I went downstairs, ignoring the curious looks from patrons until Colben stopped me.
“Ivor! A moment, if you would please?” He was drying a glass behind the counter.
I halted beside the bar, my expression kept neutral. “Yes, Master Colben? What is it? I am about to go for a hunt.”
The man was taken aback, clearly not expecting this. “But, you only just arrived, and there isn’t any serious game nearby.” He blinked in confusion, then shook his head to clear it. “Anyway, I simply wanted to ask how your meal was, Sir.”
I smiled warmly. “Honestly, it was the best meal I’ve had in ages. The fruit pies were simply divine. Tell Miriam I am impressed and honored.”
The man beamed with pride and pleasure. “I shall be certain to, friend. Incidentally, is there anything I can get for you for your hunt? A shame to go with just a small bag of provisions, no matter how beautifully tooled it may be.” He gestured to my Bag of Holding.
“Hmm? Oh, yes. Would you have any potato pies or meat-filled pastries? Those would go a long way toward keeping me well-fed out there.” I casually leaned against the counter, the muted hubbub of the common room filtering through the air.
“I think I may have something in the back that would keep you well. Just one moment.” He disappeared into the kitchen.
I looked around and concentrated on the locator spell for the boys, and felt a pull from the back of the building. It wasn’t very strong, so I assumed they were simply off in that direction. Looking around as unobtrusively as possible, I didn’t see anyone watching me with anything beyond a passing interest. I felt as if I were safe enough by the bar.
Colben returned a moment later with a cloth-wrapped bundle. “Here you are, sir. I have three potato cakes, and two stew pastries. Miriam also insisted I give you some more of her fruit pies, so there are several of those, as well.” He smiled warmly.
I took the proffered bundle, asking “I truly appreciate this, Master Colben. Truly. Incidentally, did you happen to see someone come down the stairs some time ago, with my three slaves in tow? He left something upstairs, and I’d like to give it back to him. I believe he was wearing red and yellow livery?”
His eyebrows knit together in confusion. “You mean Artos? Yes, Artos Klebhammer is his name, I think. I do believe I saw that bastard earlier. Owes me quite the sum for his ale tab. Went out the back. Would you like for me to contact the Watch? I can get a message to them rather quickly.”
I smiled as kindly as I could. “No, that won’t be necessary, I’ll find him. Trust me. I always find what I’m looking for.” I placed two silvers on the counter, and went out the back way, following my tracer.
Colben watched Ivor leave, shaking his head slowly, and scooped the coins off the bar. A dangerous man, indeed. He would pay any amount to be free of that man if he ever turned those eyes on him. The thought was wiped away as another patron came up to the bar.
Once outside in the dark, I slipped the hood of my jacket up against the cold. I could tell the boys were still moving, and it felt like they were headed to the town square, near to where we saw the flesh market on our way to the inn.
Turning my steps in that direction, I cursed my lack of knowledge of the city’s streets. It was a veritable warren with no rhyme or reason to street placement, direction of straightness. I walked that direction for more than a half-hour, being twisted and turned around multiple times, requiring me to backtrack a handful of times.
I sighed irritably. What I would give for a map, or a HUD. I didn’t trust the magic, or my ability at wording the necessary things to craft a spell for it, nor did I think I had enough energy to sustain a thing like that. I took a calming breath, and looked around. The buildings around me were either made of timber or river stone, and all looked sturdy. I didn’t think to add a locator for the Inn, but I felt sure I could find it, and if I had trouble, I could always ask someone. At least the moon was out.
Rather, both moons were out. An unusual sight for me, and one that filled me with a calm sense of awe, as I’d always loved astronomy and the study of celestial bodies. The light they cast was more than enough to light up the streets and allow me some level of ease as I walked toward the boys.
I heard a shuffling in an alleyway to my left, and kept moving, hoping I was imagining things. First rule of the wilderness in Appalachia - If you think you hear something, no you didn’t. Old habits die hard, I guess. I continued to walk, neither hurrying nor slowing my pace; allowing whatever it was to either catch up to me or lose interest and go elsewhere.
