I jogged over to check on Mage-Man. When had that woman gotten here? It worried me I hadn’t noticed her arrival. “How out of it is he?” She looked up at me, but didn’t respond. Then, Mage-Man began babbling out something I was pretty certain I was not meant to hear.
The woman leaned near him, but I could still hear her. “We can discuss this more when you are lucid. For now, just lie here and don’t think about anything.” The reply was some more incoherent babbling. Now, that was his problem, not mine. I couldn’t get read on the woman though, she was, weird.
However, I had a distinct feeling she liked the compliment. On the other, she looked at Mage-man the same way a kid looks at a candy in a candy store. “I’ll… check the Wagon and get the others, why don’t you… look after Mage-man?” I received no reply as I walked over to the Wagon.
Yeah, I was not touching that. You should never get involved in the business of others unless there was a contract, especially where possessive people were involved. I checked the Wagon and noted that it was filled to the brim, and only a quick once-over showed no further issues. “Nice. She’s full up and ready to go.” The woman didn’t even look in my direction, let alone respond.
There was no reply, so I shrugged and jogged towards the gates. Just as I pushed them open, I crashed into Fox-man. He seemed worried. “Hey, Nicomphus, what was that racket? The moment it began Sarirrva ran off like a damn storm.” From his angle he couldn’t see the singed Mage-man or his girlfriend.
“A slight miscalculation on our end, nothing major, though Mage-man is a bit out of it right now. On the upside, Wagon’s charged, so we can go whenever we’re all ready.” He hesitated for a moment, and seemed like he wanted me to clarify, but then he nodded. “I’ll get the others, see if Mordred needs help to get into the Wagon.”
Well, I saw no reason to refuse the request. I turned around and hopped back down the stairs. “Oy, lady, we’re gonna leave. Get him into the wagon.” The way she looked at me as I spoke to her was, strange. I never knew a human could express such an excess amount of loathing and hatred in a single expression.
Then, as quick as the expression had appeared it was gone, and a few moments later she picked up Mage-Man and hurried over to my beloved wagon. I opened the door for her, real gentlemen like. She looked inside. “There’s no way he’ll fit in there.” Why couldn’t people keep up with the wonders of innovation?
“Lady, the wagons magic’d, he’ll fit, you’ll fit, everyone will fit with room to spare. That’s been standard procedure on wagons for the better part of half a decade. Now stop blocking the entrance and get inside. We ain’t got all day, or do you want Mage-Man’s niece to die, so you can have him all to yourself?”
It was meant as a mean jest, but before I could register what had happened, I found myself hoisted into the air by a black-scaled hand. “I could fry you right here and now, you miserable little redcap. Burn you to such small cinders not even ash would remain.” Ah, so she was a dragon, interesting. I should note that for future reference.
With that note stashed away, I grabbed her arm, so I wasn’t dangling as much and could breathe easier. “We both know you won’t because you need me to drive the wagon, and Mage-Man would be really upset if you caused his niece to die by killing the only one who can make this thing move.”
She leaned in closer, her eyes turned slitted and gained a slight green glow. “I could fly them to the labyrinth.” The absurdity of her claim almost made me laugh, almost. I wasn’t that stupid, or suicidal. “We both know that if you could have done so, you would have offered already. Besides, flying on your back would make it impossible to feed the kid the panacea, and landing every few minutes would take far too long. So, Lady, why don’t you stop with the posturing and let me go? That way, I can start her up and be ready to go as soon as the others arrive.”
Her expression turned so murderous that for a moment, I wondered if she would actually kill me. Then, after a slight pause, she dropped me and climbed into the wagon. “If she dies, that’s on you now, not me, and don’t think for a second this is over.” Sheesh, tough crowd, you throw one jape, and you receive death threats in return. Just as I was about to respond, the others returned. Fox-man was helping the gnome support Mage-man’s niece.
She looked like crap, and the sickly blue-purple smoke rising from the dark purple, glowing cracks all over her skin didn’t look healthy at all. “Alright, enough messing around. Get in everyone, I’m gonna go full speed, no holding back this time. Let’s just hope the suspension magic will prevent you from getting tossed around too much.” Without waiting for a reply, I hopped into the driver’s station. This would be a race against time, and I intended to win.
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“Mistress, everything is ready. We can begin your transfer as soon as the moon rises.” The young boy bowed deeply. I looked down at the aged and wrinkled hands of Izrah. Should I save her afterwards, or was her failure beyond redemption? So many choices to make.
I looked over at the servant. “Prepare the ritual immediately.” Just as I rose, a horrible sensation burst through me, causing me to reel. That fool was dead. How? I had his spirit under my full control.
He should have been transported here rather than passing on. Unless…? I tried calling on the void fragments I had used to manipulate him with, but nothing happened. “Damn it, why can’t anything go as planned?”
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Hmm, they had been annihilated, left me with no other choice. “And prepare a rejuvenation ritual as well. It has to be readied by the time the transfer is over and get this vessel to it as soon as the process is done. GO!” The fool blinked in surprise for a few moments, then hurried out without another word. At least he could follow orders.
