“Care to unburden yourself of coin in exchange for my wares?”
I jumped slightly as a miccen head peered up at me from between my arm and side. How she had not been crushed in the throng of everyone and his brother being at the festival, I cannot say for sure, but perhaps her kind are accustomed to such dangers.
“Unless you find yourself divorced of reason, such that you indulge in the revelry of a cheese festival with no appetite for its chief attractions. My uncle, Largy, suffered from such afflictions in his mental faculties. He preferred the allure of anvils in a manner many consider unnatural, but prudence dictated we leave that detail out of his obituary.”
She continued on with her wild tale, as miccen are wont to do, all the while showing me her wares and carrying out the transaction as I purchased some cheese and meat kabobs, each still sizzling in a light coating of its own grease despite no apparent oven or other such mechanism nearby. Such was but one of many wonders of magic, as most vendors employed their Blessing to keep food warm for hours after departing their instruments of cookery.
I watched briefly as she continued on to the next client while continuing the story where she left off, although without the context of the beginning, doubtless such connections between events would elude her various patrons. She moved with concealed and almost oblivious grace, narrowly dodging being trampled or crushed by less than a whisker length time and again, her movements precise and apparently calculated, for luck would suffer not the company of one person for as long as she would need it to avoid the countless perils of being so small in a large crowd.
A strong tug at my arm jostled me out of my musings concerning the miccen purveyor, and my attention now dedicated toward the tugger, I followed along as Chooka dragged me to another stall.
“Darling, you have got to try these cheese-stuffed, beer-battered, deep-fried sausages!” shouted Chooka who endeavored to be heard over the din of the crowd and the sizzling of the aforementioned delicacies. She finalized her transaction promptly with a grizzled-looking frog-turtle person, a race I have come to know as frortles, which seemed a bit on-the-nose to me, but perhaps their own language had a more elegant meaning behind it than to suggest a chimera-esque origin. A whole horde of them, presumably his children, climbed over and crawled under everything in sight with no regard for personal space or ownership of property. Mysteriously, no one took offense to a behavior normally found taboo, and I wondered if society had just accepted it or if some magic or other trickery were at play to hinder flares of anger.
The two of us stood near the cart, doing our best to enjoy our food while frortle children clambered all around, over, and under us. They looked like nothing more than anthropomorphic tree frogs wearing turtle shells to me, of which I had ample opportunity to make such an assessment on account of their kind not wearing clothes unless it was too cold to go without. Anything they needed, they tended to pull out of their shell at the neck, and considering the size and dangerous contours of some of those things, I suspected some sort of pocket dimension at play. Such Abilities or Skills, coupled with their unusual behaviors and appearance, did little to quell any notion that they appeared cartoonish to me.
In short order, I found myself rather entangled by the brood, and fearing to tread on them, I failed to react in time to avoid collision with someone walking up to me from behind. I sensed he was coming thanks to some Skills granted by my Blessing, but I could do little more than fight to maintain balance as he roughly brushed past me. I had half of a strongly worded invective prepared for the cowled figure by the time I righted myself, but one glance at his back suddenly erased all notion of complaint. There, in the small gap in the crowd, I saw a spiraling triangle clearly printed upon his cape between his shoulder blades.
Intrigued beyond restraint, I pointed out to him as I tugged at Chooka. She had not noticed the man as she found herself hemmed in near a wall by a growing crowd of curious frortle children.
“Spiral-Triangle Man!” I shouted to her as the crowd merged back together in his passing, quickly swallowing him up and obscuring our view of him. Chooka, taller than most, had a better vantage to try to spot him, her attention now keenly focused on my newfound quarry. We worked hastily to disentangle ourselves from the children as the trail grew cold.
“Go!” shouted Chooka as she helped to wrestle me free of my juvenile captors. “I will stay with The Boys. Good hunting!”
