“I flew up, until my wings wouldn’t support me anymore. there is nothing up there but the cold and the stars.”
“I tried to reach the sun once. I had to go back after a week. I’m not spending more than that flying. I’ve got shit to do !”
“Flying is fun and all, But nothing is scarier than suddenly finding yourself up in the sky, without any way to keep yourself there, and starting to fall.
It would freak out any one of us, even the gods.”
Icareos, God of flight and of the Bird People. Whereabouts unknown.
“Icareos, may you take me into your wings,
So the landing will be safe and swift”
Howard Snake-sword, Adventurer, new convert and Future bishop of the cult of Icareos.
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Before he knew it, all he saw was an infinite expanse of blue.
The sky was so blue.
Howard was high in the sky.
Once the pure terror of suddenly lifting off the ground and shooting toward the heavens sent his mind into overload, it went away just as fast as it came, and in the lucidity before his demise, a weird thought crossed his mind.
Man, that blue is pretty…
Howard thought back about his recent actions. Oh, how he regretted them now as his ascension finally started to slow down, his breath short from the lack of air and his eyelashes freezing over.
This was supposed to be so simple. Grab the kid, keep him quiet, let him go once the feast is over.
Was it morally dubious? Sure! Downright one of his most shameful missions. But the old man was the Boss of this village and promised Howard a compensation triple of his usual gigs.
No violence, no risk of death, and enough money to last a couple weeks at a local inn.
Howard's stomach lurched and dropped now, as he reached the apex of his upward momentum, and effectively started to fall. For real this time.
And so, as if gravity gave him its accord, he started to scream again as he plummeted to his end.
I think I can see my house from here …
----------------------------------------
Everyone in the alley was looking up, mesmerized by the sight of a full grown man suddenly shooting upward like an arrow and screaming like a little girl.
Alaster was the first one to remember what was going on.
He grabbed Tanya’s hand and pulled her, starting to run away to where they came. Toward the Knights, in the open.
Toward his mother.
Somewhere safe.
Then again, my ass will hurt like hell after that. He said, still too freaked out and angry to care much about it.
He couldn’t get Jek and his posse get away with this. He WILL attend, even if he didn’t really want to. At this point, he felt an angry, mean joy at the idea of rubbing his presence in the face of Jek and his father. This WONT stay untold.
Suddenly he realized he didn’t stop feeding mana to the spell he instinctually launched and cut the connection.
As they were running toward safety, Al and Tanya realized the scream had stopped, making them look up as the Adventurer reached his final height, before the screams resumed, once gravity did its job.
“Almost there ! Come on!” Alaster panted as he took a quick turn, then bumped into something, falling backward and rolling until he hit the wall of the house behind him.
When he came to, his eyes went off the ground and saw something that made his stomach drop.
His mother, and the Envoy, not sparing more than a glance as they moved toward the falling adventurer, hands raised and whole bodies exuding mana, most probably to catch the future crepe.
As the screams grew louder and louder as Howard, Alaster remembered his name, having reached terminal velocity, was nearing closer and closer as he fell.
A fall that suddenly took a slight, then sharp turn as his momentum shifted and his speed slowed down under the spell of the two mages, performing despite his will a series of loop-de-loops before falling on his ass in front of his saviors.
Then, panting from the sprint and face red, absolutely unamused, Andrea turned toward her son.
“Care to explain ?” she crossed her arms as the envoy behind her patted the adventurer’s head comfortingly.
----------------------------------------
“They wanted to do WHAT ?” Andrea almost shouted, as she backhanded Howard’s cheek once more. Alaster winced at the sound and impact, just like Tanya, staying close to Al.
She let him slump on the ground, his hands cuffed together by an ice spell, graciously maintained just right by the Envoy, who was not missing a second of it.
“JEK! BRING YOUR FAT LITTLE ASS HERE” the wizard shouted into the air. “I KNOW YOU ARE LISTENING”
A crowd was slowly forming around them now, with so much noise and agitation, not to mention the flying adventurer still periodically sobbing and kissing the earth.
More than that, the city council, Jek's father included, arrived as well.
Andrea looked around and gave a pause before her eyes zeroed on her target, Jek.
“What is the meaning of this ?” Asked the head counselor. parting from the crows.
Andrea turned to face the brat’s father, making him balk.
Al could feel his mothers’ mana flare, and the two were pulled closer to her, their feet dragging a little on the floor.
“I’ve had it with you two, we will have a discussion about what happened.” Andrea started as they regained control of their body. “When I come back, if I hear anything from my son or Felix, anything at all …” she let her words sink, menacingly, yet uncharacteristic of her.
The presence of the Envoy and the knights were probably for something.
Then she left, only the mages in the audience could see magic masses used as a prod to push the kid and his father toward the town hall.
Deutera let out a cackle, the knights in loose formation behind her.
“Ah ah … youngsters like you always entertain old bones like me” she started. “I’ve never seen something so… pathetically mundane before. No one usually dares to make a fuss when we are here.”