I continued to move toward the square, hearing soft footfalls behind me, keeping a healthy distance. Ahead, there was an overhang with a shadowed area beneath it. Perfect.
As I neared the shaded area, I let my concentration lapse on the tracer spell, and instead whispered “Shadow step.” as I entered the shade, hoping to transport me behind my tail.
The sensation was jarring to say the least, and I found myself queasy as I saw the back half of me walk forward into the shadow, being followed by a man in red and yellow who stopped as suddenly as I had apparently vanished from sight. I stayed rooted in the shadow of the building I found myself beside, and watched the Watchman look around for me.
I stayed as still as possible, shaking with fear and excitement as the Watchman looked around fruitlessly for a few minutes, and then turned back towards me, and returned to his previous location.
As he passed, I took a good look at him, noting the general build of the man, which seemed to be similar to my assailant from earlier. He was, however, not the same man, as his nose was straight and his hands not clublike. I waited for him to walk out of sight, and I resumed my concentration on the tracer.
A flurry of wings drew my attention to the top corner of a nearby building, and I spied a crow there, preening his feathers. I took this as my sign to leave, and continued on my way.
I walked for another fifteen minutes or so, and found myself in the town square, near to the flesh market. The tracer spell had led me right here, but there was nobody in sight. I refocused on the spell, hiding myself in the shadows, and felt a subtle pull ‘down’, and figured they had gone into the sewers. I really didn’t want to do that, but it was needed. I looked about from my hiding spot for an entrance to the sewers, and couldn’t see anything.
A soft ‘Caw’ pulled my attention to the left, near some bushes, and I could swear I saw the same crow, sitting in the lower limbs of a tree, looking around. I slunk towards it, hiding in the shadows. I looked about, and saw nobody in the street, nor anyone watching from any of the shuttered and barred windows. I decided it was as good a place as any to cross the square.
Upon making the crossing, I found that the bushes hid a very well-concealed entrance to the sewers. I looked up at the bird in the tree, who spread his wings and dipped his head a couple of times.
I dug about in my Bag for some of the dried meat, and tore a section into smaller bite-sized pieces. The crow deserved some sort of reward for being helpful. Tossing them onto the ground, I whispered my thanks to the large, beautiful black bird. It wasted no time swooping down and devouring the meat.
I smiled, and crept into the sewers.
There was a distinct absence of light once I got around the bend. I squatted onto my heels for a moment, contemplating. Smiling, I landed upon the answer to my predicament. Touching my closed eyes, I whispered “Truth in vision.” I felt a wrenching in my eyes, and immediately got a mild headache.
When I opened my eyes, the tunnels were lit as if it were dusk, and there was a shimmery quality to several of the wall sections. I made note of these, and kept my ears open for any untoward sounds.
Refocusing on the tracer, I followed the tunnels in a winding path toward the location of the boys. I had to backtrack multiple times to find my way around. Eventually, I followed the sound of voices to a wooden door with a sliding window set into the wall.
My heart pounded in my chest. This had to be the den of the guild. My boys were only thirty yards away, at most. I reached into my Bag, and pulled out a potato and a meat pie, and wolfed them down. Master Colben certainly had good food.
Feeling a bit more energized, I placed my palm on the locking mechanism of the door and whispered “Weaken.” and watched as the metal began to crumble. I took a breath and raised my right leg, ready to kick the door in when a roar of anger erupted from the other side.
“Who put this here!? Where is the bastard who thought he could place the Mark on my desk? I don’t know who you are, but I will find you, and I will kill you. Was it you?!” The reply was too muffled for me to make out, “You, then? Who the hell was it? I will beat you all until I find the one responsible, and then they’ll kill you. WHO WAS IT?!?”
I put my leg down and simply knocked on the door, and the room went silent. I heard footsteps approach the door, and slid the window open.
“Who calls in the dead of night, with nary the right?”
I looked up into the eyes that were revealed in the tiny window and spoke a single word. “Vengeance.” The window slammed shut, and I kicked the door in, knocking whomever was behind it sprawling on the floor.
