by Spoor, Garry
“Yes, some collaborating testimony or proof that what you said actually happened when and where you say it did.”
“Well… yeah, just ask him, he was there.” Emara said as she pointed at Andrew Drain.
“This is outrageous, what kind of stunt is this?” Drain shouted as he jumped up from his seat once again.
“Emara, what are you saying?” Kile asked.
“Well, you wouldn’t have known would you? I mean, you were in that cell at the time, but when that creepy guy brought me before Ravenshade, he was talking to that man right there, I’m sure of it. I don’t know about what, when I was brought into the room, he took one look at me and then slithered out the other door with his arms full of stuff.”
“Stuff, what stuff?” Kile asked.
“Kile, I’m supposed to be representing you in this trial.” Master Adams said as he placed his hand on Kile’s shoulder and sat her back in her chair.
“Sorry Sir.”
“Now, Mystic Lon, what stuff?”
“I can’t really say for sure, it looked like just a load of clothing but he did have a couple of… well I can’t really call them swords, they were too thin to be swords.”
“My lann?” Kile asked
“Mystic Lon, would this be what the man you saw was carrying?” Keel asked as he directed her attention to one of the silent judges that was now holding up the pair of Lann.
“Yeah, that’s, same dark handles, same thin blades. He had them on top of a pile of clothing when he went out the door.”
“Councilman Drain, what do you say of this?” Keel asked.
“I know nothing about this. I don’t know what she’s talking about.”
“These are some serious accusations she is making.”
“And you believe her? Look at her Law master, she is but a child, she doesn’t know what she is talking about. This is all part of their conspiracy to get the Veller girl off. How can we even take someone like her seriously, she comes in here with her outlandish clothing, her freaky make-up and her pink hair and suddenly we are to believe everything she says. I don’t see her as being a very credible witness.” Drain replied.
“Is that so?” Emara asked now stepping out from behind the table to the center of the room.
Kile was afraid that Emara was going to do something rash, and she wasn’t the only one as Talormor looked worried and the guards looked nervous. Emara just smiled and pulled back the cowl of her robes. Where once she had shocking pink hair, it was now green, the shade of summer grass.
“Odd that you would remember the color of my hair sir.” She smiled.
“Your hair was pink when we were in the wastelands.” Kile said
“Really, it was purple when I met her.” Alex chimed in from his seat on the floor behind Kile.
“That’s not the point Al.”
“As you see, I never like to keep the same color too long… It’s just so… boring.” Emara replied.
“That doesn’t prove anything.” Drain shouted.
“From what I heard so far, I feel it’s enough.” Master Keel added.
“What? You’re going to believe her word over mine.”
“I am not taking anyone’s word for anything.” Keel explained. “It is just that this new information changes things a bit. It is not as cut and dry as you would have led me to believe. I feel, for the time being until we can get this information into some proper order, the accused… Miss Kile Veller, be sent back to her cell and that Master Drain be detained.”
“Detained?” Drain shouted.
“Until things can be cleared up… yes. Guards, see that Master Drain is secured in his chambers and that Kill Veller is returned to her cell.”
“Well that hardly seems fair.” Kile mumbled as the guards got her to her feet and replaced the shackles. They were going to take her back to her small ten foot square hole in the ground while Andrew Drain was able to wait out this fiasco in his luxurious chambers on the third floor.
“Don’t worry Kile, everything will be alright.” She heard Master Adams say as he collected his papers from the table.
She had only taken a few steps on her journey back to her cell when a loud pop, like the pulling of a cork from a wine bottle, only much louder echoed through the chambers. She turned just in time to see a guard go sailing through the air and striking the ground not more than a foot from the table she had just been sitting at. Her first thought was that Emara had done something rash, but the young mystic, as well as everyone else, was staring up at the judges table.
“What happen?” She asked, no longer caring about the guards, not that they cared about her at the moment.
“He’s influenced by the sphere of air.” Emara shouted.
Kile wasn’t sure who Emara was referring too, until she turned her attention to the front of the room. The stage, where the judges once sat behind their table, was now completely cleared. The table, the chairs, the judges and the guards had all been swept off and only Andrew Drain remained.
“What was that?” Master Adams asked.
“It’s a push spell.” Emara replied, “And a rather powerful one at that.”
Well that would make sense Kile thought, Andrew Drain was a hunter and therefore would have to be influenced by one of the spheres, although she wasn’t aware that there were any offensive air spells, but then again, what did she know about the mystic arts.
More guards had started to move in on Drain, although they were being a bit more cautious this time. The other Hunters, who made up a good percentage of the spectators, were just watching and waiting, although she wasn’t sure what they were waiting for, but then it occurred to her that they were still upholding the code even if Drain wasn’t. They were not going to use their edge on another Hunter. It seemed pointless, and one good fire spell would have solved this dilemma quickly.
Emara must have thought along the same lines as she started to weave her own spell, and Kile held her breath, that was until Mystic Talormor put a stop to it by grabbing her hands and breaking her concentration.
“This is not our problem.” He told her.
