Ayuen
Near Tinker Spring, The Grey Crown, The Grasping Isle
[https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/926707024362885130/1045841100604186624/Ayuen-WayX.png]
It took their little group multiple hours to get back down. Much to Ayuen’s annoyance, it turned out there were no easy paths to traverse the mountain this time around. Without a river to carve out a path, they had to navigate massive treacherous piles of rubble, chasms and cliffs. Her wings proved to be a useful asset once again, however. When the sun started to touch the Crown again as it set, the trio found themselves before Tinkersong’s entrance.
A short hushed discussion while hidden in the undergrowth later, they decided that they would go inside. It had been at least two days after they had been here, and the enemy saw them getting caught in Ayuen’s explosion. They probably had some leeway. Besides that, they needed to get their horses back, plus their food and general supply reserves were running dangerously low.
Ayuen made sure her wings were somewhat tucked away behind her cloak, hiding her ears and fur collar underneath a hood. The three of them also covered up their new treasures. Magically enhanced steel weaponry and toolboxes would only attract unnecessary attention.
However, just as they entered the mountain hamlet, a familiar face walked up to them from the edge of the village. It was Sneak. With a fast gait, the dishevelled man walked up to them, giving them a short but merry wave.
“’Ello mist’r and mistresses. Sneak thought you weren’t comin’ back, no. That the mountain claimed you, yes. Or them cans that followed you up the mountain. Last Sneak heard, there was a big boom there.” The man’s speech was clumsy as usual, but there was some genuine concern audible in his tone.
“Close enough, friend,” Rove said, approaching the rag-clad man and clapping him on the shoulder. “Tell me, how long has it been since the mistress and I first met you?”
Good question. They didn’t know how much time there had been out yet.
“Hhhmmm,” Sneak hummed, holding a finger to his dry cracked lips while he thought. “Hhhmmmm… Four days, twenty-one hours, sixteen minutes and thirteen seconds. Fourteen seconds. Fifteen seconds…”
Ayuen tilted her head a slight bit while she looked at Sneak with some confusion. Sneak’s ability to tell time was oddly specific. And the amount of time that had elapsed. It was way too much. “Sneak, are you certain? Nobody could be that precise.”
“Twenty-one seconds, twenty-two sec-... Oh, don’t worry mistress Ayuen. Sneak is very good with numbers. Nobody can count as Sneak can. And nobody got a memory like Sneak. As good as a sun-tanned lizard! A lizard never forgets!”
“I believe the saying mentions an elephant, though.” She chuckled. The man started to grow on her. Although he seemed rather uncouth, he was one of the few actual helpful souls they had come across.
“Sneak never heard of an elephant rememberin’ where the best grasshoppers were.” The ragged man said sagely. “Lizards are better.”
“Sure. Thank you for the heads up, Sneak.” Rove spoke up just as she wanted to give a retort, sending a glare her way. “But did you manage to get any information during the time we were gone?”
Sneak puffed up his chest proudly. “Sure did, mist’r. Them cans were talkin’ about headin’ back south to Handport after gettin’ rid of all them ‘loose ends’. Guess you’re looser than they thought, hah! Also heard that the leader, a guy with a parade for a name…”
Ayuen frowned. ‘Parade for a name’?
“Prado, by any chance?”
“Yes, that’s the one. Parade wanted to get some scouts to search the Crown. Somethin’ about findin’ a bastard?” The scruffy man scratched his nose as he shrugged. “Must hate ‘em if he calls ‘em a bastard.”
Rove’s lips curled up a tiny bit.
“Heh. Yeah, you could say that.”
Ayuen spoke up, clearing her throat. Time to switch the subject.
“Sneak, could we ask one more favour from you?”
“Sure thin’, mistress. Whatcha need?”
“Can you check the town to see if there are any stragglers left from Prado’s group? You see, our supplies are running rather low and our horses are stabled at the local inn. And to be fair, all three of us hunger for a good night's rest in a comfortable bed. To make it worth your while, we will compensate you with a night of rest and food too. Our treat! Even more, I insist on you taking my offer, even if you decide not to provide your assistance. “
Sneak’s mouth fell right open and he started nodding vehemently.
