Venza
"So, where are they keeping the girl you were with?" Venza asked. They'd moved back into the tunnel to get their feet dry. She had a feeling her boots were going to be ruined and need replacing, but staved the thought off for later.
"Her name is Lauren," Tom offered. "She's over at their camp. Are you really going to help us?"
Venza ignored Aiela's judgmental gaze that practically said 'Did you really forget her name already?' and instead focused on the boy in front of her. "Of course. It sounds like this happened on Greyfield lands, so this falls under our jurisdiction."
"Your father's jurisdiction," Aiela reminded her.
"My father who isn't here," Venza said. "And when he's not here-"
"Vosmer and your mother are in charge," Aiela said.
Venza groaned. "Look, do you wanna save her or not? Weren't you the one who wanted to knock them out in town because you had an inkling they'd kidnapped someone?"
Aiela looked away sheepishly. "Fine, fine. I was just teasing. Roeder and Carver should sit this one out, though."
"I can still fight," Carver insisted. "I know I made a mistake, but-"
"No," Venza said, shaking her head. "She's right. You should keep watch over Roeder. We can handle a few bandits ourselves."
Carver sighed, then saluted, hand over heart. "As you command. I'll keep Marcus safe."
"Sally and I are coming with you," Tom said.
"No," Venza and Aiela said in unison.
Tom looked about to protest but Venza cut him off.
"If they know you're with us, they can threaten us with Lauren's life," Venza explained. "Without knowing that, they don't know they possess an effective hostage. After all, what would we care about a random girl?"
"You can come with us to point out the general area of their camp," Aiela added. "But you absolutely cannot be seen."
"What about Sally?" Tom asked. "Hard to hide such a large Mu'drakker."
Venza looked at Aiela. "Can't you turn her into a frog or something temporarily?"
Aiela gazed at Sally's humongous form which barely fit through the tunnel, then shook her head. "Her kids, sure, but her? I'm a few Nature Spheres short. Ask me again in four years or so."
Venza considered. "It'll take us a few days to prepare housing for her, and I'd rather she not stay here."
"She can just dig herself a cave temporarily," Aiela suggested. "I could help."
"That could work," Venza said. "A proper stable would be better, though. For public perception."
"Oh, what? Does it send a bad message if the ruling family employs a giant lizard living in a cave outside town?" Aiela teased. "At least she wouldn't be swooping down from the sky to grab random livestock."
"True. Swooping would be bad." Venza thought for a moment as they continued walking. "Maybe we could ask House Carsten for help. They've got special stables for all sorts of creatures."
"Perhaps, but first, I think we should do something about Lauren and those bandits, no?"
"Right, sorry."
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Herman the carriage driver ran screaming for his life at the sight of Sally the Mu'drakker. It had taken Venza an entire five minutes to get him to calm down and another five to be comfortable with the idea of a giant reptile following them home.
Aiela had very helpfully stood at the side and provided color commentary while snickering at her misfortune.
Theirs was a strange procession, to say the least. In front was the carriage, with Tom and Herman at the driver's seat while Venza and Aiela remained inside with about a dozen Mu'drakk eggs and the sleeping Roeder. Carver rode along outside, Roeder's horse trailing behind his.
Behind their carriage was a curious Mu'drakker and what remained of her brood, surprisingly tame for a band of monsters.
Perhaps Aiela's suggestion had merit. The lizard creatures would supplement House Greyfield's rather middling standing force with both numbers and magic. Her father had full authority over the Empire's armed forces during national military campaigns and crises, but Astamarr was only protected by the Grey Guard and they only had around a thousand men to protect one of the largest territories in Odolenia.
It was one of the concessions House Greyfield made to reduce the threat of a military coup, not that their House had been anything but loyal during their long history of service.
They stopped south of Verdeholm, just out of sight of the sentries. The setting sun painted the lush forest a deep orange, like it had that day they'd she'd first arrived home with Aiela. The two of them disembarked from the carriage, and Tom pointed them in the direction where the bandit camp was supposed to be.
"Will you be alright on your own?" Herman asked, looking ill at ease about being left behind with Tom and the lizards.
"Only twenty men?" Aiela said. "With one enemy mage? Hardly a challenge."
To demonstrate, Aiela recast Steelskin on both herself and Venza, giving them both the odd, numbing sensation that came with it. They could have stood still and allowed someone to stab them and most blades would simply bounce off.
"The camp is about five minutes away," Tom said. "They'll have lookouts. Maybe you should wait until night?"
"I'd like to be home for dinner," Venza answered, earning her an incredulous stare from Tom.
"She may not look it, but she's a pretty big eater," Aiela told him.
