Kyran smacked Aiken—hard—hoping the pain would shock sense back into him. He flicked his gaze inwards.
A wyvern bull is paralysed (remaining duration: 5 seconds).
The bull wouldn’t be held helpless for much longer. Dammit! They had no time for this. “Aiken,” Kyran bellowed in the mindscape. “Let go! We can’t kill the beast this way. Hurry, before your jade bite lapses.”
His words got through. Reluctantly, Aiken’s jaws unclenched and he released his death grip.
“Back up the tunnel?” asked Mirien, heaving her own sigh of relief.
“No time.” He pointed to the cave with the three wyverns. “In there. Let’s go.” He pulled in his psi and teleported out, followed a second later by a stone diving Aiken and a shadow stepping Mirien.
In the cavern, Kyran spun around and commanded the three tamed females to guard the entrance.
“Now what?” asked Mirien, appearing next to him.
Before Kyran could respond, a roar shattered the lair’s silence. The bull wyvern was free.
“Now,” said Kyran grimly, “we use the females to hold the bull’s attention while I try to tame the beast.”
“Can you?” she asked. “He seems larger and stronger than the others.”
Kyran’s face hardened. “I will. It may take a few attempts, but I’ll get it done.”
✽✽✽
Eight beast befriends and a few minutes later, the wyvern bull was tamed at last.
You have successfully befriended a level 69 mountain wyvern bull. Duration: 2 days.
You have gained a level!
Aiken has gained a level!
“Got him,” Kyran said, exhaling in relief. Mentally, he was exhausted. The bull had proven a far more stubborn beast than the females, but at last he had been subdued. Turning his gaze inwards, Kyran reviewed the battle log and blinked in renewed surprise.
Battle Log (Wyvern Lair)
The battle has ended.
Combat results
Creatures bonded: 4 of 4 mountain wyverns.
Hostiles killed: 0 of 0.
Allies not in battle: Gaesin, Adra.
Levels gained
Kyran: 3 level (27 SP, 6 AP). New combat level: Level 27.
Aiken: 3 level. New combat level: Level 25.
Items acquired
4 Wyvern eggs.
He had seen the level gain messages earlier, but thought he must have misread them. Now, he saw he hadn’t been mistaken. He and Aiken really had gained three levels each in the battle.
It was a surprising amount of experience—far more than he had ever gained before from beast bonding. But then again, before the wyverns, the highest-level creature Kyran had tamed was a level twenty-five worg.
In fact, by level alone, each one of the wyverns was on par with Xetil’s champion, Lesh. He had gained a level from that battle, too. So perhaps he shouldn’t be surprised by today’s rewards. Whatever the case, he would accept the Game’s gifts.
He gazed into the cavern. The three wyvern females were battered and scarred, yet thanks to Aiken’s healing waves, none were severely injured. The bear himself limped uncomfortably, each step painful and causing the burned skin on his left side to tear open again. The corrosive touch affliction had dissipated, but the bear still had an unhealed wound that needed attention.
“Sorry, brother,” said Kyran. He rubbed gently on the bear’s coat. “Let’s get you to Gaesin. We are done here now.” The bear huffed in agreement and, not waiting for Kyran or Mirien, limped out of the cave.
“Is he going to be alright?” Mirien asked. She bit her lip as she followed the bear with her gaze.
“He is in pain,” Kyran admitted, “and will need rest to recover, but Gaesin should be able to heal the wound.” He pursed his lips in thought and wondered if he should he apply a healing salve to Aiken’s side. But the salve would be less effective than Gaesin’s healing and keep the bear comatose longer.
It pained him to see Aiken suffering but the bear would endure until they reached Gaesin. Besides, it was not far to the surface. Through their bond, Aiken projected his agreement. Hard on that, Aiken sent an image of Mirien.
Kyran repressed a start of surprise and glanced sideways at the whiesper. Now why had Aiken sent him that image? “Brother?” he queried in confusion, but the bear did not respond.