Now free of the ensnarement of curious hands that were far too clammy and moist for my liking, I gave chase, favoring finding my way up to rooftops for a better view and to escape the crowd. I scanned down below as I employed every Skill at my disposal as provided by my Blessing that would aid in my hunt and a potential altercation. I moved slowly in the general direction I last saw him, taking care not to draw unwanted attention. Riccen cheese thieves dressed in the apparel appropriate for their roles for the festival also lingered upon the rooftops. They watched in curiosity, but none made any move to help or hinder me. I likewise spared little effort to interact with them, as my only lead to a nagging question lurked below.
Perhaps a minute passed before I found myself shrouded in more magic than most people could muster, and yet I still dug deeper for more power, leaving no Ability overlooked, efficiency be damned. I caught a glimpse of the triangle on the far side of the square, my now augmented vision catching a view rather impossible with normal eyes. I questioned how he had made his way that quickly through the crowd, and as I leaped from one rooftop to another in chase, I wondered if perhaps this would prove to be an elaborate trap with many cohorts baiting me in with the symbol. But who would know of my interest in such a thing, as I had not asked around, and surely Chooka would not have gossiped freely of such sensitive matters. Could this really all be a matter of luck and coincidence? My gut told me no, but I pushed on nonetheless.
I had only made my way halfway across the square before my quarry slipped into an alleyway. Fearing I would lose him entirely, I pressed onward with renewed haste at the expense of remaining surreptitious in my maneuvering. As I moved into range, I tapped into an Ability to scan into where I felt he should be. Similar to echolocation, a pulse of magic radiated out from me, scanning and reflecting off everything around me. For a moment, time seemed to slow as I took in the knowledge of a black world bathed in radiating ripples of white that painted the silhouettes and contours of everything around me. I did not detect him, but not completely disheartened, I continued on. Perhaps he possessed some Ability to block my powers of Divination. I continued to use that Ability periodically, paying mind to the increased cost with repeated use in such a short span and how it would eventually tax even my generous mana reserves if used wantonly.
I arrived where he should have been in the alleyway within short order, but even mundane powers of observation would reveal no one lingered there, other than a miccen couple closer to the square brushing whiskers as they got a little frisky. Voyeurism not being my intent, well, at least not at this time, I activated another Ability to look for signatures of heat, hoping the impressions of his feet would impart some lingering clue. Rewarded by the quickly cooling outlines of footprints heading away from the market square, I pressed on.
I rounded a few more turns below me in the alleyways as I stuck to the rooftops, the trail literally growing warmer as I gained ground. Turning the corner once again, the trail ceased entirely, as if he had grown wings and flown away. At the end of the alleyway, a hooded man watched me, and with my vision so enhanced, I could see the smug smirk he gave me as he turned down yet another alleyway.
Now adamantly believing it to be a trap, or at least not dumb luck, I proceeded with caution, favoring not the buildings adjacent to his path, but ones further in, such that I would only catch glimpses of him. He walked confidently and steadily when I could see him, but each time I next saw him, he had moved ahead much further than such a pace should allow. Surely such disjuncture of perception and momentum suggested either an Ability of his to move quickly and near instantly or some distortion to my sense for the passing of time. I diverted my attention from him, as he clearly wanted me to follow, and instead I focused on my surroundings and possible ambushes.
Like chasing the horizon, he loomed ever out of reach as I advanced cautiously. Minutes passed as he led me by the nose, to where I knew not. Surely he knew that I knew that we both knew what was going on here, and indeed, a great deal of knowing continued to occur before he stopped in the distance while turning to face me again. I reached out with another pulse of magic to scan my surroundings, and a familiar yet unexpected figure approached from almost his direction. Two alleyways split off before me, each converging at the narrow crossroad where I found myself on top of an adjacent building. Down one stood the cloaked figure I had been following, and down the other, approached a far less mysterious figure with blond hair, pointed ears, and eyes one could become lost in. For those of you readers who forget the details I have scattered about, I am clearly talking about Serideth.
The man pointed to her, even though the buildings between them would surely obstruct his line of sight to her. With a smile, he disappeared into another alleyway. I felt moderately conflicted, for I had remained incapable of catching him, yet now he would slip away if I went to Serideth. My only lead as to my origin and my initial connection to Mother would disappear almost as soon as it had been found, but clearly he had led me to her, so there must be a motive to his wild goose chase. With a heavy sigh, I considered him lost for now, trusting that he would reveal himself in time, and with my full attention now on Serideth, I pondered what situation of note involved her.