"You make me sound like a glutton," Venza complained as they started to move away from the carriage.
"Oh? What else do you call eating half a roast chicken on your own?" Aiela asked.
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True forests were rare in Verdeholm, ironically. Most of their land was wide, open plains, though every so often enough trees managed to band together that one could generously call them a forest. It made it surprisingly easy to guess where people would attempt to set up camp in a vain attempt to hide from prying eyes.
Unfortunately for these brigands, Aiela’s eyes extended beyond the two on her face. The mage’s eyes were closed, her face unreadable as she concentrated on scouting the woods with her Hidden.
To her side, Venza waited patiently, idly tapping her staff against the hard soil. When Aiela opened her eyes, she had a scowl on her face.
"Almost two dozen men," Aiela reported. "They're not expecting a fight. The girl, Lauren, is tied up in one of the tents."
"So no one's armed?" Venza asked.
"Oh, they are," Aiela said. "But likely the only thing there that can actually hurt you through Steelskin is one guy with a crossbow, and only if he gets a clean shot. Doubt it'll get through both your skin and your armor, though."
Venza nodded. Her brigandine had been boiled in the blood of a Bloodbeak, conferring it the same Protection the monstrous birds had.
"Don't get shot in the head," Venza said. "Got it."
"There's another girl in the camp with her, but she doesn't seem to be captive. I assume she's the Fire Mage."
"You assume?"
Aiela shrugged. "My Hidden are too weak to read Affinities, but she definitely has a Mana core. I'd need to see her with my own eyes to know for sure."
Venza continued to tap her staff impatiently on the ground. "Right. Let's give them a chance to surrender, then."
Aiela brought her hands together, fingers entwined, and stretched. "Good. That means I can cut loose when they refuse."
"If they refuse," Venza said.
"Your optimism is cute," Aiela drawled. "Surely, they will cower in fear of a teenage girl with a giant stick."
"You could always go in, spells blazing, and help me get them to surrender," Venza suggested.
Aiela shrugged. "Where's the fun in that?"
Venza sighed. "What happened to that little girl I met who didn't want to fight back against her tormentors?"
"Oh, I absolutely wanted to fight back," Aiela answered, smirking. "Oma just wouldn’t let me. She’s not here right now, though."
Venza rolled her eyes and walked forward. At least she’d tried. It took only a minute to approach the camp. The ruffians seemed to be preparing dinner. A single guard with a club in front raised a hand to stop them. Clearly, Aiela hadn't considered him enough of a threat to mention.
"Halt! Who goes there?" he called out. The camp suddenly grew quiet as the occupants hung on every word.
Venza drew a breath, lowered her voice by a few octaves. "My name is Venza, Heir to House Greyfield. My family are the custodians of this land. We have reason to believe you are bandits intentionally poisoning the people of Astamarr in order to profit from their suffering."
The camp shifted as a particularly burly man stepped forward, dragging a girl who looked about Venza's age with him. From the description, it was Tom's friend. Another girl with brown hair hung back, clad in a deep, black tunic. She watched the intruders warily.
He spat on the ground. "Noble brats?" He grinned. "I was gonna let you off saying you had no proof, but I bet we'd make a killing ransoming you back to your families."
"Not bad looking ones, either, Chad," one of the men added.
"Yeah. Ransoming one intact should be enough," another added. "We could keep the other one for fun since you haven't let us touch that girl of yours."
Venza grimaced. Aiela gave her the same look she had when she'd told Venza her optimism was cute. Venza sighed. "You admit to being bandits, then. Come quietly or we'll use force."
Just as the lead bandit was about to respond, Venza extended her will using Reach, and thrust her arm forward, punching him in the throat. The man grasped his neck, choking on his words. Venza then used Reach again before the first one expired, holding his neck in a vice grip. She kept an eye on the bandit with the crossbow in case he tried anything funny.
"So, will you surrender or does this have to get ugly?" Venza asked. She needed them to surrender quickly. Reach only lasted a few seconds and she could only reapply them consecutively for so long.
Unfortunately, the girl, Lauren, seemed to have other plans. Freed from Chad's grip, she quickly pulled out the blade at his hip. In a flash of steel nearly too quick to notice, she’d driven the knife into the side of his neck, twisting as she yanked it back out. Chad fell to the ground, unable to form words as blood gushed out of his neck.
"Ooh, I like her," Aiela commented. Venza swore.
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Chaos erupted as the bandits scrambled for weapons. Venza watched the one with a crossbow pull it up to aim, and then immediately yanked it to the side with Reach, causing him to fire into one of his comrades.
Lauren dashed out of the camp to join them. "I appreciate the rescue," she said. "Now, shall we get out of here before-"
"Steelskin," Aiela invoked, touching a hand to Lauren's shoulder.