Striding in, I was surprised to see only ten people, four of which were in the red and yellow of the City Watch. The man on the floor beside me groaned, and I slammed the end of my staff into his head, silencing him. The whispering voice in my head cackled with glee. “YES. let me overtake you, let me free, let me feasssssst…”
I slowly let my gaze rake over the men and women within. “Where are they?”
The voice I recognized from earlier piped up from a room to the left. “Where are who? And who do you think you are? You realize there are ten of us, right? You have no hope of living unless you turn around and walk away.” Ten people readied weapons, two of whom simply raised their hands.
“Ah. I trust you got my message then, Guildmaster? You were warned. Sad that you acted too soon. Now you will pay the price for crossing me, and hurting my family. From the looks of things, so will these ten.” Addressing the group, I added. “I hope you’re all willing to die. Because if you come at me, you definitely will. And you two mages cannot hold a candle to me. Give up and run.”
Nobody moved, and I heard a low laugh from the room. “Kill him. Leave nothing but red smears.”
I readied my staff, and prepared to meet my attackers.
A man to my left walked towards me, crouched low, a pair of daggers in his hands. “Little man like you ought to know better where to go.” He feinted attacks a couple of times, and I whirled my staff at his hands, breaking one, and sending the dagger clattering to the floor. He roared in pain, and lunged at me. I stepped to my right, and hooked my staff between his legs, flipping him onto his back violently. His head hit the rock floor with a hollow thunk, sounding like a ripe melon, and he went still. I spun towards the other nine, and slammed the tip of my staff on the floor. “NEXT!” I roared.
Three arrows came whistling from the corners at me, and I was only just able to get my right arm up in time, with the air shield deployed. The arrows curved around the shield and harmlessly splintered against the stone walls and ceiling. The two people advancing on me from the front gasped in shock, and halted. They looked at each other and swallowed. The mage on my left screamed “FIREBALL!” and my head whipped around to see a four-foot ball of flame roar towards me.
I raised my left arm, conjuring the Shield of Earth in a large tower shield, and ducked behind it as the roaring inferno crashed upon my location, sending a shower of flame around my shield. “dirty mages deserve dirty deaths, give them their due.” whispered my Anger.
Whirling my staff over my head, I shouted “STONE MISSILE!” and sent a barrage of razor sharp obsidian shards into the hapless mage, and watched him fall. Laughing softly, I looked upon the group. “And then, there were eight.” I looked into the dim recesses of the room, and spied three of the four archers attempting to change positions. I raised my left arm, and called out “Acid arrows, unerring direction.” and watched with rising glee as the three were hit in the chest, and began to dissolve, shrieking in pain.
Three of their number dropped their weapons and ran. I stopped them each with a single spell. “Chain lightning.” Blue and white energy leapt from my outstretched palm, and collided with the lead escapee, and I watched it arc to the other two, before terminating in the chest of the last of the archers.
“Four left. And then it’s the cowardly Guildmaster’s turn. And you,” I said, pointing to the man with the crooked nose and clublike hands, “took my boys from me. You’re last.” I snarled and raised my left hand. “Hand of Air.” I grasped him with the Hand, and pinned him to the wall.
“Three.”
I roared and leapt forward, spinning my staff into the temple of the woman to my right, watching her collapse like a marionette whose strings were just cut. Stepping to the left, I only just dodged a slash from a dagger in the hands of the remaining mage. The man beside her rained a flurry of blows down on me, most of which I blocked, but several connected with painful results. I knew he had broken a couple of my ribs with his truncheon, but the Anger within sustained me, blocking out the pain, allowing it to lend me strength. I swept my staff up, catching him between his legs, lifting him up off the ground, then slammed it down onto his shoulder, sending him towards the floor.
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Chest heaving, teeth bared, I whipped toward the female mage, and growled “One.” She screamed and turned to run. I leapt forward, grabbing her collar, and hurled her into a stone pillar in the center of the room. She lay there, motionless.
I stalked to the room where the Guildmaster had called from, and drew my pistol.
