by Unknown
Joy had only barely opened her mouth when Stella spoke quickly. “Which is a figure of speech, Joy. Stress can make us feel older, but it doesn’t actually age us.”
“Oh, okay!” Joy said, smiling brightly, but then she came over the ridgeline and into sight of the caravan, and her smile dimmed. The sight before her wasn’t a pleasant one at all, and she looked back and forth, taking it in and making certain she understood what she was seeing first.
Two of the wagons in sight were damaged heavily, one with the canopy burnt, and another missing a wheel entirely. Neither had horses in their harnesses, so Joy couldn’t tell if the animals had been hurt or not. More important were the dozens of craters and upthrust rocks that indicated people had used magic around the road. Then there were the bodies. At least thirty bodies littered the sides of the road that she could see, and as she watched there were adventurers picking their way through the battlefield and checking the fallen. Many of them were stripping the bodies of equipment, and as she watched, one of them called a healer over.
“Joy?” Brianna prompted, and Joy blinked, looking at her before speaking.
“I don’t see twenty-three of the other people in the caravan,” Joy said clearly, assuming that was what Brianna was asking about. “However, they could be on patrol like the apis or on the other side of the wagons.”
“Er, that’s good to know, but I was mostly meaning we should keep moving. We want to get these people to Silverhoof as quickly as we can,” Brianna replied, jerking a thumb at the people behind them, and heat rose in Joy’s cheeks.
“Oh! Yes, sorry!” Joy said, moving forward at the prompting.
Joy skipped down several convenient rocks on her way to the bottom of the hillside, one of which seemed to have been made by a mage, since the rock was at a completely different angle than the others… well, that and the blood she could smell from beneath the stone pillar. Then she hopped off and glanced up, seeing an adventurer she remembered from the trip up. The woman was stockier than most of the other humans Joy had seen, and while she wasn’t as muscular as Resha, the woman was quite respectable. Much of her brown hair was obscured by a bandage with a little blood soaking through it, but at least the woman didn’t brandish her axe at Joy, as the huge weapon made the apis slightly nervous.
“You’re back. I hope your little job went better than ours,” the woman said, spitting on the ground as she looked Joy over, then the people behind her, frowning. After a moment she added, grudgingly, “It must’ve, since I don’t recognize any of the people with you.”
“Yep! We ran into a manticore and some Skyfishers, then rescued people they’d stolen,” Joy explained breezily, smiling as she passed the woman. “We’re going to tell the Guildmaster!”
“You… wait, a manticore, really?” the woman demanded, prompting a giggle from Joy.
“Yes, a manticore,” Eda replied, the half-elf sounding a touch breathless. “We’re lucky that it was after Joy from the start, since she managed to bring it to the ground. That fight would not have been fun otherwise.”
“Okay, that makes more sense. Most groups like yours would’ve gotten pretty badly hurt by a manticore in my experience… flight makes a huge difference,” the woman said, a note of envy in her voice, but Joy kept moving, looking around as they moved toward the caravan proper, then she caught a glimpse of Silverhoof.
The Guildmaster was standing next to Abigail and an orc man who looked like he was giving a report of some type. Joy headed toward them, the others in her wake, but before she could get close the explanation came to an end, and with a curt response Silverhoof sent the orc on his way and started to turn to Abigail, only to stop as he spotted Joy and the others. Joy immediately raised her hand to wave at him and quickened her pace. As soon as she was in easy earshot, Joy spoke.
“We’re back, Guildmaster! We captured a couple of Skyfishers, killed the others, and rescued their captives!” Joy said cheerfully, grinning at him happily.
“Indeed? Well, it certainly looks like you came out of things mostly unscathed,” Silverhoof said, his gaze drifting across the people behind Joy for a moment.
Abigail scowled unhappily, her voice barely audible as she spoke. “I wish that we could say the same about the caravan.”
“Yes, but that’s the vagaries of battle, Abigail. With any luck, those we lost will be recovering in Irador,” Silverhoof replied, giving her a somewhat chiding look, then glanced over his shoulder as he called out. “Andrew! Would you take the prisoners off their hands and get the captives a meal and better clothing?”