Aiken was already back in the tunnel and heading out of the lair. Kyran turned to Mirien. She was shooting him nervous glances.
It had not escaped Kyran’s notice that Mirien was speaking to him again. In fact, her earlier animosity seemed to have disappeared entirely. What’s changed? he wondered. Had he been forgiven? Mirien was still shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot.
It would be foolish to question her on any of those weighty matters now, he decided. He wouldn’t risk her retreating into a frozen shell again, not when she had only just decided to speak to him again. “How did you end up in the lair?” he asked, deciding to keep matters light.
But his question, if anything, seemed to increase Mirien’s distress.
“I… I...” Mirien began, then swallowed.
The whiesper was clearly distraught. Kyran’s confusion grew. What was going on?
✽✽✽
Mirien stared at Kyran, unable to bring herself to admit that she had come here to kill him.
He would send her away, she knew, if not try to kill her outright. And he would be well within his rights to do either. Despite Aiken’s understanding and forgiveness, she couldn’t expect the same from Kyran. She gulped, her mouth working soundlessly.
“Mirien, tell me what happened,” Kyran said gently. “Adra mentioned you saw movement?” he added helpfully.
She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t tell him the truth, not yet. Bowing her head, Mirien lied. “Yes,” she said quietly. “I thought I saw something enter the lair. I followed after.’’ She breathed in deeply and looked up into Kyran’s eyes. “I was just about to warn you when the wyvern attacked. Then Aiken saved me.”
Kyran nodded slowly and patted her shoulder awkwardly. “Thank you, Mirien. You probably saved my life. If you hadn’t delayed its attack long enough for me to tame that last female, I fear the battle would have ended very differently.”
Mirien felt herself shrink under his praise, guilt gnawing at her.
Kyran turned away. “Well let’s get out of here—”
“Kyran,” Mirien said. He swung back and looked questioningly at her. “I’m sorry for my behaviour these last two days,” she said. “I was angry.”
Kyran stared at her for a long moment before lowering his eyes. “There is nothing to forgive, Mirien,” he said quietly. “The fault was mine. I should not have held the truth back from you. I should have trusted you from the beginning, or at the very least, been honest about my intentions.”
Mirien scrutinised his face in disbelief. He really meant that, she realised. His words made her own lies all the more gut-wrenching. Unable to bear the shame anymore, she whirled around and fled the chamber, leaving a puzzled Kyran behind.
“Where are you going?” he called after her.
✽✽✽
Kyran shook his head as he watched Mirien hurry out of the cavern.
She confused him. At times she seemed so tough and resilient. At other times, she seemed almost as human as the rest of them. He sighed, surveying the chamber. The four wyverns were huddled together in a heap of limbs, previous animosity forgotten. His work here was done.
He summoned the creatures and made his way out of the lair, stopping only to pick up the eggs on his way out. Arriving at the wyvern’s entrance, he found Gaesin deep in a healing trance with Aiken slumped at his feet and Mirien next to him, her hands dug into the bear’s fur. He reached out to the bear across their link and found Aiken unconscious but recovering.
Aiken has been healed of a minor wound (acid burn).
Aiken is weakened. Debuff: In recovery (-25% stamina, remaining duration: 6 hours).
&nbs
p; Unlike the novice restore health spells, the cure wounds spell performed a much deeper healing and placed its subject in a deep slumber to do so.
Aiken will be unconscious for hours yet and knowing how much he loves sleep he will likely be asleep for much longer, too. He chuckled at the thought. They would not be moving on tonight, he knew, and possibly not even tomorrow either.
Adra came running up to him. “Kyran, are you alright? We thought—” She skidded to a halt and stared behind him. “Are they...?” She licked her whiskers nervously.
Kyran glanced over his shoulder. The four wyverns were crowded in the tunnel, the wyvern bull in front. “They are tamed,” he assured her.
Adra shook her head in wonder, then glanced at Aiken and asked, “What happened?”
“The bull ambushed us from behind. Aiken charged the beast to save Mirien.”
