I would have figured I was being too crazy or stupid, and it would have all stopped there. We would have never even tried…”
Mazik pulled Gavi close, hugging her. “What I’m trying to say is, you make the whole team better just by using your head!” he said, ruffling her hair again, and earning a tiny “Eep!” in return. “Oh, and by not believing a damn thing I say until you’ve picked it apart.”
Gavi smiled as they rocked back and forth. She sat up enough to face him. “Well … thanks,” she said, blushing for different reasons now. “It’s good to know that I’ve been of some help.”
Firesign 1 - Wage Slave Rebellion Page 23