“Bed? Sneak can sleep in a bed? Oh yes, Sneak shall help mist’r and mistress. For sure! Sneak will be right back.”
Before any of them could say a word, Sneak ran off, chanting the word bed over and over at the top of his lungs. Ayuen closed her mouth again with a snap.
“Well, there he goes,” Rove said, walking towards the nearest tree and sitting down, making himself comfortable. “Got to admit, miss. Those charms of yours are a nasty yet handy tool sometimes.”
Her eyes glimmered as she gave the Herhor an amused look.
“That’s quite a compliment coming from you, Rove.” She walked to the same tree and sat down next to the Herhor, careful not to sit on her wings. “Are you slowly getting used to my ‘charms’?”
The Herhor’s cheeks reddened as he opened his mouth to retort. Ayuen looked him right in the eyes, finding it strangely fun and relaxing to tease him like this. After a moment, Rove’s mouth closed again without having uttered a word, and the man closed his eyes and grunted dismayed.
Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Ayuen’s expression softened before she looked away, taking out the pouch where she had put the strange bullets in. The last couple of days had been all over the place as far as emotion was concerned. From blind panic to cheerful joy and almost changing by the minute.
Now, if they could stay in this comfortable and relaxed state for a couple of days for a change, she’d be very happy. While she plucked at the pouch’s strings, she quickly mumbled a prayer to Garebma, the Aral of Law. They made it this far. Maybe with the Aral’s graces, they would be able to finish their journey.
Sighing yet again, she shook the contents of the little pouch on her palm. With a soft tingle, they fell, the metal cold on her skin. They didn’t look like normal flintlock rifle rounds, even if you didn’t take their colours into account. The bullets were cylindrical in shape, ending in a sharp point. At the other end, there was a small bit where the metal was differently coloured. Floryshia itself had a smaller hammer than the rifle she was used to. It looked ever so slightly off. Maybe a different kind of firing mechanism than the less sophisticated counterparts the current races were using?
She brought her attention back to the bullets themselves. Were these bullets magical in nature? Floryshia certainly was, otherwise the steel wouldn’t have persisted through the centuries. By that metric, the bullets should also be magical.
Ayuen closed her eyes and focussed on the magical energies around her as she pulled the ambient energy around her to her soul. She needed only a tiny trickle for this. Carefully, she led the magic through her soul, carefully shaping it into the shape she needed. When she opened her eyes again, she could clearly see what appeared to be glowing smoke coming from the bullets in her hands. Residues of the magic that sustained them, only visible to her eyes. A neat little trick she’d picked up in her youth, taught to mages to be able to examine magical energy. The thicker the smoke, the stronger the magic was. The bullets, one green, one grey, three yellow, one blue and black and one with a yellow and black pattern, smoked in her hand. Curiously, those with only a single colour smoked the least, with the yellow ones exuding only the faintest whisp. The grey and green ones produced slightly more smoke. However, she noticed that the two rounds with bi-coloured markings exuded significantly more smoke. It was putting the other bullets to shame, almost clouding her vision. Fascinated, she narrowed her eyes as she took a closer look.
The colour and consistency of the smoke told a lot about the magic the effect or item held. In that notebook of hers, she had some notes on the few occasions that she had had the chance to examine something that had been imbued with magic. Items like this weren’t an everyday occurrence, after all. She wasn’t an expert by any stretch, but she should be able to gain some insight into the bullet’s purpose. With her notes at the ready, she started deciphering the smoke. Both Rove and Trïeste were close by, eyeing her work with casual interest.
----------------------------------------
By the time that Sneak returned from his search through town, Ayuen had figured out quite a lot. In the hour that she’d been working, the yellow bullets revealed themselves to have been imbued with some sort of fire magic. Lots of light, not a lot of heat. Blinding rounds, perhaps? The grey one was imbued with magic that she recognized all too well. Destructive magic. Designed to pierce through matter it came into contact with. The tip of the bullet was sharper as well. Something to pierce armour?
The green one felt off. It felt similar to Beacon magic but twisted and shifted. The bullet’s precise use eluded her.