“Right away, Guildmaster!” a human man replied, quickly turning away from the wagon he’d been examining and trotting in their direction. Marilyn handed off the rope with the two prisoners, and Andrew cleared his throat, adding, “If all of you would follow me, we’ll help you get situated. Sorry if the items we have are a bit mundane, but we’re a relief caravan.”
While he was dealing with the captives and prisoners, Joy and the others managed to reach Abigail and Silverhoof, and Joy stopped, bouncing in place as she looked around. It didn’t smell like any of the apis had died, she decided, since all of their scents were still fresh enough that they’d been nearby recently. The exceptions were the ones that likely were on patrol, but they’d been by recently enough.
“So, we heard from an apis that you had an encounter with enemy soldiers and a beast of some sort, but I’m afraid that the details were rather murky,” Silverhoof said, tapping his flank impatiently. “Would you mind explaining in more depth?”
“James, I’m pretty sure this is your job,” Brianna said sweetly, causing the man to sigh and look upward for a moment.
“This is what I get for teaming up with other people, I suppose,” James complained, prompting a smile from Silverhoof and Abigail, then he lowered his gaze and spoke more seriously. “First off, the cavern was warded to keep sound and light inside. We found a charm that created the effect, but it was designed to only be activated once, so we broke it after leaving. Inside were fifteen soldiers from Skyfish Valley, including a level 22 Beastmaster who is one of our captives, and an equal level manticore.”
“I almost got hit in the face by a spike!” Joy chimed in, thinking back on the experience with a wince. At least it had missed. Abigail and Silverhoof both looked somewhat surprised at the explanation, much like the previous adventurer.
“Yes, and you’re also the one who cut a wing and brought it down on the enemy soldiers. It saved us a lot of danger,” Helen said, grinning broadly, then added, “Joy was scouting ahead, and the manticore went after her initially, then she cut a tendon and rode it down into the ground battle.”
“Hmm… well done, then. I’m surprised that you came through with as few injuries as you appear to have sustained if that’s the case,” Silverhoof said, stroking his beard. “I keep forgetting just how useful flight is, but between the battle against the army ants and this, I’m reminded that having it is very useful. It’s unfortunate that personal flight is difficult for any adventurer under level thirty or so.”
“If I may, what happened while we were gone? We heard that there was an attempt to attack the caravan from both sides, but not much more than that,” Brianna asked, frowning. “It looks like there was a fair amount of damage.”
Abigail and Silverhoof exchanged looks, then the centaur lowered his hand, sighing as he spoke heavily. “Honestly, we’re fortunate we took as little damage as we did. A company of soldiers had laid an ambush along the road, and if they’d been able to draw us to one side, the results could have been devastating. We still took nearly two dozen casualties, and had seven deaths, but we were able to reverse the trap somewhat and mauled them in turn.”
“At best guess, we killed or injured about half their force and sent them fleeing. Unfortunately, we don’t have a group that can easily pursue,” Abigail continued unhappily. “If we try, they could easily lead us all over the countryside, and we might not be as fortunate if they lay another ambush. Reinforcing Cl
arion takes priority right now.”
Joy opened her mouth, but before she could speak, Silverhoof spoke firmly. “Unfortunately, as much as I hate to let them go without giving chase, Abigail is correct. The duke has trackers better suited for this, and with the casualties they’ve taken, this will severely hamper them, especially since no towns with a resurrection shrine have been taken by the invaders yet. We’ll inform the army at the next town, and hopefully they’ll be able to hunt them down.”
That didn’t feel right to Joy. Her instinct as a former worker was that they should hunt down the invaders and eliminate them before they became a bigger problem, and she considered speaking for a moment, but then Cora laid a hand on her shoulder, drawing Joy’s attention.
“We can’t solve everything,” Cora said, a sympathetic smile on the elf’s face. “There’s just no way that we can be in enough places at once, Joy. Just like your hive was forced to make an unpleasant decision about you, the duke and Guildmaster have to do the same. They’re prioritizing the safety of the nation.”