Flickers in the shadows behind her unveiled the mystery. Pursuers stalked her, and knowing her general oblivious nature, she would surely be unaware. Sensing ill intent from them, I moved to intercept, fully expecting a violent outcome. I readied a dirk from my pocket dimension while keeping in mind my previous experience in urban combat and the often cramped conditions that impaired wielding a larger blade. Lady Luck forsook her smile upon me, for Serideth turned down an alleyway with a little skip in her stride. My keen hearing amplified by my Skills caught the hint of some melody she hummed, the tune of which I was not familiar.
Shadows shifted as a tumultuous surge of pursuers gave chase, emboldened by the ample opportunity to catch her unawares. I made haste, but I knew I would be too late in reaching her before them. As my heart raced and anger swelled, I thought about shouting out to her, but at this distance, Serideth would not be able to make out my words, and it may very well serve to increase the haste of those who followed her. All I could do was hope that I would somehow make it in time.
Cries of anguish sang out into the night, cries of a woman in mortal pain in the very alleyway I rushed headlong towards. The coals of my rage now stoked, I leveraged every ounce of the Skills granted to me of my Blessing short of turning into a dragon. Seconds seemed to stretch into eternity as I leapt from one house to another as yet more screams pierced the night. I finally managed to reach the alleyway, not directly above her, but rather a stone’s throw away from her position, and the sight I beheld was ghastly.
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As I leapt down from the rooftop, I beheld nearly a dozen bodies that lay strewn upon the muddy street, their lifeblood spurting out into the filth around them. All but three of Serideth’s pursuers feebly clung to their last vestiges of life as the remainder continued the assault. A glint of moonlight shone down upon her face, where I saw not the shy, timid, and perpetually oblivious woman I knew, but rather a wide smile and gleaming eyes on a face reveling in the ecstasy of bloodshed. She twirled and contorted with grace normally belied by her clumsy nature, a butterfly knife in her hand finding purchase in exposed flesh as she almost effortlessly rent throats asunder. She laughed tauntingly with almost maniacal glee as she cut the remaining three down where they stood before I could even recover from my landing.
Without hesitation, she rushed me, closing the distance in the span of a breath before I could even fully upright myself, her blade leading the way. I brought my own blade up to block as I leaned backwards, deflecting her attack up and narrowly avoiding some impromptu facial reconstruction. I continued my momentum into a back handspring while my right foot kicked her blade up and away from me. No sooner had I recovered from my acrobatics had I found her once again pressing the attack, blade still in hand. Taking a risk, I dropped my blade and lowered my magical shrouding that I had employed to hide and obscure myself, hoping she would both recognize me and cease her hostility. Centering myself towards her, I shifted sideways at the last moment, letting her blade sink into my shoulder. With my left hand I grabbed her right wrist to both ensnare her and prevent her from wielding her knife. I stepped in, and with my right hand, I caught her around her waist, pulling her close. Pivoting the two of us, I slammed her up against the wall of a building and pinned her there with my body.
“Serideth, stop, it’s me, your friend!” I yelled at her as I restrained her fury. She relaxed after a second as realization sunk in. The gleam in her eyes faded as her smile turned to a gasp of shock.
“I’m so sorry, I thought you were one of them,” she said as she relaxed the grip on her blade. She started to continue her apology, but a strange glow and hissing sound like a burning fuse caught our attention. The bodies of the fallen contorted and bloated as runes glowed upon their skin.
Not liking where things were going, I pushed Serideth down into a ball against the wall and pressed my body against hers, doing all I could to completely envelop and protect her while I brought every magical barrier to bear that I could muster. In naught but a moment, the bodies burst, with shards of bone and ample gore exploding everywhere. The walls and street painted red with the aftermath of such carnage, I felt terrible pain all along my back by virtue of my efforts to create a void in such macabre artwork. I lingered in that position for a few moments still lest there be a secondary explosion or a collapse of the building, using those precious moments to concentrate on reinforcing my barriers and coaxing my healing Skills to life. Fortunately, no other perils greeted us, and after a few moments, I uprighted myself and helped Serideth to her feet.
