Max moved as quickly as he could. The temptation to sprint through the forest rising, but he needed to pace himself. There was no point in sprinting for half a mile only to have to rest and catch his breath for half an hour. He settled on a steady jogging pace. The increase in Stamina was really paying off, and he was able to maintain his pace all morning. At times, he fought off the temptation to use the dark movement ability, to dash a thousand yards at a time, chewing up the distance, but he resisted the temptation. He already had two dark slugs tracking him down. He didn’t want to summon another from whatever dark realm they came from. He would have to hold off using the powerful movement ability until he really needed it.
Every thirty minutes or so, Max stopped to check his Sneak ability was active. His Hood of Sneaking and Ring of Shadows helped him hide from sight, but he still needed to check that his Sneak ability was active. It wasn’t something that lasted indefinitely. He stopped to check and leaned against a tall tree.
The trees here on the edge of the Kingdom of Deepwood were thick and the canopy dark. He was sure he was heading north towards the ridge the Assassins had told him about. He climbed a large tree to check the lay of the land. The bark was flaky and sticky in parts where resin bled through the thick bark. The tree trunk was rough and easy to climb. Once he reached the branches, some ten feet up the trunk, the climb was even easier, like climbing a ladder. He pushed through the needle leaves that were typical of the cold climate south of Awen, and they gave off a smell like rich pine only stronger, sweeter. At the top of the tree, easily two hundred feet high, Max could survey the landscape. He could see a change in the canopy from deep-green needles of the high pines to the softer broadleaf trees. The canopy of broadleaf trees marked a ridge a mile long and about a mile and a half away.
A few wisps of gray smoke drifted up from the broadleaf trees from that distant ridge. Max knew he had found the Dark Mages’s camp and hopefully, Anita.
Max climbed down to the ground and hoped his information was correct. Somehow, he knew he could believe those crazy Assassins. They might have been wild, psychotic, but he got the feeling they really did like him. Not as much as the bounty they’d been offered for his capture, perhaps, but they really were attracted to him.
Why did the Assassins like him so much? Girls everywhere for that matter, from young washerwomen to princesses, they all wanted Max. Those Assassins were deadly, and he knew it, but he thought they would fight to the death over him, or maybe they would try and share him. He had an improved Stamina stat, but he didn’t know if he could survive a date with Debhora and Shazera. If they didn’t kill him, they would at least wear him out to the point of exhaustion.
But why? He really wasn’t that lucky with the ladies; at least, he never had been before arriving in Eveirea.
“Don’t worry,” Janet said, appearing next to him. “I still think you’re rather ordinary.”
Janet floated next to Max at about the size of a humming bird for a moment but soon grew to full size. As she walked along next to Max, he noticed her feet, bordered by a deep black outline, didn’t quite touch the ground. She was right next to it but almost seemed to be in another dimension, which in a way, she was.
“Ordinary? That’s a relief, I think.” Max opened his mouth to speak again and then stopped. “Did I say all that out loud or . . .” the idea that Janet could be in his thoughts was a bit disconcerting. He really had nothing to hide, and he hoped that she would not damn him for his thoughts.
“I don’t know if I can hear your thoughts, but I can read your mind. It’s not that hard when it’s someone as obvious as you.”
Max was worried. He’d thought Janet was the most beautiful girl he’d met when he’d been hiding in the shadows watching her go about her work. Did she know he really liked her?
“What do you mean by obvious?”
“There’s no trick to mind reading, no magic to it. It’s just being able to read human nature. I’ve read a lot of books about nonverbal communication. It’s clear you really like Anita.”
She was right. Max did like Anita. He didn’t pretend otherwise but they were never going to be a couple, at least he didn’t think so. Besides, Anita was sworn to chastity so she could become the one leader of the Druids of Eveirea.
Max looked at Janet. She was beautiful. Pale skin, pink lips, fierce red hair. She was somehow both shy and confident. Max had never met a beautiful scientist before, and he thought they were all dusty old guys with sleeveless sweaters and bowties.
“Do you know what I’m thinking now?” Max said.
“Maybe you are thinking, what is this old guy doing standing in the forest all alone?”
Max looked ahead. Just a few yards away was an old man wearing the tattered rags of what had once been a fine set of clothes. He had a twisted branch for a stick, and he was feeling his way, blind eyes searching the shadows.
“Danger close, Max,” Janet said as she shrank and faded away.
Danger? Max thought. He was using his Sneak ability so was hidden from sight, and besides, this old man was clearly blind. What danger could Max be in?
“Who’s there?” The old man looked all about with sightless eyes and raised his twisted stick. “Come close and I’ll beat the feathers off your back.”
Max wondered if he should give this old fellow a wide berth. He moved as quietly as he could. A spell of silence would be a great thing right now, letting Max move unseen and unheard.
“I can hear you.” The old man spun to face Max, his stick held before him like a sword. Then a half breath later, the old man relaxed, the tip of the stick dropping. “Hey, you’re not a harpy,” he said.