“Your turn, coward.” I readied the shield of earth, made into a small buckler, and advanced, holding it in front of me. There was only a desk and bookshelf within. I scanned the room, looking for any sort of hidden door, seeing only the tunnel walls.
Until, that is, I looked to my left and spied a hollow in the wall, with what I mistook for soot inside. I holstered my pistol, and examined it. It turned out to be a button, and I pressed it, causing a section of the wall to slide away, revealing a shaking man with a balding pate. He screamed and attempted to drive a knife into my chest, where it collided with my jacket, and stopped as if it had hit a stone wall. We both looked at the dagger, shocked, until I chuckled and then I reached out and took him by the jaw, my fingers curled around his teeth, and dragged him out into the room.
Once I had dragged the man out, I slung him towards the big man I had pinned against the wall. He whimpered and covered his head with his arms. I conjured a second Hand, and pinned him to the wall, as well.
“So! Which of you is the actual Guildmaster? I can’t believe it’s Mister Piss-Pants over here. So, that leaves you, big man. Are you the one who took my boys and stabbed me in the belly to see if I were dead?” His face went pale. “Oh, yes. I was and am very much alive. It appears you can do a great deal of magic when you know the language. And I know the language. Fluently. You see,” I raised my hand and whispered “Hands of stone, grip the guilty.” and smiled as both he and the other man were gripped by stone hands, and held fast to the walls of the tunnels. I released the hands of air. “When you’re fueled by rage and vengeance, possess a mind filled with Anger kept at bay by the thinnest of veneers, and just so happen to know the Ancient Tongue as your mother tongue, absolutely anything is possible.” I grinned evilly and stepped back, watching them struggle in vain. I turned my back, and set about the grim task of giving the wounded the touch of mercy.
I drew my knife, and started on the first people I had dispatched, and slid my blade into the chest of the two nearest the door, then wandered to the back of the room, spying the puddles that used to be archers, and the other three with electric burns across their bodies, mouths smoking. The man who broke my ribs was beginning to stir, and I helped him to his feet. He leaned over and vomited, and I rubbed his back. “Let it all out. You’ll feel better in a bit,” I said.
Shaking, he stood up slowly, clutching his groin. “Thank you. Oh, gods. I think they’re shattered. I don’t even feel them anymore.” He began to panic, pulling down his trousers to inspect himself. He found a swollen, bruised sack, but no other injuries. “Oh thank the gods, they’re still there.”
I smiled. “Good. I’m glad. However,” The man looked over at me and I stepped forward, staring him in the eyes, and slowly sheathed my knife into his chest. “It doesn’t matter anymore. Soon enough, you won’t be here.” I slowly slid the knife out of his chest, and he coughed once, spattering me with blood. I watched as he fell to his knees and then face first into the stone floor. I knelt down and wiped the knife clean on his shirt, then sheathed it. I turned to the mage who tried to run.
She lay on her side, wheezing, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. She had watched me as I dispatched her entire guild. Terrified, she tried to cover herself with her one working arm.
I gently took her arm and lowered it. She slowly opened one eye and looked at me. Dispassionately, I asked “Do you want to live? Of the lot of you, you were probably injured the least and seemed to do what you did out of fear, rather than a desire to actually kill me. I ask again. Do you want to live?”
Her mouth worked, but no sound came out. Slowly, she nodded.
“Are you certain? I can heal you, but it will hurt immensely. And once I do, you will be in my service for the rest of your life. Final time: Do you truly want to live?” I began to reach into my pocket for a ring.
She nodded again, and I placed a hand on her side, and spoke the words “Knit bone, heal flesh, make right.” A wordless shriek of pain tore through the air, and she lay there, shivering and sobbing. I took that moment to slip a ring on her finger and Lock it in place. “Stay put, please. I’ll be back for you.” I rose on shaky legs, and dug into my pouch again, pulling out the last meat pie, and devoured it.
Stalking over to the two pinned to the wall, I placed my hands on my hips, and looked at them. “So. Ready to tell me which of you is the Guildmaster? Or is it neither of you?” I gazed first at the Watchman, who averted his eyes, and then to Piss-Pants who glared at me with seething hatred. “Well, whichever it is, you’re a terrific actor. A pity you’re both going to die here, anyway.”