I rose and began the walk towards the ritual site that had been built in camp. If I hadn’t needed the full moon for this, I could have been out of this vessel several days ago. Even now, I had to wait for nightfall, ever more delays. “Soon I can finally end what I started, just you wait, both of you.”
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I was surprised when the guards had told me a Beast-kin was at the gate and wanted to speak with us, but even more so when I saw the state she was in. She was disheveled, dirty, and her Bloodstalker looked half-dead from exhaustion. Normally, she would have met us in the audience hall, but in her state I doubted she could even stand. So, the meeting took place in the guard post just inside the gate. “So, lass, who are ye, and what brings ye so far from the plains, and in such a state at that? Ye look dead on yer feet.”
Yun-Yun gave her a cup of wine, which she drained before speaking. “I am Alu of the Bloodstalkers. The Chief had standing orders that if things got worse, we should ask the Duergar of Therinos for aid, as per Mordred’s suggestion. I set out at sunrise yesterday and rode through the night. I pushed Felltooth far more than I should have, I fear.” The festival grounds, those were usually along the river bank, even at the closest that would be two days by foot. No wonder her mount was dead on its feet.
Yun-Yun put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Your mount is being looked after by our best stable hands and has received some basic magic healing to ensure a full recovery.” Alu lost all tension at the news, and I could barely make out her mumbling, “Thank you.” Before she sank onto the table, fast asleep. “Boys, let her rest, and make sure no one disturbs her. Ye can take yer breaks in the mess hall until she wakes up.”
Yun-Yun pulled a blanket from a shelf and put it over her. “And no funny business, you two, or else I will be training the responsible guard for the next month.” She left the room without another word, and after giving the guards a pat on the shoulder, I followed.
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“Come on Ashes, you can do it.” Just the act of swallowing the mixture was enough to send waves of debilitating pain through my body. Still, the pain quickly abated behind a soothing coldness. Another voice, cut through the haze of distant pain. “Gotta hand it to Nicomphus. He might be a cold asshole, but he sure can drive.” There was a rushing sound as something passed by the contraption we were riding, missing it by mere inches.
“That's an… understatement.” Uncle? “Moor, you sure you’re fine, don’t you want some panacea?” That was Amber again. “I’m fine, save it for Keari. I’ll recover soon enough on my own. Still feel a bit off, but then, apparently I did a number on myself, so I can’t really complain.”
There was a bitter laugh coming from him. “Either way, this… Wagon? Was it? It’s pretty spectacular. Are these really being produced en masse?” Sarirrva’s voice, if I was not mistaken. “Yeah, they’re mass-produced, but this one is top of the line and worth a small fortune. Shelled out some twenty thousand platinum pieces for it.” I could hear some shuffling to my left, and the interior of the wagon brightened. I guess that meant we were out of the forest.
The pain began flaring up again, and I couldn’t suppress a wince. Amber hurried with another mouthful of Panacea. “Hang in there, Ashes, you’ll be ok.” I tried to respond, but all I managed was a groan. “Relax Ashes, save your strength. Nicomphus, how long until we reach the labyrinth?” There was a pause. “At the absolute earliest? A few hours, pushing the wagon any more than that would be to court disaster, of the explosive kind.”
I could feel another small cup of panacea being pressed to my lips. “Hang on Amber, it’s too soon. Giving her too much would be just as bad as giving her too little.” The cup was removed. “Right, thanks Moor. Mind keeping track of the time? I’m a nervous wreck right now, in case it wasn’t obvious.” I could feel a hand on my shoulder, barely noticeable through the cold numbness and the burning pain. “Sure thing, I’ll handle it.”
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“Indella, Rael and the others should be returning soon, mind waiting at the portal and let them all in?” She looked up from where she was reading. Then yawned lazily. “Sure, not like I have anything better to do right now. Too bad your vacation was cut short.” I shrugged. “Can’t be helped. It’s not like I can ignore this entire mess, or to be more precise, it would be extremely irresponsible of me to do so.”
Indella looked like she wanted to say something more, but thought better of it. “By the way, Minos wanted to speak to you about something, though when I asked he refused to elaborate, just told me to ask you to visit when you returned.” Minos? Hmm, what in the world could he be up to now? Well, only one way to find out. “Thanks, Indella, I’ll head over there now.”
I didn’t transport directly into Minos’ palace. I looked down the stairs leading down to the city with a mischievous grin, then began my descent. As I descended the stairs, my form shifted and shrunk and once I arrived at the bottom, I appeared as a regular Minotaur. No point in causing a ruckus. Besides, might as well test Minos’ security.
The city was as busy as the last time I had been here. The giant labyrinthine city was placed on top of a cliff with a great view of the coastline. Far below was the city’s harbor, with a network of tunnels and catacombs leading up to the city proper. I walked over to a large obelisk standing on the cliff edge. “As always, a great view, wouldn’t you agree?”
As I spoke, I patted the obelisk with a somber smile. The obelisk was standing on top of the catacombs where the members of Rael’s party were buried. The entrance itself magically sealed. I stood here in silence for a little while, lost in memories about our adventures.
Another deep breath, and another pat on the obelisk carrying their names and I began heading towards the city. With the brisk pace I was holding, it wouldn’t take more than a few minutes to reach the gates.