The acrobat exclaimed, surprised by the numbness Venza knew came with the spell.
"Keep going straight and you'll be safe," Venza said quickly. "We'll be with you shortly."
"Are you crazy?" Lauren asked. "There's too many of them!"
The bandits were rushing back towards them, armed with an assortment of clubs, axes, and even a few swords.
"Aiela," Venza spoke.
"Scald!" Aiela invoked in response, and a jet of boiling water erupted from her hands, splashing the first group of bandits. They scattered under the unexpected attack, their skin blistering red. "Have fun."
Venza rolled her yes. It seemed her friend had no intention of taking this seriously.
Not that she could blame her. Twenty untrained fighters with no magic was nothing to them.
Venza held her staff in both hands and dashed forward like a woman possessed, smashing her staff into someone's nose before twisting to have the other end whack the side of another bandit's head.
A blazing bolt of fire soared through the air, aimed straight at her. Her staff came up to block it, but it proved unnecessary.
A gust of wind suddenly blew the flame off its trajectory, sending it straight into another bandit, who caught flame and screamed in panic.
"Pathetic," Aiela commented. "Leave the little mage to me."
Venza nodded and focused on the bandits. She dodged a downward swing from a club with a small, practiced step to the side, and then brought her elbow up to smack into her attacker's throat. Another bandit charged at her with his axe, but she used Reach to grab hold of his trousers and pull them down, causing him to trip, landing face down in the dirt. A quick, hard thrust with her staff broke his hand.
A second group of about five bandits, seeing she was going to be a pain in the ass to fight, instead headed towards Aiela. Venza didn't know what exactly they hoped to achieve attacking a mage. Perhaps they thought she'd be easier to deal with if they got close enough.
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Aiela
Aiela reared her head back and expelled a thick, black smoke from her mouth. It engulfed her attackers and caused them to stop in place as they lost their ability to see.
“Thunderclap,” she spoke, and a loud, resonating boom suddenly sounded from within the black smoke, causing several bandits to howl in pain.
"Scald," she invoked, sending them scattering with a blast of boiling hot water.
She turned her attention back to the Fire Mage, who was rapidly chanting another Flame Bolt.
"Flames, lend me your fury and scorch the unworthy to ash!" she chanted. "Flame Bolt!"
Aiela chuckled and sent a blast of water from her hand to meet the flaming projectile. It fizzled out almost instantly. "All those words when I can just flick my wrist."
The Fire Mage had panicked look on her face. "Impossible. How are you doing both Air and Water without chanting!?"
Aiela's lips twitched into a smirk. "You probably know how to read Affinities. Go on. Read mine. I'll wait."
“I won’t fall for your trick!” the girl said. “Flames, lend me your fury and-”
She couldn’t finish her sentence as Aiela reached a hand out and said, “Suffocate.”
Her opponent suddenly began to choke as Aiela’s magic sucked the very breath out of her lungs. With a smirk, Aiela stopped her own spell and said, “Go on. Read me. I insist.”
The Fire Mage, having realized she was entirely at Aiela’s mercy, gave her a questioning look, but complied. "Great Father, grant me your sight, that I may gauge the gifted! Affinity Reading!"
If the girl hadn't been worried before, she was now. She shrank back as Aiela sauntered forward, as if the latter were strolling through a park instead of a battlefield.
In the girl's eyes, Aiela's magical aura must have shined like a blazing, crimson flame.
"W-what are you!?!" the Fire Mage questioned.
"I have no idea," Aiela answered. "But to you, I guess I'm a monster."
She drew in air and expelled another cloud of Dark Breath, causing the enemy mage to fall to the ground in a coughing fit. Aiela made sure she'd lost consciousness before seeing what Venza was up to.
Such a waste that such an inept mage possessed a Fire Sphere when Aiela herself did not.
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Venza
The remaining bandits took one look at their fallen comrades and seemed to argue between themselves about whether to run or not. Venza dropped her staff on the ground, putting her hands up in a fighting stance before beckoning them over. That seemed to sway them, as they rallied themselves and charged at her.
"Earthbinder," she heard Aiela speak.
About a meter short of reaching her, the bandit in front suddenly fell to one knee. Unable to stop themselves in time, his comrades followed suit, gritting their teeth as some unseen force seemed to pull them to the ground.
Seemingly out of nowhere, a pillar of dirt roughly a meter tall had been erected behind the group of bandits. Venza was familiar with the spell: As long as they remained close to the pillar, the bandits would be pulled both downwards and towards the pillar.
"I'm surprised you didn't use that in the cave," Venza said.