They both began to struggle mightily, and the big man actually managed to crack one of the stone hands, freeing his right arm. I watched in curiosity as he pounded on the left, trying valiantly to break it. “Oh, that’s impressive sir.” I clapped my hands. “A most impressive feat of strength.” I sighed as he managed to break the hand on the left, and set to work on the pair holding his legs. “Hand of Air.” Once conjured, I held his chest to the wall, and walked to his feet.Taking hold of his trousers, I whispered “Disintegrate.” His struggling ceased when he felt the cold stone on his naked rear. He looked down in fear. “Well. I’m certain you’re popular with the ladies, sir! Were.” I raised my left hand, conjuring another hand of stone from between his knees, and used it to gently grasp the man’s flapping privates. He gibbered in fear and begged me to stop. Piss-Pants looked on, eyes wide.
“You want me to stop? Tell me where my boys are, and I won’t rip this off you.” I struggled against the Anger within. “rip. tear. crush. rip. tear. crush. rip. tear. crush. rip. tear. crush. RIP. TEAR. CRUSH. RIP. TEAR. CRUSH. RIP. TEAR. CRUSH. RIPTEARCRUSHRIPTEARCRUSHRIPTEARCRUSH.” He raised his left arm and pointed to the corner directly to the right of where I came in, where a barred door stood.
“They’re over there! Oh gods, please don’t hurt me!” He began sobbing.
“Hurt you?” I walked forward and patted his bare leg, “I’m not going to hurt you.”
“Oh gods, thank you. Thank you, thank you thank you.” Relief flooded through him.
“You are.”
“What?” He looked down, terrified.
I reached up, and touching the side of his leg, I whispered “Flesh to stone, Fuse for all time.” and watched as the stone wall and the backside of his leg became one. He screamed in terror. I slowly walked to the other leg and repeated the process.
“There. Now, the only person that can hurt you now is yourself. You can rip your skin off the wall, sure. But it won’t be me doing it. It’ll be you.” I stepped back, looking the man up and down. “Oh wait. One more thing.”
I conjured two more Hands, and used them as steps, putting myself at eye level with him. “If you do wind up living through this, do not ever seek me out. I will snuff your flame with ease. Accept your fate and live out the rest of whatever days you have left. Leave me and my family alone. Am I understood?” He nodded, sobbing. I slowly began to lower myself down when a terrible thought crossed my mind. Reaching out, I took hold of the stone hand, and whispered “Fuse.” and let myself down to the floor. His screams were blood-curdling.
I turned to Piss-Pants, who was still staring daggers at me. “Now, you. After everything you’ve witnessed, you’re still defiant?” I cocked my head to the side.
“I may not be able to best you, but I can still survive anything you do.” He started breathing hard, then yelled “Freedom from bonds!” and fell to the ground, and adopted a fighting stance.
I was surprised. He had just freed himself, and was itching to fight. I raised my fists, confident I could handle anything he sent at me. And then, he turned and ran down towards the rear exit. I gave chase, and saw that he had a straight tunnel ahead of him. I slid to a stop, drawing my pistol, and put three rounds cleanly through his midsection, and watched him tumble to the ground.
I jogged to him, and watched as he gasped in pain. “Thought my magic was all I had? Thought I was done? No, no, no…. I have more. Much much more.” I reached down, and placed a hand on his wounds. “Knit flesh, heal wounds.” and grinned as he shouted in pain. Wrapping a hand around his throat, I slammed a ring onto his finger and Locked it into place. I then took his head in my hands, and spoke “Burn Magic away.” Standing, I said “Come with me.” He got up, moaning in pain, and followed me as I made my way back to where the woman was still seated. “Sit here.” I pointed to a spot about five feet from the woman, and walked off to get my boys.
“Mr. Ivor!!” Ahte-tan jumped up and down as he saw me approach. “Mr. Ivor, you came to get us!”
