by M. Gregg Roe
After lunch, Ilona and Iris were obviously sleepy, so Audrey simply told them to take a nap while she went outside and spoke to the two women. It continued to warm as the three of them conversed.
Audrey asked them pointedly if they really wanted to remain in Havenbrook. “Yes,” answered Ursula, always the more talkative of the two. “No one is forcing us. They’ve been good to us here. But we do want to come visit you eventually.”
“I’d like that,” said Audrey. “It’s like we’re all family now that Farmerton is gone.”
They continued to talk for some time. Audrey told them about Violet and Orian and their baby. They told her about their new husbands, who were coincidentally also first cousins. But speaking with them was disconcerting in some ways. Audrey remembered them as lively and boisterous, but they now came across as somber and serious. Their hardship and loss had changed them, but hopefully not permanently.
After checking that the girls were still asleep, Audrey went in search of Fenna. An older man provided directions to the location on the other side of the village. As she walked, Audrey noticed tall poles scattered throughout with torches atop them. They were presumably to provide illumination at night and were clearly new. It was a reminder that the village was under threat from creatures that preferred to attack under cover of darkness.
The house that Audrey ended up at was nearly identical to the one that she and the twins were staying in, except looking somewhat in need of repair. Fenna’s smile as Audrey pushed her way through the hide door was strange, showing hints of sadness and resignation.
“Hello, Audrey,” she said, putting down the stick she had been using to prod the small fire. “I had a long talk with Priestess Alessandra after she arrived. I’ve decided to stay here.”
Audrey moved her gaze around the interior as she pulled off her gloves. The dirt floor was mostly taken up by bundles of thin sticks and loops of vine. Hanging from the walls were thin strips of bark, many with some curl to them. Fenna had always been skilled at weaving baskets, and there was a partly finished one sitting next to her.
It was chilly inside so Audrey left her cloak on. Fenna was wrapped in what looked like a wolf’s skin, the gray fur showing patches of white. After moving some vines aside, Audrey seated herself with the basket between the two of them. As Siljan had warned her, the woman really didn’t look healthy.
“Are you sure?” asked Audrey. “Don’t you have family in Fisherton?”
Her lips worked briefly. “Only distant ones I’ve never met. Second cousins at the closest.” She pointed at the basket. “I have a skill that’s useful here.”
Audrey was worried that Alessandra might have done more than just talk to Fenna, maybe employing magic to persuade the woman. “Are you sure?” she asked, watching the woman’s face closely. “We could take you somewhere else—Rohoville, or even the Witch’s City.”
Fenna added a small piece of wood to the fire before replying. “It’s tempting, but no. I’d be lost there; I’m still a village girl at heart. You weren’t five-years-old before you started talking about going somewhere else once you grew up. And you did,” she added with a genuine smile. “Your mother was very proud.”
That made Audrey smile in turn. She had always liked Fenna and her husband. But she still had concerns. “They’re going to pressure you to have children.”
“I still haven’t ruled it out, but there’s something else. Alessandra said there are villages near her temple with the opposite problem, ones with extra women because too many men died hunting or fighting. She’s going to try to arrange some kind of swap once it gets warmer.”
That sounded like an excellent solution to Audrey.
After more chatting—mainly reminiscences about Farmerton—Audrey excused herself and departed. Even though Fenna was clearly serious about staying, Audrey still planned to ask her one more time before they headed back home.
On the way back, Audrey detoured to the center of the village where the Spakona lived. She was looking around the area when she spotted someone familiar exiting the house. The woman paused, turned her head back to say something, then strode away, following a narrow path. Audrey walked over to meet her where the path emerged between two of the tall pines.
“There you are,” said Alessandra, smiling warmly. “I understand that you are not participating tomorrow.”
Audrey lowered her head. “No.”
“You do not want to be separated from your cousins. That is certainly understandable. Shall we walk around a bit? I could use the exercise.”
Audrey fell in next to Alessandra as she walked away. The woman looked older than the last time that Audrey had seen her. According to Siljan, she had taken the death of her own mother hard.
“Bianca and I are going along tomorrow,” said Alessandra after steering them off to the right. “And some of the villagers as well. We will secure the mine entrance after your friends have dealt with the creatures guarding it.”
That meant that they wouldn’t have to worry about other troglodytes returning and attacking them from behind. “I could help with that,” she offered.
“No, it would be preferable if you remained here to help defend the village. The creatures prefer the night, but they are not above attacking during the day. And they are certainly spying on the village much of the time.”
Audrey doubted the village would be attacked tomorrow, but it did make her feel better. “I’ll do my best. I’ve got some of that stuff that Siljan bought to protect against their smell.”
Alessandra sighed softly. “Unfortunately, it is not something that can be easily manufactured in a place such as this.” She brought the two of them to a halt and turned to face her. “How are you faring, Audrey? You lost far more than I did.”
“I still have bad days,” she confessed, looking away from the woman’s searching gaze. “But I’ve basically got a second set of parents.”
“Yes, and you are fortunate in that. And how are Violet and Orian?”