“Mirien? What was she doing in the lair?” she asked sharply. “She wouldn’t tell me.”
Kyran peered at her, wondering at her tone. He shrugged. “She followed the wyvern bull inside,” he said and made to join Gaesin and Mirien by Aiken’s side.
“Are you sure?” Adra pressed, placing her hand on his arm to hold him back.
Kyran stopped and looked at her slowly. “What are you implying, Adra?”
“She was gone for so long. She entered the lair soon after you,” Adra said, her tail flickering anxiously. “I saw no sign of the wyvern bull outside. Where would it have come from? It would have had to fly past Gaesin and me. Are you sure the bull was not in the lair all the time?”
Kyran opened his mouth to deny the possibility, then stopped. The fourth scent, he realised, must have been the bull’s. He had not pinned down its location while in worg-form, but the scent had been heavy in the lair. The bull could have been in the lair all along.
Seeing the realisation on his face, Adra added, “And if it was not the bull she followed inside, what was Mirien doing in the lair?”
Kyran glanced at Mirien, her head bowed over Aiken’s slumbering form. What Adra was suggesting was troubling…but Aiken trusted her—enough to leave him alone in her presence. “You still don’t trust her, do you?”
“No, Kyran I don’t.”
He nodded. He wouldn’t dismiss Adra’s concerns out of hand, but neither would he let her foment distrust in the party again. “Keep an eye on her then. But,” he warned, “until we have been given clear cause to distrust her, we will treat her as a valued and trusted member of the party. She has earned that much. Clear?”
“Agreed,” replied Adra, not pushing the point.
✽✽✽
Mirien walked into the darkness. Gaesin had finished his healing, and Aiken, the half-elf had assured her, was on the mend. She had been worried about the brave bear.
Now the party sat around the fire, toasting the day’s victory. Her heart was not in it, though. Her own day had been a tumultuous whirl of emotions, and she was uncertain herself whether to consider today a success or…a failure.
She could not ignore that she had failed today. For the first time in her life, she had willingly walked away from her duty. Perhaps it had been for the best of reasons. But she had still neglected to carry out her duty.
And now, she didn’t know who she was anymore.
Mirien shoved her hands under her arm and looked out onto the silent mountainside. I am lost, she thought. She shivered. Laughter erupted behind her. Something dark rose in her at the sound, bitterness welling in her at the joy she could not share in.
She had to get away. Picking out a distant ledge on the slopes below, she stepped into its shadows and sank down, hugging her knees.
There would be consequences for her actions today, she knew. The Brotherhood would not so easily forgive her disobedience. Not even Elasien would do that.
She pulled out the communication crystal and removed the white cloth enclosing it. The wrapping would muffle the crystal’s buzzing if—when—Elasien contacted her. She couldn’t afford for her companions to notice the crystal. It would raise too many questions.
She held the crystal before her and stared into the sphere’s depth. It was still dark and silent. She had tried contacting Elasien every night for a week. Every attempt had failed. And now, after so many failed attempts, she was losing hope that Elasien would ever activate her own crystal.
This long a silence could only mean the other crystal was lost. Or Elasien was. No, she refused to believe that. Elasien could not be dead.
She rested her chin on her raised knees and closed her eyes. How would she ever report today’s failure? She had forsaken her people, the Brotherhood, and her master with her actions.
But the choice she had made in the lair was the right one. She still believed that. Honour and duty. Not one or the other. I have to strive for both.
She had to believe she could fulfil her mission and retain her honour. Otherwise where would that leave her? Forsworn or honourless. Grim choices, both. There is still a chance of convincing Kyran, Mirien thought. She had time yet to make him see the foolishness of allying with the gods.
And if he refused to see? What would she do then? She didn’t know.
Sighing, she opened her eyes. Thinking through matters had helped. Her path was no further resolved, but the tightness around her heart had eased, and now she felt she could shoulder the burdens of both honour and duty.
She picked up the white cloth from where she had laid it to rest and smoothed out its creases as she studied the golden lily stitched on its surface.