“What do you mean?” Emara asked looking from the Mystic to Drain as the guards slowly started to close in. “We can end this so no one gets hurt.”
“Mystics do not get involved with such matters.” Talormor said. “This is the Hunter’s problem, let them deal with it, we should be going.”
“But Why?”
“Because that is what the last magus decreed.”
“I say otherwise.” Emara challenged.
“You are not the magus.”
“Not yet.”
The debate ended with another loud pop as the guards must have gotten too close. This time Kile was able to see it play out before her. She wasn’t sure if everyone could see the magic, or only her. It was like a large translucent blue bubble that expanded from within Drain and grew at an unbelievable rate, sweeping everything aside. The guards appeared to have faired better this time as they were only pushed back, and not thrown off their feet, it was clear that Drain was loosing power. He may only have one more push in him. Was this what the hunter’s were waiting for Kile wondered? Did they know the limitation of his edge? If so it still didn’t help the guards.
“You have to stop this Andrew, before it’s too late.” Keel called out.
The Law Master was barely able to stand up, clutching his left arm as blood trickled down his face. He had been on the stage when Drain first used his edge and must have taken one hell of a hit.
“You don’t understand Keel, it’s already too late. It’s already begun.” Drain shouted, and then he was gone.
Kile didn’t need a mystic to tell her what this was, invisibility, but not the limited kind that Emara had used to get them out of the stronghold, this was the real thing.
“Block the tunnels, don’t let him escape.” Someone yelled. The guards began to back off and cover the exits. The only problem was he wasn’t trying to escape, at least not y
et. Andrew Drain was heading for the wounded Master Keel.
She could see him, or at least she knew where he was. He was moving slowly among the guards that were now converging on the stage in a vain attempt to locate him. They couldn’t see him, but she could.
“Law Master Keel. Watch out.” She shouted.
Whether he heard her or not it was difficult to say. It was just too noisy with the guards rushing around with their arms stretched out in front of them like some bizarre game of blind man’s bluff.
One of the guards that had been assigned to escort her back to her cell grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. He produced a key and quickly unlocked the shackles about her wrists letting them fall to the ground. She looked up and although she didn’t recognize the face, she knew the man.
Without hesitating to second guess herself she turned and sprinted across the open floor weaving her way through the guards until she reached the stage. She was still tracking Drain who was now dangerously close to Keel and she knew she had to act quickly. Who knows, if she saved his life, maybe he would go easy on her. She leapt up onto the stage and threw her weight against absolutely nothing yet collided with a solid body. Drain reappeared beneath her, which was fortunate since she had not seen the dagger in his hand while he was invisible. He was surprisingly strong for an old man as she gripped his wrist with both hands to keep the blade at bay. The guards had already begun to move in when she saw the blue bubble building up inside him.
“Stay back.” She shouted, but it was too late.
There was that loud pop again and she was surprised at how fast he moved away from her, unfortunately he was still laying on the stage, which only meant she was moving away from him, straight up.
Her first thought was of how lucky she was that the trial was being held in the amphitheater, otherwise the impact into the ceiling would have probably crushed her, of course that also meant that she still had a long way to travel to get back to the floor.
She cursed loudly on the return trip as she watched the stone floor rising up at her fast when it suddenly stopped about a foot from her face. She hung in the air for a while until she was gently lowered the rest of the way.
“Hey it worked.” She heard Emara shout as the brightly colored mystic rushed to her side along with Alex.
“Geez Kile Girl, I didn’t know you could fly.” He laughed.
“Very funny Alex.” She replied getting to her feet. “Thanks Emara, I owe you one.”
“Who’s keeping track.” The mystic replied.
She quickly looked around the room but could no longer see Drain. “What about Keel?” She asked.
“The guards got him out but they think Drain escaped.” Alex informed her.
“How can a room full of hunters let one man escape?”
“Well, I think most of the guards were a bit distracted when you went flying through the air like you did.”
“Thanks Al.”
She fell into her edge as she reached out and connected with every mouse, every rat, every cat, every dog, every bird she could find and it didn’t take her long to locate Andrew Drain.
“Kile are you alright?” Master Adams asked as he came up to her.
“Sir, where is the dining hall?” She asked him.
“Is this really a time to eat?” Emara asked.
“The dining hall, where is it in this building?”
“It’s on the second floor, lower east wing.” Master Adams replied
“That’s where he is. He just passed the Dinning hall and is now going through the kitchen.”
“How did you… never mind.” Adams said, waving it off. “If you’re right he’s going through the service entrance at the back of the hall.”
“Then we cut him off.” Alex added.
“You can’t go anywhere Kile, you’re still under arrest.” Master Adams reminded her.
“I don’t care. I lost the assassin. I’m not losing him too.” She said as she started for the door.
“Wait, I can get us there faster.” Emara replied.
“I thought you couldn’t get involved.”
“Well… yeah, but that was before Master Talormor fell asleep.”
Kile looked past Emara to where the old blue robed mystic was lying across the table fast asleep. Emara just shrugged.