That led to a long conversation. Violet was still struggling, but she had at least agreed to counseling. She had also announced her intention to bear another child and name it after one of her parents. Audrey wasn’t sure if that was really a good idea, and Alessandra agreed. “I have decided,” she said. “Bianca and I will accompany you back to the Witch’s City while Siljan and Ariel return to the temple. While I am there, I will visit Violet and speak with her.”
“Thank you.” That was welcome news. The trip back would be decidedly safer now.
Alessandra smiled genially. “It is getting toward evening. You should return to those cute cousins of yours.”
Back at the house, Audrey found Saxloc talking with her cousins. He was telling them about the mansion, even using a stick to draw diagrams in the dirt. But he soon ended his explanation and gestured for her to follow him outside.
“We’re attacking just after dawn,” he told her, once they were several yards away. “So we should be back by noon or so.”
“Just make sure that you do come back,” she said, then gave him a light kiss on the cheek. “That’s for good luck.”
Saxloc smiled. “Hopefully, I won’t need it. But thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” said Audrey, then watched him walk away.
Ursula and Deirdre brought not only cooked venison, but something called mead, that was both alcoholic and strong. To Audrey’s delight, Fenna soon arrived, bringing fresh flatbread and a skin of fruit juice for the girls. The six of them soon polished off all the food.
After her cousins had gone to bed and fallen asleep, the four of them moved to the opposite side of the small house and continued to quietly talk. Audrey found herself describing the creature that had created the disease that had devastated Farmerton. “We killed it and burned everything,” she concluded.
“Thank you,” said Deirdre, putting a hand on Audrey’s shoulder. “I’m glad you were part of it. You were representing us, taking revenge for all of us.”
> Audrey hadn’t thought of it that way, and it gave her a warm feeling. The mead was also giving her a warm feeling, and making her a bit lightheaded, but there was something else she needed to tell them.
“When the goblins were searching what was left, they found some pieces of jewelry that survived. We kept them, so you can look them over when you come to visit. Two of them turned out to be valuable. We sold those and gave some of the money to Violet and Orian, but the rest should go to you three.”
Fenna shook her head. “People were always pulling odd things out of the lake, so I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised.” She looked at the other two. “Money’s not of much use here.”
“No use at all,” agreed Ursula. She smiled. “But we can spend it when we go to the Witch’s City to visit. I want to see the place for myself now.”
“So do I,” said Fenna. “Just look what it did for Audrey.”
They ended up talking until nearly midnight. After the three departed, Audrey bedded down next to her cousins. She was smiling when sleep overtook her.
7
‡ Troglodytes ‡
Hankin was in a bad mood as he slowly approached the mine entrance. His attempts to get information from Taina about her abilities had been met with a suspicion that soon transformed into outright hostility. Siljan denied it, but he still suspected that she had warned the woman in advance.
Scouting was often Hankin’s role, not that he minded. He was trained to be both observant and stealthy. It also helped that he could use magic to turn himself invisible and fly, which is what he had done just minutes earlier.
The mine was located two miles northeast of Havenbrook, in what had probably once been a clearing but was now overgrown with thick vegetation. The entrance had originally been contained within part of a large building, but only sections of the thick stone walls remained, none taller than a yard. That entrance, presumably intended for the miners, was a pair of wooden doors accessible by going down a short flight of stone stairs. The large hill not far to the north had probably been created from the dirt excavated from the mining. It did look somewhat out of place.
Five troglodytes were seemingly positioned to guard the perimeter, but only one seemed to be taking his job seriously. Two of them were deep in conversation, one was busy examining his sword, and one actually appeared to be asleep as he sat on a section of wall. They obviously weren’t worried about an attack, which was certainly good news.
Of greater concern were the three troglodytes ringing the entrance. They were not only alert but clearly a different sub-species, larger and with dusky gray skin. Instead of swords they had huge wooden clubs held in their left hands and bucklers strapped to their right arms. They definitely looked more formidable.
Hankin slowly spiraled out, looking for anything else of interest. There was evidence that there had once been a larger entrance near the hill which wasn’t surprising. But it had collapsed long ago from the look of it. He also spotted a narrow and winding stream.
Returning to the nearby stand of fir trees where his companions were hiding, Hankin hovered above them and told them what he had seen. Due to the salve he and the others had applied earlier, he couldn’t smell the trees or anything else.
“Can you lure them closer together?” asked Siljan, her eyes filled with anticipation. “Then I’ll just fireball them all.”
He wasn’t surprised by the suggestion, and neither was anyone else. “I can try. Just don’t fireball me.” Even now, he still had occasional nightmares about the fire that had claimed both his parents.
“Then get to it,” she ordered. “We’ll start creeping closer.”
Hankin made a rude gesture, which Siljan couldn’t see because he was still invisible. On the way to the mine entrance, he began to make some noises, starting with birdcalls. He circled the entrance, mere yards above the troglodytes, voicing whispered gibberish. One of the gray ones called out, and some of the perimeter guards began to converge on the entrance. Hankin was ten yards above when a ball of orange flame blossomed below him, buffeting him briefly with heated air. When the flame cleared, he saw that the three normal troglodytes caught by the blast were all dead, their bodies burnt and smoldering. The three gray ones, however, were singed but very much alive. That didn’t bode well.