"Mud Drakes have earth magic," Aiela reminded her. "And are likely physically stronger than this lot. Wasn't reliable."
Venza nodded in understanding.
The mage made a gesture and the soil the trapped bandits were standing on suddenly turned to mud. They cried out as the mud began to hiss with heat. Venza gave her an admonishing look.
"What?" Aiela asked. "I didn't make it that hot."
"Stop it," Venza said. "They've already lost the ability to fight."
"Fine, fine," Aiela conceded, and the hissing stopped.
The crossbow bandit had his arms raised in surrender, his weapon thrown on the ground. Venza motioned for him to come forward and join his fellows. He instead turned tail and ran, but she'd been ready for that. Her hand quickly snatched air and Reach grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, causing him to lose his balance and fall. Aiela blasted him with some kind of green-colored beam and he stayed down.
"Sleep?" Venza asked.
"Paralysis," she answered.
"Nice."
"Who are you people?" Lauren asked, approaching her saviors from behind.
"Ah right, you probably didn't catch everything," Venza said. "Like I said, I'm-"
She hadn't gotten a good look at the girl they were rescuing during the chaos of things, but now she did. The girl was tall and slender with perfectly bronzed skin and eyes the color of green leaves in spring. Beneath a simple brown cloak she wore only a pale, pink leotard, which Venza assumed was her costume from the circus.
It left precious little to the imagination.
"I- I'm Venza," Venza managed to say, regaining some of her composure. "Lauren, right?"
"Oh, wow, you actually remembered someone's name," Aiela teased. Her smirk held more mischief than usual.
Venza ignored the comment. "Did they hurt you? Tom told us about your situation and-"
"Tom?" Lauren echoed, sounding relieved. "Where is he?"
"He's on the main road with a carriage and Cindy," Venza said.
"Sally," Aiela corrected her.
"Right, Sally."
An abrupt rumble came from Lauren, and she sheepishly placed a hand on her stomach. "I- don't suppose you have anything to eat?"
Venza glanced at Aiela, who seemed to be thinking. Without warning, Aiela flung her hand upward, sending a bright, green flare into the sky. It was the signal for requesting help within Astamarr.
"Aiela," Venza began. "Isn't that-"
Aiela smirked, then showed her hand. A small, orange flame rested in her palm.
Fire magic. Aiela's insistence on burning things with hot water had paid off.
"I just noticed after the fighting ended," she said as she shook her hand rapidly, putting out the flame. "The Guard will be here shortly to help round up these brigands. I'll find Lauren something edible while we wait."
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Roughly five minutes later, the three of them sat around the unlit campfire the bandits had been preparing. The lot of them had been put to sleep by Aiela's magic, which would keep them in check until reinforcements arrived to take them into custody. Aside from Chad, another bandit had died from a ‘stray crossbow shot’ but the rest were alive. Some had broken bones and burns, particularly the poor soul who’d gotten hit by the fire mage’s spell, but they would live.
"Thank you," Lauren spoke in between taking large bites off an apple Aiela had procured for her. "That bastard Chad was starving me on purpose."
"The one you stabbed?" Venza asked.
Lauren nodded. "He was a complete sicko. He was trying to break me. Said he wouldn't give me food until I begged him to- well, to do things to me."
"The bandits did mention something about not being allowed to touch you," Aiela commented.
Lauren grimaced. "Yeah, Chad wanted me to be his personal slave or something. He didn't dare touch Megan, though. She would've scarred him for life."
"The Fire Mage?" Aiela asked. They’d put her to sleep as well.
"Yeah, that's her."
"Well, I'm just glad you're okay now," Venza said.
"Yeah, thanks to my two heroes," Lauren answered. Despite herself, Venza felt her face turn red and had to look away.
"What will you do now?" Venza asked.
"Tom's decided to come back to town and work for us," Aiela suggested.
Lauren laughed. "Are you having him look after animals or something? That does sound like Tom."
"Or something," Aiela answered, not going into detail. "What about you?"
"I- I'd have to think about it," Lauren said. "I guess without the circus I don't really have a place to go. Megan torched the place before they left. I don't know how useful an acrobat would be to you, though."
"You can stay for a bit and think it over," Venza suggested.
"Let's table this discussion for now," Aiela said. "Your father's men are almost here."
Venza gave her a look. "You know, you could just say they're our men."
"That would imply they're following you and not just indulging their lord's daughter," Aiela sniped.
Before she could get another word in, Venza realized something. There was a giant reptile monster on the road, and the Grey Guard could quite easily mistake Sally as the reason for the flare. "Back to the carriage, now!"
"Oh, relax," Aiela said, sounding amused. "I'm sure Herman can explain the situation to them."