“I… is that really what has to be done? They’re a blight, a threat like… like a spider on the main path to a verdant flower patch!” Joy protested, her frustration growing more potent rather than weakening.
“That… is quite possibly the strangest comparison I’ve ever heard, but I suppose it’s not a bad one,” Silverhoof interjected, a hint of bemusement on the man’s face. His expression turned solemn after a moment, and he spoke a bit more sternly. “However, I think you’re looking at things too simply, Joy. I’m told that you encountered a group of apis getting rid of a spider near the Shadebough Hive, is that right?”
“Yes!” Joy said, remembering the fortunate timing that had rescued them from the spider and leopards.
“Good. They were dealing with a nearby threat, yes, but the only reason they did that was because they had the forces to spare for that. If they hadn’t possessed the numbers to fend off the army ants and to deal with the spider, which would they have chosen?” Silverhoof asked, looking at her steadily. Joy bit her lip as he paused, and after a moment he continued. “That’s right, they’d have focused on the ants. We don’t know how many soldiers Alethus has, but I’m unfortunately certain that he wouldn’t have invaded if he didn’t think he had enough to challenge us. That means that every soldier and adventurer we can get to Clarion is vital, Joy, and this group… it’s here to delay us, and to draw resources away from Clarion. It’ll succeed, but we’re not suited for dealing with them. The army has people who can deal with them better, so we’re going to leave them to the army. Does that explain why I’m making the choice I am?”
Joy considered for a moment, then slowly nodded, still unhappy about the idea, and she hesitated before speaking. “It does. I guess this is why I’m not a queen. They have to think about things like this, and I… I didn’t think about it.”
Silverhoof chuckled at that, reaching out to pat Joy on the shoulder as he nodded, smiling back at her warmly. “And knowing that is good. If you’re going to become a queen like you’re planning, you need to start thinking about the bigger picture, Joy. Now, I’m afraid we need to get the caravan put back together so we can get moving, hm? Rest while you can; you’ve all earned that much.”
“Okay!” Joy said, her eyes brightening a little at his praise. “Thank you!”
“You’re welcome,” Silverhoof replied, and watched for a moment as Joy retreated along with the others.
A few seconds later, Jean murmured. “He really seems to tolerate your questions well, Joy. I wonder why?”
“Probably because he knows she isn’t trying to second-guess him,” Brianna replied before Joy could. “Joy doesn’t know a lot of things, so her questions are relatively harmless, at least compared to some people.”
“If I don’t ask questions, how am I supposed to learn?” Joy asked, shrugging and smiling at them with a lopsided smile. “The one thing that makes me restless is how often I’m asked to rest! I like to be busy, not sitting around waiting!”
A nearby man looked up from a wagon at that, frowning at Joy for a moment, then spoke up gruffly. “If you really feel that way, we could use some help with the wagon that lost its axle. Damn thing weighs a ton even unloaded, so help unloading and fixing it would be useful.”
Joy’s eyes went wide at that, enthusiasm rushing through her as she asked, “Really? You’ll teach me how to fix the wagon?”
The man blinked and looked at the others as a ripple of laughter rushed through Joy’s companions.
“Well, I won’t, since it isn’t something I know how to do, but one of the engineers will, sure. They know how, and have been crafting the parts for it,” the man said, sounding a little dubious, now. “You’re really interested in helping?”
“Of course! I’ll be right there!” Joy said, and dashed off toward the wagon in question.
Behind her, Cora raised her voice as she called out. “Just don’t exhaust yourself, Joy!”
“I won’t!” the apis replied, quickly darting past a pair of startled adventurers, her enthusiasm only growing.
She couldn’t wait to learn how to fix the wagon!