Max checked the old man’s stats.
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> Name: Kaled
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> Class: Sword Dancer
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> Status: Defensive
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> Threat level: Harmless
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“It’s no good trying to hide. I can hear you.”
Max looked down to his feet. The soft leaves underfoot rustled as he moved.
“I can hear your footsteps. You are walking like someone trying not to make any noise. I can hear your breathing too. You are wearing a pendant, and it scrapes over your shirt when you breathe. You are wearing soft boots, good for sneaking, so you might be a Thief come to rob an old man, but as you can see, I have nothing to steal . . . you are trying to sneak away.”
Max stood still and watched the man tap his stick on the ground and feel his way towards him.
“I can hear the creaking of your leather tunic, so you might be a young Warrior or perhaps a Bard. The sword on your hip is short. A Warrior would have a longer sword. You might be a young Mage, but you would have to be very high-level or very foolish to be out here alone. And as a Mage must have high Intelligence, perhaps I should discount Mage, unless you are a very stupid Mage.”
“I am a Mage,” Max said. His Sneak ability deactivated as he spoke, but he clearly couldn’t hide from this blind man.
“A Mage,” Kaled said. “I must assume you are not one of those Dark Mages up on the Oak Ridge, or you would have murdered me by now.”
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“I am no Dark Mage.”
“But are you good? Good enough to help a man in trouble?”
Max had a choice.
I don’t have time for this, Max thought. Anita was in trouble, but how could he refuse this man and leave him to his fate.
“What help do you need? Do you need to find your way out of the forest?”
“No,” Kaled said. “I need to go deeper.” His voice dropped low and menacing.
“Why do you want to go deeper?” Max said.
“I need help to find the harpy sisters. They live on the edge of the Oak Ridge. I was not always as you see me now. I was once a great swordsman, a Sword Dancer no less. Indeed, I believed I was the greatest. I attended every tournament across Eveirea, from the far east of the Tharin Empire to the far west of Ragewind. I was champion in a dozen kingdoms. But I could not fight off pride with my sword. Although I was the greatest, I grew arrogant. And when two beautiful creatures tried to seduce me, I thought it was my fame and prowess with a blade that had caused them to fall in love with me. It turned out they were not nubile young ladies as I thought but hideous harpies. Their words poured sugar and honey in my ears, telling me all that my pride wanted to hear. They lured me to their territory and robbed me of my sword. Without my sword, I cannot see. I have been wandering these forests for weeks trying to steal back my sword. I can hear them coming, and they attack from the air, tearing at my clothes. Will you help me, young Mage?”
Max stepped over to Kaled. “I will help you. Maybe one day you will help me too. Deal.”
Kaled stuck out a wrinkled hand. “Deal.”
Before the handshake was complete, Kaled turned his head, his ear to the wind.
“They are nearby.”
Max could hear something fluttering in the trees. He followed Kaled’s blind gaze.
There in the dark green canopy, he spotted two large-winged creatures. They were roughly human size, albeit a little small. Their pale and skinny arms ended in crooked fingers and cracked nails. Their thin legs ended in the talons of a bird of prey, gray feathers covering the ankles. The pale brown-and-tan wings were huge, but they beat the air softly. The skinny female forms were covered in small tan feathers.
The faces were like those of old crones, hooked noses and gray wrinkled skin that flaked away with every flap of their wings.
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> Name: Harpy
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> Status: Aggressive
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> Attack: Heavy Talons
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> Threat level: Dangerous
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The pair looked down at Max and Kaled with black eyes. Their heads remained still, eyes fixed on their target as the wings and body moved in midair. The talons gripped the air, slowly closing and opening. Then the talons opened wide.
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> Harpy attacks Max.
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The harpy dropped like a stone, propelled forward with a mighty beat of her wings. She came like a missile and then brought her feet forward.
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> Max takes minor damage.
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Max was thrown off his feet. The clasping, stabbing talons did not penetrate his Padded Leather Tunic, but the weight behind the blow took the wind out of his sails. Max rolled up onto his feet as the harpy climbed back up into the air. A huge beat of her wings sending her upwards and stirring up the leaf litter around Max.
The second harpy was diving at Kaled. Max watched as Kaled faced up to the diving harpy. He listened and at the last moment, dived aside. The harpy reached out with talons and caught Kaled. The talons ripped at his clothes and skin while the old man yelled in pain.
Max looked up and saw the harpy fix eyes on him and then dive in for the attack.
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> Harpy attacks Max.
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Max worked fast. He knew he had only a moment before those talons were clawing at him again.
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> Max casts Magic Missile.
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The magic missile was never going to miss. Two orange orbs leapt away from his hands and slammed into the harpy’s chest when she was only a couple of feet away.
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> Harpy takes major damage.
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The harpy veered away, screeching in pain and frustration. She turned midair and looked down at Max, talons pointing, fingers hooked, a long thin tongue sticking out like a snake’s, rasping and cawing.
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> Max casts Magic Missile.
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> Harpy takes moderate damage.