We beheld a sight like no other as we glanced around. The bodies were no more, their clothes and equipment no better than scraps. Shards of bone had sunk several inches into the walls, and as a few clues suggested, my back, for I had concentrated most of my barriers around Serideth and not myself.
“By the gods…” Serideth looked around in wonder. “I have never seen bodies do that before.” She stiffened, as if she had suddenly realized the implications of the void where our bodies had been. She spun me around so that she could see the damage to my person. “Oh, oh no!” she gasped.
“Are you alright?” I asked as she feebly tried to stop my bleeding.
“I’m fine, but, this is bad, real bad. We need to get you to a healer right away!” She tore at her dress, using torn pieces of it to apply pressure to my wounds, which only produced a sharp gasp from me as there was nowhere to press that did not help sink foreign bones deeper into my flesh.
“Please, just pull them out. I cannot reach them, and it is hard to heal myself with them still in me.”
Fortunately, she complied without asking complicated questions as she ripped away my shirt and removed it completely. In a world of magic, presumably anything is possible, so people tend to take you at your word concerning supernatural Abilities or Skills. I pulled her knife out of my shoulder and handed it back to her.
“Here you go, use this if you need to dig them out.”
She took her blade with calm acceptance, and without hesitation, she set about her grisly task of extracting bones from my body. Well, not my bones, just to clarify, but given her previous and almost carnal delight to carnage, I feel like such a distinction is not without merit. The minutes stretched, I kept watch as I endured her handiwork, and being no expert on surgery, it certainly felt like she had some degree of experience. It still hurt like hell, for while my magical healing certainly eliminates pain once a wound is closed, it does little for wounds that currently exist. With each bone removed, my flesh swelled shut within a few seconds. I had invested in a few Skills to help deal with blood loss after my previous encounter with the riccen thieves at the guildhall, so I was not in immediate danger of passing out from exsanguination.
With the pain in my back now subsided, I realized that pain elsewhere bore evidence that my legs and arms had also taken their fair share, mostly from the side and in relation to the bodies at a sharp angle from me. Fortunately, those wounds were not as deep or numerous, but still enough in number that my pants and boots likewise had to go as she cut them away from me.
“Shame, I really liked this outfit, but losing it is totally worth sparing you the same fate.” I said to pierce the quiet. Her knife pierced a little deeper at that moment, and glancing back, I saw that she was both startled and embarrassed. Gasping in pain, the lesson was indeed learned to not suddenly start talking to someone when they are engaging in surgery upon you.
“Thanks. I did not expect them to explode and I would not have survived that. You saved my life,” she replied meekly, apparently settling into her normal demeanor. She finished her work in silence before continuing with an “All done.”
I turned to face her, for we had not had ample opportunity to look each other in the eyes during our conversation. I produced a damp handkerchief from my pocket dimension as I did so, and grasping her beneath the chin, I set about wiping away the blood from her face that had landed there during her killing spree. Satisfied that she now looked a tad better, I released her. We stared at each other in the light of dual moons with our gazes locked. In her expression I detected gratitude, and perhaps, longing, but before I could fully feel out that emotion, she blushed and looked down. There she beheld the fruits of a body honed and strengthened by the labors of an Adventurer and the gifts of my Blessing. Her eyes paused for a moment about halfway down, and me being unfettered by the trappings and modesty of garments, the obvious nature of my masculine form did not escape her detection. Her head snapped back up, her body rigid and face blushing as she realized the hungry and lustful expression that had momentarily formed on her face before her wits corrected her composure.
Wanting to relax the mood, I gambled with a joke. “Well, that certainly is half of show and tell, but I think we both have our reasons for being here and would rather skip with the tell portion.” Serideth’s head bobbed up and down with vigorous agreement as she maintained eye contact.