I chuckled, “Of course I did, boys! I’m not letting people like this take you away from me. Let’s get you out of this room.” I reached up to grab the bars, but Ahte-naah yelled at me to stop.
“No! Don’t touch it. It’ll hurt you. It hurt Ahte-ukum already.” He looked sadly at his little brother, who had burns across his hands.
Fury coursed through my body, but I smiled through it. “Hang on. I know who will help.” I stood and stomped over to Piss-Pants.
“Piss-Pants! Get up!” The man rose, angry. “Come with me.” He followed me over to the cell where my boys were. “Can you open this door, Piss-Pants?” He nodded. “Do it.” The man withdrew a long, thin key from around his neck, and shaking violently, proceeded to insert it into a slender hole on the wall next to the bars. A couple of twists later, a click sounded, and he pulled the key out.
“It is open.”
“I see that. Will it hurt anyone that touches it now?” I asked. He shook his head. “Then pull it open.”
He did so, and the boys ran out, hugging me. “I’m so glad to see you boys. Do you see that woman over there, by the pillar?” They nodded. “Go wait over there with her, but don’t be mean, and do NOT look over here, do you understand me?” Another nod. “Go, then. I’ll be there in a minute.”
The three ran off, and I turned toward Piss-Pants. “Give me the key, and get in there.” He walked into the cell and turned around to face me, handing me the key. “Is there another way out of this cell other than the door?” He shook his head. “Are you the Guildmaster here?”
Speaking through gritted teeth, he said “No, I am not. I am the second in command.”
“I thought as much. Is it the man on the wall, then?” Another shake. “Who? Who is the Guildmaster?”
He struggled like a fish out of water, trying to resist the words, “Amos Basingdown.” He panted.
“Amos, huh? What else does he do? What was your job here?” I crossed my arms and watched the man struggle to keep silent.
“He oversees the smuggling. I oversee the flesh market. Together, we bring in most of the guild’s coin.” He panted from the exertion of failing to keep silent.
“Tell me where to find him, Piss-Pants. Tell me, and I might let you live.”
He struggled, biting his lip until he bled. “He’s the wharfmaster. You can find him by the shipping docks. He’s bringing in cargo right now. Will be until morning light.” Tears rolled down his face from the pain.
“I see. Does the lady mage over there know how to get to him before dawn?” He nodded. “Good, good. Okay. Take off your shoes and give them to me, please.” Confused, the man complied, leaving his stockinged feet on the cold stone. “Excellent. Does this door lock automatically when closed?” He nodded. “Great. Hold still, and do not move your feet.” I knelt down and Fused his feet to his stockings and the stone floor amid his pained screams. “How does the door hurt people? Is it fire? Acid? A shock?”
“Heat. Intense, immediate heat. Like grabbing a hot poker.” He cried as he tried unsuccessfully to move his feet.
“I want you to take hold of the cell door, and shut it. Do not let go of the door. Ever.” I turned and walked away to my boys, hearing a clang and immediate, continuous bone-chilling screams.
The woman sat there, weeping from fright. She had three lizardfolk children watching her, waiting to eat her, and had just witnessed the Checker get stuck to the wall, not to mention the Second Master get shut into the holding pen by that terrible man. She wrapped her arms around her knees, and rocked, crying uncontrollably.
I walked back to the woman and knelt by her side. “So. What is your name?”
Between sobs she said “Elizabet.” and looked shocked that she had said as much.
“Well, Elizabet, my name is Ivor. From here on, you are under my protection and my command. Do you understand what that means? Speak your mind plainly, please.” I reached into my bag and pulled out three fruit pies, giving them to the boys, who happily began chewing on them.
She sniffled and looked at me. “It means I’ve lost one master only to gain another, much crueler one. That’s what.”
I sighed and sat down. “You think me cruel? Well, after what you’ve just witnessed I can’t say I blame you. However,” I looked at the three children “Boys? Am I mean or cruel? Be honest.”
Ahte-tan looked at me, astonished. “No, Mr. Ivor! You’re the nicest human we’ve ever known. You even got Mr. Blainaut to be nice. And he taught us how to add!” He took a big bite of his pie, and the filling squirted out onto his hands. “Oops. Sorry, Mr. Ivor. I made a mess.”