However, the single-colour rounds were nothing to the two two-coloured rounds. She tried to concentrate on the smoke they exuded multiple times, but the intensity of magic made her head throb painfully. Her eyes teared up and agony rapidly spread throughout her body every time she tried to examine them closely. There was nothing she could do other than avert her eyes and end the spell. The only thing she learned was that the yellow and black bullet had something to do with destructive Chain magic.
“You all right there, Ayuen?” Rove said while she was rubbing the pain out of her eyes. She tried to look at him, but her vision was blurry, shaped dancing in her sight. By the Arals, she hoped it wouldn’t last too long.
“Yeah. I think so. I just bit off more than I could chew, is all. Some of these rounds are… intense.”
“Hhhmmm. Just be careful, all right? You have a tendency to take bites that are a bit on the big side.”
“Don’t be so dramatic, Rove. I’m fine, really.” She retorted with a raised eyebrow and a smile. “More importantly, I’ve got some insight into what these rounds do.” Her sight slowly began to return to normal. Rove was crouching next to her, his face both worried and curious. There was no sign of Trïeste, the girl had disappeared to the Aral knows where.
“At least that’s something. So, are those things of any use to us?”
“Most likely. We got three that probably emanate lots of light when shot, one armour-piercing or generally piercing round and one that I think is toxic?”
She held up the two most powerful and mysterious bullets.
“These last two possess power beyond my capabilities to read effectively. The only thing I know is that this one…” She held up the blue and black bullet. “Possesses more of a benevolent effect if you can believe it. Can’t detect any Destructive or Chaotic magic. And this one…” After storing the previous bullet away in the satchel, she showed him the other yellow and black one. “This one feels rather destructive. In what way is beyond me. I know that I probably shouldn’t fire it near you.” After the explanation, she stowed the bullets away, carefully tying the leather satchel to her belt.
“That’s it? Nothing that is a little bit more concrete?” Rove said back down, giving her a bit of a disappointed look. “Not giving me a lot to work with, here.”
“It’s not up to me to decide what I information I can gleam about the objects we found. Even so, a small amount of information is preferable to no information, right?”
“Can’t really argue with that. Well, if you have some time later, take a look at the weapons and Trïeste’s pack. See if you can find anything about those.”
“That’s the plan. Although I doubt I will uncover information that you would find 100% sufficient.”
“You don’t know that for sure until you try.”
She shoed him away. “Yes, yes. Fine. I will work on it as we travel.”
The man nodded as he turned around towards the undergrowth. Ayuen saw a smile appear on his face, glancing at her as he jotted a thumb towards the bushes. “Look what the cat dragged in.”
Trïeste broke through the undergrowth, her presence announced way ahead of time by virtue of snapping twigs and stomping boots.
“No cats here, I’m afraid. Also no draggin’. The good news is that I should be stocked up quite decently. Scoured the area for useful materials.” The girl patted the tool pack hanging by her side. “Amazin’ how many herbs I can cram in here. I could gather for days and wouldn’t get close to filling it up.”
Chuckling, Rove nodded as he stretched his arms. Ayuen felt a corner of her mouth curl upwards. “Excellent.” She praised the girl. “Next time do let us know that you’re going to gather herbs though.” She gave the alchemist a somewhat stern but playful look.
“Sorry to disappoint you, Ayuen,” Rove interjected, standing up to lean casually against the tree next to her. “She did tell us she’d be gone for a bit. You just were too taken by those magical trinkets of yours to notice.”
Well, that caused a raised eyebrow. “Really?”
Guess she spaced out a bit too much, then. “That’s something to keep in mind, heh. Sorry for that.”
“And that’s why I prefer alchemy over magic.” Trïeste teased, eyes glimmering. “You can’t go wrong with alchemy as long as you don’t take a sip of your brew. But magic can blow your face right off if you’re not careful.”
“Ah, that’s why you use bombs then. As they don’t blow your face off apparently.” Ayuen retaliated with a laugh.
The three of them kept bickering like that for a little while until Sneak found them again, the enthusiastic man almost dragging them into town.
[https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/554030201789743105/1028654515798409237/Grasping_Isle_Final_V1.0.png]