As was typical, things began to happen quickly. Gabriel and Ariel had been charging forward even before the spell went off, and Siljan and Saxloc were now following them. Two of the gray troglodytes were moving to meet the new threat, but Hankin’s primary concern was the gray troglodyte now heading for the doors, presumably to alert the ones inside. It was clearly time to take action.
“Paralyze!”
He smiled in satisfaction as the troglodyte collapsed in front of the doors. Not worrying about the full-fledged melee now taking place nearby, he flew down and stabbed the helpless creature through the heart with his rapier, finding its skin to be much tougher than that of a normal troglodyte.
Casting an offensive spell had ended his invisibility spell, so he cautiously floated upward to observe how the others were doing. Gabriel had already killed one of the gray ones while Ariel and Siljan were fighting the other one. Saxloc, hard to see due to his Blur spell, drove his sword through the chest of one of the regular troglodytes as Hankin watched. His friends were nothing if not efficient, and it wasn’t long before all the troglodytes were dead.
But this was just the beginning. Who knew how many of the things awaited them in the mine below?
Siljan was getting impatient. And bored. Thanks to Darksight spells, everyone could see just fine within the mine. But there just wasn’t much to see. The first level, accessed by climbing down a slanted, timber-lined shaft that didn’t look terribly safe, was exactly as the villagers had described. The non-perishable food and other supplies stored there were still intact. That was good news for the villagers. Well, except for the ones that the troglodytes had captured and then presumably eaten.
The next level down, reached after an even longer descent, had an annoying number of tunnels to be explored. But they all had to be at least looked at. Attacking the troglodytes in their lair was bad enough without the risk of being ambushed from behind.
One passage ended at an irregularly shaped cavern that showed evidence of mining. There were even a few chunks of coal lying around. That made Siljan wonder just who had originally dug the mine. It appeared to have been abandoned for at least a century if not more. Coal could be burned for heat, but it wasn’t like there was a shortage of trees for firewood. But coal could also provide the kind of heat that blacksmiths coveted for working metal. That was probably why the mine had been dug in the first place.
After finding nothing of interest, they returned to the shaft which Ariel had remained near just in case. “I heard voices,” she said, pointing downward and keeping her voice low.
“We should prepare,” stated Gabriel.
That meant spell-casting. After a brief prayer to Kyran, asking him to bless their efforts, Siljan cast Strength on herself. She would probably be in melee at some point, and that would give her an edge. The rest of her magical energy would be saved until they knew what the situation was. Looking around, she saw that Saxloc had cast Levitation, while Hankin’s earlier spell was still in effect.
Hankin led the way, floating down the shaft with Ariel going next. Siljan followed after Gabriel, who was clearly hampered by his shield. Saxloc, with his sword now drawn, floated behind her. Everyone was trying to be quiet, but the three of them not flying couldn’t help make a certain amount of noise as they climbed down. They were constantly dislodging small rocks and chunks of dirt.
After descending a distance that Siljan estimated to be at least thirty yards, the shaft ended in a wide landing with an opening in front of it. Hankin descended cautiously, then abruptly retreated as two thrown javelins narrowly missed him. So much for surprising the troglodytes.
But Hankin wasn’t done. He darted back down and yelled, “Cold Blast!” while h
olding out his right arm. Then he moved aside to let Ariel and Gabriel through. That spell should at least discourage the guards.
Siljan arrived at the landing just in time to see Ariel behead a sluggish, frost-covered troglodyte with a single swing of her scimitar. Meanwhile Gabriel was preparing for the next wave—two large lizards with three troglodytes following (and presumably controlling) them. And there were more coming behind that. The space was ten yards wide, over thirty deep, and with an irregular ceiling that was fairly high. A narrow passage led off to the right, about halfway back, and there were other passages at the far end.
It was a perfect opportunity for a Fireball spell, but Siljan needed a clear line of sight. She pushed forward behind Ariel and Gabriel as Hankin and Saxloc floated up above the two of them. The lizards were much smaller than the ones that Novox employed in its caravans, but they were still sizable, maybe as big as a large wolf. Still unable to see into the cavern, Siljan simply watched as her friends dispatched the lizards, Ariel with lightning quick thrusts, and Gabriel with powerful swings of his heavy sword.
“Web!”
Siljan scowled up at Hankin, but he wasn’t looking. Her view was now even more obscured by the mass of sticky black strands that now filled that corner of the cavern. Two of the troglodytes were close to the edge, struggling to extricate themselves, when a gore-covered Gabriel reached them. They barely had time to raise their weapons before he ran one through and slammed his shield into the other. Ariel, spattered with dark blood and smiling in a disturbing fashion, finished that one with a stab to the heart.
The web wasn’t completely opaque. There was a troglodyte inside that seemed to have given up trying to escape. There were a few troglodytes visible to the right, just past the web, but it looked like a larger group was forming in the middle of the cavern. With luck, they all might fit neatly within the explosion radius of a fireball. There was also a lot of shouting going on amongst the creatures, but she couldn’t really make out what was being said.