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The harpy beat her wings, one wing now weaker than the other. She lost height and finally landed on the ground. She screeched at Max, a hideous sight. She ran across the forest floor directly towards him, half leaping and flapping her one good wing, black fingers reaching out to claw at him.
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> Harpy attacks Max.
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Max loaded his catapult and shot a bullet. At close range, he could not miss.
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> Max attacks Harpy.
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> Harpy takes minor damage.
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> Harpy has been defeated.
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Max heard the second harpy a moment after he heard Kaled call out.
“Watch out, Master Mage,” Kaled said.
Max dived to the ground to avoid the second harpy’s attack, but it was too late.
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> Harpy attacks Max.
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> Max takes moderate damage.
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Max felt the talon grab his shoulder, something between a hammer blow and a stabbing pain. He felt himself lifted off the ground and pulled up a few feet into the air before being dropped. The harpy flapped her wings, disturbing the leaf litter across the ground. She climbed higher and then turned. Max loaded his catapult.
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> Max attacks Harpy.
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> Harpy takes minor damage.
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The harpy shrieked at him and dived, talons forward, aimed at his eyes.
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> Max casts Magic Missile.
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> Harpy takes moderate damage.
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The harpy took the damage and came on, shrieking. Max drew his sword. He stood light on his feet, perfectly balanced. He waited until the last moment.
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> Max attacks Harpy.
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He swung his sword with a strong forehand smash.
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> Harpy takes minor damage.
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> Bonus Cold damage.
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> Harpy has been defeated.
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The harpy twisted in the air, flew over Max’s head, and fell, skidding over the ground.
“You did it,” Kaled said excitedly. He picked his way over to Max, checking the path before him with taps of his stick on the ground. “Check them. Do they have my sword?”
Max looked all around. There was no loot at all. Not even a single gold coin.
“Nothing,” he said, sorry to disappoint the old man.
“Where did they come from?” Kaled said, looking up. “Lead me there.”
Max went back into the forest towards where he had first spotted the harpies. Not far away, he saw a large nest high in the pines.
“There is a nest up there,” Max said.
“The harpy nest?” Kaled asked hopefully.
Max shrugged, then, realizing how pointless physical gestures were when speaking to a blind man, he described the nest.
“It’s big, about thirty feet up. It’s coated in mud but looks like it’s made from sticks as thick as your arm.”
“Yes,” Kaled said. “Check there, Master Mage, if you can climb.”
“Yes, I can climb,” Max said with a smile. He didn’t smile because the old man asked him if he could climb but because he had called him a Master Mage. He liked the sound of that. And before Kaled could answer, Max was halfway up to the harpy nest.
The harpy’s nest was filled with the bones of dead forest creatures. In one corner, Max spotted the sparkling pommel of a sword. He pulled it free from the tangle of sticks. The blade was dirty but didn’t look blunt. It was heavy, far heavier than his shortsword. It looked about the same length as Elderon’s white-silver sword. Max dragged the heavy weapon to the edge of the nest and dropped it. It crashed through the branched and buried itself in the ground with a thud. Max checked the nest for any other loot. He spotted something still buried among the sticks where he’d freed the sword. It was a long strap of leather. Max pulled it from the tangle of sticks. The sword’s leather scabbard slid free. It was lined with fur and decorated with a pale-blue eye. Max threw it down.
Max clambered back down and dropped the last few feet just as Kaled found the sword. It had landed point down and had stabbed its way into the ground to end up buried halfway along its length. Kaled took hold of the handle. His fingers rippled over the leather binding as he felt it in his grip. He drew the sword upwards in one clean, smooth movement and held it aloft.
Max looked at Kaled, who was smiling up at his sword. He looked over at Max. Max saw his eyes bright and wide open, piercing pale blue.
Kaled held the sword with two hands before him, then he cut the air, slashing left then right, then a horizontal cut before lifting the point upwards. He slid the blade into its scabbard in one swift move. He stepped forward, eyes on Max.
“Thank you Master Mage.” Kaled smiled at Max. “But how young you are.”
“You can see?” Max said.
“Yes, but alas, it is the Sword Dancer’s curse that I can only see when I am one with my sword. I will never need armor or shield. I may only ever have one weapon,” he patted the sword in his belt, “but I surrendered my sight for this sword. As long as we are one, I gain far more than I lost.” Kaled bowed. “And I owe you a great debt. You may call on my services, and they will be freely given one time if the cause is just.”
Max wondered if he needed help finding Anita. Maybe he didn’t want to throw Kaled into battle against a group of Dark Mages, but the cause may be just. At least, Max thought so.
“Thank you, Sword Dancer,” Max said with a bow. “I will call you when I need you.”
At that moment, a thick fog developed as if from nowhere, and a deep, rasping shriek filled Max’s ears.
Kaled had his sword in hand in a flash. “I knew it,” he said, “those demon creatures could not have been acting alone. It’s the one who made them, the harpy witch.”
The large harpy swept in through the trees, the fog swirling around her dark wings.