With their covers blown, the drows immediately tossed aside their cloaks and dropped their enchantments, revealing three lithe looking, black-skinned elves wearing skin-tight leather clothing. The trio definitely had the bondage look down, but I would have opted for another bold color to contrast with my black skin if I were them. The female and two male drows each carried dual scimitars and started swinging them at the Watchmen, forcing me out of my reverie.
Maisen easily knocked aside the blows aimed at her, using her ferocity and brute strength to push her counterpart back until the drow leader's back was against the cart. Not a single strike landed on the captain.
I stood a few steps behind my captain with my own sword drawn. I was prepared to toss in a few swings of my own, but I couldn’t step into the fight and risk interfering with Maisen's attacks. Besides, it appeared, even to my untrained eye, that the opponent was no match for the captain. I looked over the push cart to see how the rest of my companions were faring against their opponents.
I saw that Sankryn and Giudot were not faring as well as the captain because they were taking hits from the dual-wielders. They were neither fast enough to avoid the scimitars nor strong enough to force the drows to defend against the humans' attacks. However, the saving grace was the chain mail armor that each man wore because the strength behind the scimitars was apparently inadequate to penetrate through that tough armor. Hence, the drow fighters were forced to concentrate their attacks on the humans' unprotected heads, and this, in turn, made the drows' attacks predictable and easier to defend. In the end, each fighter was locked in a stalemate.
WHAM!
The sound immediately drew my attention back to Maisen's fight. She had taken a big up-and-down swing, seeking to bisect her pesky opponent vertically. However, the drow fighter used her own quickness to twirl her body left to evade the blow, and Jiang slammed into the cart instead. The force of the blow caused the golden blade to wedge into the wood, and it took an extra second for Maisen to pull her blade out.
I immediately stepped forward and stood next to my captain. I was prepared to protect her from the drow's next attack.
Surprisingly, instead of taking a swing at her now-vulnerable opponent, Khaz whistled and started running for the bridge.
The remaining drow fighters immediately threw smoke bombs on the ground and ran past their opponents.
I started to give chase when I heard Maisen yell out, "LET THEM GO!" I stomped to a dead stop on my feet and turned my head incredulously to the captain. "Why?" I huffed in annoyance. We had them!
The captain ignored my minor act of insubordination. Instead, she turned her attention to the pushcart that was left behind. She started taking the hay out of the cart and tossing it to the ground. However, she removed the hay delicately, taking two fistfuls of hay out of the box at a time. Evidently, the captain believed that something valuable was left inside the cart and she took great care to ensure that she missed nothing in her search.
Sankryn and Giudot sheathed their swords and helped the captain remove the hay, also two fistfuls at a time.
I followed their actions and started pulling out the hay, too. Obviously, the captain believed that whatever was inside the cart was more important than chasing after those drows. While I would have pursued the drows instead and then return to the cart if I lost them, I had to obey Maisen's decision since she was the superior officer. Soon, the content of the cart was revealed—a baby, a young boy, and a young girl; all three were bound, gagged, and unconscious. "What the heck is going on?" I asked in a low voice. I couldn't believe my eyes! Why did the drows kidnap these children?
However, the captain and her men ignored my question and continued to remove the rest of the hay until the cart was emptied out. Nothing else was found inside the pushcart.
The two Watchmen knelt and put their heads on the ground; they looked under the wooden box.
"Nothing," Giudot announced when Maisen started knocking on the bottom of the box with her knuckles in case there was a false bottom. While still on his knees, he turned around and looked at the spot where the smoke bombs were dropped. He saw a broken glass vial on the floor along with some gooey substance. He pulled out a small piece of cloth and wrapped up some pieces of the glass. Giudot took out a second rag, scrapped up the lime-colored substance, and wrapped it. Both rags were then carefully placed into a small red sack, which he then handed over to the captain.
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Once Maisen tied the evidence bag around her belt, she turned her head toward me. "Thank you for the warning. You don't realize how big a role you had played in preventing the drows from leaving with these children." And then she paid the highest compliment that she could offer—by saluting me.
The two Watchmen immediately saluted me as well.
I received a pop-up message which read, "Faction quest COMPLETED. +500 XP. +300 Reputation. +600 XP." What was going on here? Why did I receive such a hefty boost in reputation?
The confusion was apparently obvious on my face because Sankryn kindly answered my unasked question. "Unlike the other elves who reside peacefully with us in the kingdom of Merlin, the drows are enemies of man. They worship the demi-goddess Drowsidea, who believed that the spread of humans on these lands was a scourge that led to the decline of the elven race. In particular, the goddess blamed our human race for the spread of a disease that caused infertility among many elven maidens. Thus, her followers are actively encouraged to sacrifice humans, particularly children, to gain her favor," he explained.
Abruptly, I felt the contents of my lunch threatening to leave my stomach; I immediately covered my mouth and pulled my eyes away from those kidnapped children. I forced my eyes shut and took big, deep breaths to calm my nerves. A hand gently patted my back until my panic attack disappeared. When I opened my eyes and turned my head, I saw Maisen looking down at me with concern.
"You saw. .," I began.
My sister-in-mindset raised her brows.
"You retain the memories of Peng through your sword," I explained what I was alluding to.
She nodded.
"Then you were aware of my failure to warn the Watch that Ebenthal was a wererat," I continued.
"Yes," she nodded simply. However, unlike Peng, Maisen's eyes were full of compassion and understanding, rather than accusation and anger. "He was not angry at you personally. He was angry at himself for not discovering Ebenthal's were-nature sooner and believed that he, as the captain of the Watch, could have done more to prevent the judge's murder at the Public Square. He felt ashamed and humiliated by his failure; he went after the wererats recklessly inside their lair even though he knew that he probably didn't have enough men backing him up. Ultimately, Peng paid for that mistake with his life." Maisen sighed helplessly at her friend's foolish pride.
"How do you know how Peng felt?" I challenged her. Where was she getting this information from? I knew that Maisen had a connection with Peng back when he was alive. But with the events of the Public Square, the were-hunt, and then his last stand inside the wererat lair unraveling so rapidly, there was simply no time for Peng to share with her his personal regrets.
Peng's successor pointed at the big jewel stone embedded within Jiang's hilt. "This is a soul stone and it contains his essence," she explained.
"Yes, I know that already," I replied impatiently. "I once saw his ghost hovering over the stone and I realized then that his spirit was still here with us."
"Through his spirit, I gained access to his memories, and that's how I knew what your warning meant," Maisen continued. "With Lady Luck's divine blessing still in effect, you were able to pierce through the drows' enchantments that disguised their true natures. And you provided us with this warning early enough for us to prevent the drows from crossing the bridge and taking these children with them. You saved their lives and I honored you for this reason."
"Captain," Giudot interrupted us, "we untied the kids but we're unable to awaken them from their slumber."
"They were probably given a sleeping draught," Sankryn guessed.
"We need to take them to the healers at Watch Headquarters. Let's leave the children inside the pushcart for now. Once we refill the box with hay and clear up the street, I want you two to push the cart. Lawrence and I will take turns with you at the end of each block," Maisen ordered.
"Yes, Captain," the two saluted. When the box was filled with hay, the two Watchmen started pushing the cart westward.