Wallace

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I could feel Val's fingers wrapped around my belt as she blindly followed me. I lifted my arm to shield my eyes from the lights on the street, trying to keep my eyes as night-adapted as possible while I padded across the cobbled courtyard.

The world was nothing but vague shapes done in shades of grey and cut by streaks of light thrown from windows and street lamps.

We'd be nearly invisible, even to another human, but magic could make up for a lot. So while I was trying to be careful not to make too much noise, neither did I want to hang around.

The Maiden's low wall was high enough to conceal us from anyone standing on the street, but that didn't preclude an observer hiding on a rooftop.

The longer we took to leave, the higher the chance someone would report our movements and the faster they'd be on us as we left the city.

I made my way towards a blocky smear of grey that was a little greener than the rest and felt gently around the canvas until I found the ties holding the back closed.

The Maiden's staff moved the truck days prior, readying it for a clean run out the gate and down the street, and they had put the canvas cover back up.

I untied the knot, glad for the extra finger, and pulled the flap aside.

I turned and knelt, placing my hands about Val's waist, and lifted her into the back of the truck.

Getting in myself was a little trickier, at least if I wanted it to be quiet.

I grabbed the back of the cargo bed and slowly put my weight on the truck. There were a few soft metallic pops as the suspension compressed, and I could hear the wood creaking under my weight. I grimaced against the noise and worried it would give us away, but in the quiet of the night, even the softest sounds seemed deafening, and in hindsight, I doubted even the guards standing by at the gate heard a thing.

I shifted my weight off my feet and onto my hands, and the truck creaked a little louder. I rolled into the bed of the truck and reached behind, feeling about until I found the edge of the canvas. I caught the other side and tied it loosely shut once again. There was enough of a gap to peek out, but unless someone had their eye up against the opening, they weren't going to see in.

In our last encounter, the enemy mage may not have been able to see me at the moment they cast the spell, but one of their sprites would have been able to report seeing me in the driver's seat.

But this gave them nothing to work with, and I hoped that would keep them from blindly throwing spells about.

I heard Val push the brake lever down and felt the truck begin to roll. The cargo bed suddenly filled with a diffuse glow as reflected light from the headlights filtered through the canvas cover.

The guards at the gate had been ready for our departure, and I heard the gate doors clatter open as the guards hurried to pull them aside.

The back of the truck shivered from side to side, and I heard a raspy hush as the back wheels spun, their iron bindings scraping against the cobblestones.

I planted a hand on the plank floor to steady myself, and with the other hand, checked my pockets. Even now, I had little light to work with, and it was by feel that I confirmed that each sort of coin was where I thought it ought to be.

I found the roll of quarters and, one by one, slipped several of the steel coins off the top and into my palm.

The truck's back end swung outwards as Val turned onto the street and then fishtailed as she fought to get it pointed the right way. Meant to haul tons of cargo, the truck had a hell of a lot of torque. But without a lot of weight in the back and running on iron-clad wheels, there was next to no grip on the stone below.

I nearly fell onto my shoulder. I caught myself, but several of the coins slipped out of my grip and began to rattle around in the back of the truck.

I shifted around until I was seated at the back flap with one leg braced against each wall, and with my free hand, I held onto one of the pipes holding up the canvas.

And then the truck hit something. My grip on the pipe slipped. I fell over backwards and hit my head on the floor of the truck. There were now more coins rolling around, and some had slipped through gaps, but I'd kept hold of most.

We veered hard to the left for a moment before Val corrected, and I felt that side of the truck jump and judder as we went rolling over whatever the hell it was we'd just run into.

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I hauled myself back upright just in time to catch sight of a pair of sprites kneeling by a small purple form.

I frowned, shrugged, and nodded.

One down, one to go.

I could hear horseshoes clinking against stone somewhere in the distance, and a cry went up, but I couldn't tell if it were Caniforman guards or sprite soldiers.

The truck continued to race down the street, wheels spinning even as the speed increased, and I caught sight of torches floating down the road after us.

They were closing the distance, and as they neared, I began to resolve the finer details. The riders were wearing Pelignosi helmets, and though I raised my hand to take aim, I held my fire.

Coins didn't fly straight, and I'd only get to surprise them like this once.

I saw one man missing a helmet, and for a moment, I thought it was the second fey. But he was far from the only one missing bits of gear. Almost none of them had their breastplates on, and even those that had managed to struggle into their armour were missing greaves, boots, and other equipment.

I scanned the crowd following us. There would have been two or three on duty, watching us. If anyone were in full kit, it would be them. And if I were a slave-driving dickhead, those are the guy's I'd want closest to me.

Helmet, no armour... helmet and breastplate, no greaves... another guy with no greaves... There!

Three sprites in close formation near the back of the group were in full kit, escorting a smaller rider. There were far too many bodies between them and us, but I could work with that.