I laughed, “It’s okay, son. Just lick it off. It’s okay.” I looked at Ahte-ukum, who was staring at his pie in his lap sadly. “Ahte-ukum? How bad are your hands?”
He raised his head, his eyes filled with unshed tears. “They hurt a lot, Mr. Ivor. I can’t even hold my pie.” He began crying.
“Gods, I’m sorry. In all the mess, I forgot.” I scooted over to him, and took the pie from his lap. “Here you go, Elizabet. It’s delicious, I swear. Miriam over at the Sleeping Dog made it. I have another for you, Ahte-ukum. Don’t worry.” I pulled the little boy into my lap and rocked and held him as he wept. Tears filled my eyes as I knew I’d hurt him immensely with any sort of healing spell I could do.
“Uh..Mr….Ivor, was it?” Elizabet spoke up, and I nodded for her to continue. “Well, if you don’t mind me asking, why are you holding a lizard?”
I sniffled and looked at her. “I’m holding a little boy, Elizabet. A little boy who has been hurt by people who see him as less than themselves, who see him as simply a commodity to be bought and sold, ordered around. I’m holding a child who deserves love and care, like all of us do. Just what is it that you see here? Speak plainly.”
She turned her face to the ground. “I just see a lizard. I don’t understand how you can ever see otherwise.”
“And that’s your problem. You only see scales. I see a heart. I see a sweet little boy who needs love, and I’m damn sure going to give it to him. The problem right now is that the only healing I know how to do hurts like hell, and I don’t want to harm him further.” I sniffled.
“Is that all? I did a stint at the Academy. Healing magic is why I’m here. It’s what I was actually good at.” She shrugged.
“So that’s why you tried to stab me?” She nodded, and I took a breath, realizing just how much pain I was in from my ribs. Maybe they weren’t broken, just cracked. “What is the proper wording for healing? Tell me true.”
“Unfeeling flesh, make well, return to full health.” she said.
“Holy shit. I forgot to numb the place, first.” I tenderly placed a hand on my side, and recited the spell. I felt my side grow cold, then the ribs shift back into position, bone knitting together, and then feeling returned once more. “Holy gods. That’s better.” I looked at the little boy in my arms. “Ahte-ukum? Give me your hands, please. I’ll make it better.” The tiny lizard child whimpered and held out his hands. I cupped them in my large ones, and recited the spell once more, watching as he looked up at me, then back at his hands. I opened my hands, and he opened and closed them experimentally, then leapt and hugged my neck.
“Thank you Mr. Ivor! Thank you so much!” He excitedly said.
I smiled and wrapped both of my arms around the little boy and held him before reaching into my bag and pulling out another pie. “Here you go, son. Enjoy.”
He hopped off my lap, and bounded over to his brothers, happily munching on the pie. “You really do care about those three, don’t you?” Elizabet asked, her voice full of wonder.
“You bet I do. And I’ll raze heaven and earth if anyone seeks to hurt them again.” I nodded decisively. I pulled a piece of meat from my Bag, and chewed on it.
The screaming had stopped by then, and I looked back at the cell. Piss-Pants was crouched down, his hands a blackened ruin. I shook my head, and looked up at the wall. The big man was staring straight ahead into nothingness. I got up, and walked back to the cell. The stench of burned meat and hair was overpowering. Piss-Pants was crouched down, his breath coming in a ragged shudder. I took my staff and poked him in the chest, recoiling when I saw him fall over backwards, his hands burned off at the wrist. “Well, I guess I can take this back, now.” Using my staff, I knocked the ring off onto the ground in front of me. I picked it up, and greasy ash stuck to my hand. I wiped the ring and my hands off on the ground, then stuck it back in my pocket.
Heading back, I spoke up to the group. “Elizabet, let’s go. You’re going to take us to the docks where I will end this Guild once and for all.”
She rose on shaky legs, and we all headed out the back exit, stepping around the death and destruction I’d wrought.