I turned away from her promptly to spare her the pressure of a response. I took the time to reach into my pocket dimension for spare clothes, not as fine as what I had been wearing, but suitable enough to be seen in public. I recovered my personal effects and placed my brooch on my new outfit, as my covetous nature ensures I am ever aware of my treasures and would not let the heat of a moment cause me to overlook them. I could almost feel eyes gazing upon my form as I dressed, eyes that peeked between the fingers of hands clasped over a shy but intrigued face.
Now dressed, I turned to face her. “I will ask one thing though about tonight’s events. A cowled man led me to you, one with a clockwise spiraling triangle on the back of his cloak between the shoulder blades. Do you know this man or this symbol?”
Serideth shook her head. “I have never seen such a symbol before, nor have I heard of it. I, uh, can let you know if I see it.”
“I would greatly appreciate that and your utmost discretion in the matter. I will be going back to the market now unless you want me to accompany you, but I can certainly understand if recent events require other certain matters to be looked into,” I replied flatly while casting a glance around at the carnage surrounding us.
Serideth flourished her butterfly knife and her demeanor quickly changed to her spunkier version. “I can handle myself, but thank you for the offer. And I do have other matters to look into,” she said as she moved in closer to me, “otherwise, perhaps…” she said as she placed her free hand on my chest, letting it slide downward slowly as she looked me confidently in the eyes, withdrawing and walking away before her hand ventured to my belt.
I stood there and watched as she left with a practiced sashay. I remained unsure if she was bipolar, very skilled at pretending to be meek and shy, or possessed. I would normally rule out that last one as I am not superstitious, but in a world of magic and monsters, such things may be more fact than fiction. The only thing I knew for sure is that there is more to her than meets the eye and that she had me fooled for quite some time now. I would have to reconsider everyone I know and what I know about them. Paranoia gnawed at the edges of my thoughts as Serideth disappeared from view.
Waiting a few more minutes for her to depart with a fair degree of anonymity and to see if my original quarry would pay me a visit, I eventually departed when the latter failed to fulfill my desires. I made my way directly back to the festival, passing more riccen thieves along the way as they set about their task of teasing children with the tantalizing prize of the fake cheese. Finding Chooka in the crowd would be impossible under normal circumstances, but I could always locate The Boys with my ability, [Find Companion - Pet]. To be fair, I could also locate Chooka with something similar, namely, [Find Companion - Lover], but the range and clarity of it was not nearly as good. Not that a hydra can easily hide in a crowd, nor are they particularly clandestine in their behaviors.
I quickly rendezvoused with The Boys and Chooka, sneaking up on her with a snack and a strong drink I had purchased along the way as a peace offering for bailing on her. “I’m back, and I have a snack,” I announced as I walked up behind her.
She spun around quickly, her conversation with the some drunk gnome cut short by my arrival. She took the offerings from my hands, set them down on a counter next to her, and pulled me in for a hug.
“It seems I also have a snack,” she said as she punctuated her innuendo with a squeeze and a light nibble on my ear. “I was wondering how long you would be gone tonight. Did you manage to catch him?” she asked as she pulled away to look at me in the eyes as her hands lingered on my shoulders.
“I did not, but I can fill you in later.” I replied as my hands found her hips.
“Oh, I look forward to you ‘filling me in later’,” she said suggestively as her hand moved to the sides of my face before she came in for a kiss. With that, I knew everything was good between us, and so I relaxed.
The gnome, for his part, never ceased his conversation with Chooka, and from what I could grasp between his drunken slurring, he was covering the finer points of philately. Chooka pulled me up beside her with an arm around my waist while she leaned onto the counter, her chin resting upon her hand as propped up by her arm. She gave the gnome a patient and polite smile as given by someone not truly interested in the conversation. She would periodically turn to me with a sarcastic grin and a sidelong glare before looking back at the gnome. Any attempt on my part to squirm free just tightened her grip, and together we endured the rest of his ramblings before he passed out on his tall stool. Fortunately, he fell face first onto the counter, so we let him rest there.
Chooka grabbed the snacks that I had left for her some fifteen minutes earlier, their temperature and freshness still preserved thanks to the wonders of magic, and together the two of us and The Boys continued to make the most of the night.