I spun around, falling onto my hands and knees. I tried to stay as low as possible to keep the truck's balance going too screwy, I weighed a hell of a lot to be moving around, and found one of the almond sacks.

I tore open the top and grabbed a handful before turning to crawl towards the back of the truck.

The riders had drawn closer but were still packed in tight as we thundered down the street. As much as I wanted to hold my fire till I could see the whites of their eyes, I was running out of road, and they'd begin to fan out as soon as the buildings didn't constrain them.

So I improvised a spell on the spot. Almonds for Creation, a copper penny for Fire, a zinc dime for Transform, and the ambient air for Air mana.

It was a lot to juggle, but I understood the chemistry well enough to hope it wouldn't matter.

Knowing how deadly this would be- if it worked -I held off until I felt the truck drop slightly and heard the transition from iron on cobblestone to iron on grass and dirt.

I let the first spell fly, using Transform Air to transmute as large a volume I could into aerosolized hydrocarbons. Create Fire lit the cloud just as the first riders reached the edge of the street, and for a moment, the world was very bright and loud.

It felt like my whole body was being squeezed, and it lasted for several seconds. That might not sound like a whole lot, but sit there and watch three or four seconds tick by while you imagine someone squeezing your head in a vice.

"What the fuck was that?" Val screamed.

I realized I was laying sprawled against the cab and hurried to my feet before stumbling to the far end of the truck. I was about to tear the canvas aside but stopped myself. Instead, I dropped to my knees and peeked through the gap.

Nothing was on fire, thank god.

No buildings had been knocked over, thank fuck.

And the windows I could see were that medieval wooden mesh stuff, so I hadn't thrown a bunch of broken glass in anyone's faces.

And all the horses had fallen over, which was pretty sweet. There was movement among the men and horses that had been left to sprawl in the street, but I doubted they'd be in any condition to follow us.

"Hell yeah! WOO HOO! Suck it!" I bellowed, "Magic, bitch!"

"Wallace!" Val repeated.

Oh shit.

I scrambled back to the cab, seized the handle, and froze. There had been a glass pane- it was still there. The glass in the door hadn't shattered.

I hauled it open, and there was Val, confused and furious, but very importantly, not bleeding from the eyes or ears.

"So... I figured out a new spell."

"Is that what happened?" Val demanded, "I do hope Caniforma is still there?"

"Oh, come on, you've got mirrors."

Val shook her head, "Good gods, Wally," she twisted in her chair and pointed back towards the city, "Are we going to be allowed back there?"

I winced, "I might have overdone it. But I'm pretty sure I didn't hurt anyone I didn't mean to."

Val sighed and shook her head, "I'm going to end up writing a very long letter, aren't I?"

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I might have blown our pursuers to pieces, but it was best not to be complacent. So after ensuring my stunt hadn't hurt Val, I went back to watch our rear, where I stayed until we reached the mountains and the tunnel back home.

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The Father crested the horizon just as we were coming out of the tunnel, and we reached the hotel a few hours before sunrise.

Amity- bless her -was there to greet us, ready with breakfast.

And, of course, the first thing Val shared was my experiment with what was supposed to be enchanted ointment.

"Wally, my my," Amity giggled, "Really, you had Val wear body paint?"

"He had all of us wear body paint," Val blurted before I could get a word in, "Though most of them just sat around watching Purity and me wrestle with Irony."

Amity raised an eyebrow, "Were they clothed?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"Yes, well, more or less," Val giggled, "I didn't mean for it to get so heated, but Irony was teasing us, and Wally did say it was supposed to make us stronger."

"Did you win?"

I grimaced.

Val rested her hand lightly on my arm, "We did a lot better than we might have otherwise," she insisted.

"Maybe I can help?" Amity suggested.

"You've got some medical cybernetics?" I asked, and she nodded in reply, "Well, I need to know what makes fey endurance so poor- Sorry, Val."

She shook her head, "It's fine. You're right."

"Once I know what the issue is, then hopefully I can fix it. I can try magic, and I will, but I'd like to see what you can find out with your gear."

Amity nodded and brushed her hair out of her eyes, "Of course, anything you like."

"Alright, anything interesting happen while I was away? Aside from the dinosaur, I mean."

Amity rolled her eyes, "The dinosaur was hardly that interesting. It stomped around, Cassius got excited, and then it left. No, we finished the water purification system, and I've got Constance preparing the ground for your almond trees. Much progress, but little of interest. Though Cassius and Regina have been up on the roof nearly every night."

"Oh?" I frowned.

"There seems to be a slight glow to the western sky, though it is only visible at night. It's been holding their interest these past few nights."

"Hmmm," I mused, "I'll need to speak with them once they're up. That might be worth investigating."