The cloth was a patch of uniform torn from a paladin. She had taken it off the body of the soldier Deegan had slain. It was her only remembrance of her brothers’ deaths, and a reminder of the vengeance she had sworn against the champion whose paladins had murdered them.
She folded the communication crystal in the cloth again and shoved it back into her pocket. I will not fail you, master, she promised and shadow stepped away.
✽✽✽
Adra rose out from behind the rock in whose shadow she had been stealthed. She had suspected Mirien was hiding something. The whiesper’s reasons for being in the wyvern lair had been weak, and Adra had not been able to resist the urge to follow Mirien when she left the camp.
She had been convinced the whiesper was up to no good. But to see Iyra's symbol in Mirien’s hands…that she had not expected. Is Mirien one of the divine’s spies? One of Iyra’s famed Hounds?
A ripple of fear rolled through her, and her tail curled tight with anxiety. It couldn’t be, could it? Mirien claimed to be a Brotherhood agent. Would a divine ever stoop to making such a claim?
Iyra’s Hounds would, she knew with certainty. It was the perfect cover. Who would ever suspect a Brotherhood soldier of being a divine? Adra clenched her fists, fighting the urge to race to Kyran with the news. She had no proof, only conjecture.
More worrying still, as hard as she tried, Adra could not get the facts to align. While she did not doubt a Hound would pretend to be a Brotherhood soldier if it served her purpose, Adra could see no reason for Mirien to employ such a deception with the party. It had already alienated her from them.
Is my judgement compromised? wondered Adra. She didn’t like the whiesper, she knew that. Was she letting her own emotions cloud her reasoning? Was there another reason Mirien had Iyra’s insignia? Could there be another reason? And what about the blue sphere she had wrapped it in?
It had looked like a communication crystal. Adra knew little of such devices other than that they were rare and handed over to only the most trusted of agents. But she couldn’t be certain that it actually was a communication crystal. She had only caught a brief glimpse of the sphere.
So did she think Mirien was a spy, one of Iyra’s Hounds? Yes. No. I don’t know.
Adra growled in self-disgust. If she could not convince herself, she wouldn’t be able to convince Kyran, she knew.
She would wait and watch. If Mirien was Iyra’s Hound, she would slip up sooner or later, and then Ad
ra would have the confirmation she needed. Whatever the case, it was clear she would have to keep a closer watch upon the whiesper and, at the slightest hint of betrayal, be ready to act.
Chapter 22
19 Octu 2603 AB
Demons are creatures of near-pure essence. So dependent are they on essence that they cannot manifest without it. Masters of chaos—indeed, chaos itself—they are the anathema of life and order. They loathe all other life forms but their own and seek the destruction of all. —Gunta Helman, demonologist.
In the end, Kyran’s predictions proved incorrect, and the party broke camp early the next morning. Aiken had awoken hungry, but hale and recovered. After assuring himself that Aiken was fit enough to travel, Kyran had the party set off immediately. With winter on its way, the party could ill afford to delay further in the mountains.
Kyran chose to head west again, back to the site of the worg ambush. The party had discussed their plans last night and agreed that their best hope of escaping the mountains was finding the ogres and retrieving the rope. Kyran was hoping that between Adra’s tracking skills and his own worg-form, the party could backtrack the slain hunters to the ogre camp.
Last night, Kyran had explored the psi-bonds between himself and the wyverns. The four creatures were a clutch. The bull was the leader, the wyvern mother the dominant female, and the younger two females the bull’s second and third mates. Through the psionic influence of beast befriend, the wyverns readily accepted Kyran as their new leader, and the rest of the party as their fellow clutch mates.
He had briefly toyed with the notion of using the wyverns to carry the party to the top of the escarpment, but the beasts had violently baulked at the idea when Aiken had communicated the suggestion. Kyran had gone so far as to try and mount the bull’s back, but the beast’s rage and fear at the idea had been so overwhelming Kyran was forced to abandon further experimentation.
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