“He looked tired.” She replied.
“Look Emara, thanks for the help and all but… your aim isn’t all that good.”
“Oh come on Kile, I only have to drop us on the other side of the building. I mean… sure I missed the mark the first time but that was across two provinces, this is only one street.”
“She’s good in short jumps.” Alex replied. “She kind of helped me out with a few of my deliveries. You know, so I could get them done with faster so that we could…”
Emara looked at Alex who quickly shut up. That was the first time Kile had ever seen Alex at a loss for words.
“Okay, if you really think you can get us there, we don’t have much time.”
“Sure I can, just hang on.” Emara said, grabbing Kile’s hand.
“Kile, you can’t go, you’re still under arrest.” Master Adams protested.
“Fine, then as my court representative, you’re coming with us.” She replied as she grabbed his arm. Before he could say anything else they were pulled through that hole in reality.
***~~~***
33
Emara was true to her word. She did get them to the other side of the building faster than if they had gone the long route, but didn’t quite make it to the ground as they dropped the last three feet into a back alley.
“I hate the mystic arts.” Kile grumbled.
“Where are we?” Alex asked.
It was a long narrow lane banked by an eight foot wall along one side and the back of a row of buildings along the other. Doors led out into the alley, but they had all been closed, and with good reason as the pungent aroma of trash filled the air.
“It would appear that we’re in the service alley behind the Guild Hall.” Master Adams replied as slowly got to his feet and peeled off what appeared to be a discarded banana skin from his shirt.
“This is gross.” Emara shouted. “My robe is getting…”
Kile quickly clamped her hand over the mystic’s mouth.
“Quite, we’re not alone.” She whispered.
“What can you hear?” Master Adams asked.
“Not hear, smell.”
“Smell, the only thing I smell is week old garbage.” Alex complained as he held his nose.
“Uhyre.” She whispered.
“Uhyre? In Littenbeck? Are you sure Kile?”
“Believe me sir that is one smell that I will not soon forget.”
Alex quietly sneaked a look around the corner, down the service alley off to the right.
“I don’t know about the Uhyre.” He said as he returned. “But there are at least five guys standing around down there, all dressed in robes, and one of them is quite large.”
“How did they get into Littenbeck? How did they get past the guards?” Master Adams asked.
“Probably the same way we did.” Kile replied.
“That would mean one of them would have to be a mystic.”
“Mystic…” Emara shouted in anger and Kile had to cover her mouth again.
“If the mystics are working with the Uhyre, this is bad.” Master Adams added.
Emara glared at Kile and waited for her to remove her hand from her mouth.
“The mystics are not working with the uhyre. Mystics do not get involved.” Emara protested.
“Mystics or not, we need to wait for back-up.” Master Adams replied.
“No time.” Alex said as he waved them forward. “There’s Drain now. He’s coming out of the back door.”
“Good, saves us the trouble of going in after him.” Kile replied.
“You are forgetting your lessons.”
“What, it’s simple. We set up an ambush. He has to pass thr
ough here. It’s the only way out. We have him blocked in. We can jump them when they get into the alley.”
“Jump them, with what? In case you haven’t noticed, we are not armed.” Master Adams pointed out.
She knew there was something that she had overlooked. The only thing that mattered at the moment was getting Drain, she had neglected the fact that her weapons were now in the custody of the Guild Council.
“You’re hunters. Don’t you guys have swords or anything?” Emara asked.
“I’m not a field hunter and Kile’s a convict.” Adams replied. “Besides, no weapons are allowed in the court room. What about you Alex?”
“Sorry sir, they don’t really like anyone carrying weapons through the streets of Baxter’s Bay.” He replied meekly
“Then it’s back to what I said earlier. Our best course of action is to retreat and observe, we can at least gather information.” Adams replied as he started back down the alley toward the open streets of Littenbeck.
It was the most practical idea she thought as she looked toward the streets, and it was also a means of escape not only for Drain but for her. Of course they couldn’t really pin anything on her now, not with the Councilman’s conduct in the courtroom, but she couldn’t take that chance. They could slip out of the alley, watch to see where Drain goes and then Master Adams can report back to the Guild while she made herself scarce. She would have to go back to Azintar first to get Grim, then there was Vesper, she couldn’t leave him behind. Somehow the whole idea of running away was just not very convenient at the moment. She turned her attention back to the alley and toward the Guild Hall.
“So much for that idea.” Kile replied “You with me Emara?”
“Of course I am.” Emara replied as she stood beside Kile.
“What about you Alex?”
“What do you need me to do?” The smaller hunter asked.
She thought for a moment, and then it occurred to her. It was simple.
“Give me a wall.” She said, and then fell into her edge.
***
As Andrew Drain turned the corner he stopped short, staring at a solid brick wall that now blocked his path.
“What is the meaning of this?” He asked as he looked around for another means of escape, but there were none. With the high wall on his left and the tall buildings on his right, the only way out was the way he came in, and it wouldn’t be long before the Hunters made that way impassable as well.