Chapter 20
Gort swore foully as he looked at the cave, rage seething through him yet unable to find an outlet. It was bad enough that his attempt to ambush the caravan of adventurers had been an abject failure, but he’d also lost the prizes that he’d acquired for Lord Alethus. He’d always appreciated that his lord had made an ogre one of his war leaders, which was why he’d gathered some promising captives as gifts… only to lose them at the last moment. That ashamed Gort, and he glanced at the corpse of the manticore with a grimace. Dan had loved Spike, and Gort could only imagine how poorly the man had taken the manticore’s death.
At that point a pair of soldiers stepped out of the cave, and a woman shook her head at Gort unhappily.
“Sorry, sir, but there’s no sign of any of the attackers having been killed. It looks like it was a fairly small group, and we’re not finding the bodies of Dan or Phindel,” the woman reported, a hint of anxiety in her gaze. “I suppose they could have run, but…”
“But Dan would never have run from someone who killed Spike,” Gort finished, running a hand over his head unhappily. “Either he chased them, or he was captured. I hope the first, but if you didn’t find any of the attackers, that’s not likely.”
The woman nodded in agreement, not looking very happy, and Gort growled, shaking his head. “Well, either way, we don’t have time to find out. Hopefully they’re on their way to the rendezvous point, but we can’t risk getting hurt even worse in tracking them down.”
“Yes, sir,” she replied, saluting crisply, and Gort looked back at his personal guards and grimaced.
They were down several members, and all because the monster of a centaur who’d led the charge at him. Gort had barely avoided being cut in half by the man, and that was what had convinced him to call for a retreat in the end. While Alethus and a few of his personal team could face someone like the centaur in personal combat, anyone else would be ripped limb from limb.
“Maybe we can slow down some other groups. I hope Drana is doing better than us,” Gort muttered, grimacing again, and he started away from the cave.
No matter what else, he was certain that Alethus wouldn’t allow their losses to be for nothing.
“Are the spikes in place?” Drana asked, tapping her side impatiently. With each tap she felt the stump of her pinkie throb, almost as if in anticipation of what was coming. She wasn’t surprised, though she sometimes wondered why demolishing things excited her so much. Regardless, she kept her gaze fixed on the cliffside above the winding road that led to Duke Dorma’s border fortresses.
The road was broad, cut deep into the mountainside above a gorge, and Drana could only wonder how long it had taken to build the road. On the other hand, it would take no time at all to destroy it, assuming her people had done their jobs properly.
“Yes, sir! We
just finished placing the last of them.” Jacques replied, mopping his forehead with a cloth as he glanced back. “All soldiers are accounted for, and we followed your orders to the letter.”
“Good,” Drana said, nodding sharply as she stepped closer to the edge of the cliff, looking down in fascination. It was a good fifty-foot drop to the road below, which was about seventy feet above the riverbed below. If she’d miscalculated, the activation of the spikes would drop her that entire distance, and even at her level the chances of survival were poor. That was what made it so much fun, though, and she looked up at the sky, which was mostly clear, with a light breeze and just a scattering of clouds marring the endless blue.
“Everyone fall back,” Drana ordered. At the sound of feet rapidly moving back, she grinned broadly, knowing that they really didn’t want to get caught in the destruction. Most of them were fond of demolition work like her, but few of them were as willing to take the risks that she did. After a minute she glanced back and nodded in satisfaction, seeing that all of her soldiers were out of the line of fire. Nodding, she reached into her coat, murmuring, “Alright, let’s do this!”
She pulled the core spike out of her pocket and admired it for a moment, inordinately pleased with her work. It looked a lot like a beast’s fang, if she was honest, but it was made of smoothly polished alabaster and had been carved with dozens of tiny runes, into which she’d inlaid the proper mixture of gold and other reagents for the enchantments she used. Weeks of work would boil down into only a few seconds of use, but that was what she’d signed up for.
Holding the spike in the air, Drana savored the moment, then spoke the command words she’d chosen. “Split the earth and shake the heavens!”
At her words the core spike lit up from within, shivering for a moment, then began to dissolve in her hand. Simultaneously, there were dozens of deafening cracks that split the air. She saw the other spikes erupt into huge, jagged chunks of stone that shattered the ground around themselves.