She cleared her throat, and Alaster felt, more than he saw the aura of menace coming off her, the villagers shifting uneasily and the small childrens starting to tear up. The adventurers’ grip on their hilts and weapons grew tighter as they tried to keep their cool.
Howard was already bawling, it’s been a long day.
The Knights, however, seemed completely unaffected, under their sallet helmets and full plate armor, gems glowing in their passive charms.
She clasped her hands together, her staff in the crook of her elbow.
“Anyway! Let’s try to have a wonderful evening and night! Let’s forget about this for now” She said, her face softening with a sly, grandmotherly smile.
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
“I have the firm intention to get drunk tonight.” She declared very unprofessionally, making the crowd have some laughs and more than a few chuckles.
----------------------------------------
As the crowd parted, Alaster let all of his stress and tension out in a soft, shuddering breath.
He felt his hands shake a little, the lump in his throat, and a sniffle menacing to break out of his control.
Tanya, sensing it, squeezed Al’s hand a little harder, brows furrowed slightly as they heard the Envoy approaching as soon as the crowd’s attention left her.
“Hey, little lad, little missie” she started using a softer, more maternal voice both kids were surprised by, landing at the edge of the uncanny valley, a cold shiver running down both spines - especially alasters, brushing against the wool lining the inside of his coats.
“First time being abducted ?” She asked rather bluntly with a half smile, probably meaning well.
The dams broke in Alaster’s, and he started to hiccup, eyes closed as he lost control, shaking and twitching as he cried hard, bawling like the child he still was, one of his hand clutching tanya’s, the others clutching himself, his tail low and coiling around himself.
“Oh dear” the Old one cursed to herself, toting about herself, trying to find a way to placate the small lizardman, when Tanya’s started to bawl as well, leaving the Sage at a loss.
The knights behind her looked at each other, expressions hidden under their helmets, shuffling about awkwardly now.
Howard was now unresponsive, he had a good cry and his self esteem spiraled back down to flirt with the lowest of shits as he heard the kids crying. But no one was paying attention to Howard, he deserved it.
Deutera sighed and started to pat the head of both kids, hoping for the best.
“Now now, little ones, it's over now, the bad adventurer failed thanks to Alaster, and no one important was hurt !” she said in a soft voice, Howard sinking into a fetal position. “Besides, I’m pretty sure your Mom will give the real responsibles more than an earful with this stunt.”
She looked a little in the distance, as if listening to something far away, then chuckled.
“Oh yes, they’ll regret what happened I guarantee it” She added, before turning to the council members still around, bumbling nervously about and feigning not to listen to the Old One’s words. For One, they’ll find that the usual prize for harboring a new True One will be postponed … indefinitely she thought to herself.
“Do you mind ? I'm dealing with your failure here. Don’t you have some Counseling to do ? Electing a new Head sounds good right now.” She turned back to the two kids, now calming down to a light sob. “Now, little ones, I’m sure the councilmens will do their job properly this time. I know ! Lets have you both and Mage Lipswick at our table ! Does it sound good to you ?”
The two kids nodded shyly as they settled down, the excitement of dining with legends such as the Knights barely suppressing their shock and sadness.
“As for this one” Deutera said, using the tip of her shoes to poke at Howard’s knee “Why doesn't someone bring him in his room and lock him inside ?” Howard shrunk back at the contact. “We’ll deal with him tomorrow”.
Howard let out a little squeak as he got pulled up and dragged toward the Village’s Dormitory.
----------------------------------------
Felix’s Spear whistled through the air, drawing an invisible arc as it first stabbed one of the Pseudo Wolves attacking him, then traveled upward to rend the beast’s flesh, almost splitting it’s midsection in twain, the mana imbued into the orichalcum tip kept the flesh from mending, already done for.
The other Wolf pounced on him, its nightmarish maw wide and ready to sink their teeth in his flesh, barely staved off by his reflexes, bringing the shaft of his spear upward in an uppercut motion with both hands, forcefully closing the creature's mouth violently.
It did not have time to try again, his left quick drawing from under his shoulder a footlong length of steel, stabbing the beast twice under its chin.
The last Pseudo Wolf stirred, its eyes going up its skull before all its weight rested over the Smith, limp.
Felix heaved the warm carcass and let it fall to the side, taking stock, spear in one hand, dagger in the other.
After a minute of labored breath and waiting, he relaxed, the magic dimming in his eyes as he released his life detection spell, a nifty little trick he learned after that time in the caverns not so far away.
Two Pseudo Wolves … this was worrying.
One roaming around a village by itself wasn’t likely, but not unheard of.
Finding two of them shortly after?
It wasn’t a lone Wolf at all, but a scout.
Felix sighed as he cleaned up the blades of his weapons before sheathing them. This would complicate things, but the village should be safe for now.
He’ll just have to tell a Councilmember and the Adventurers in the village as soon as possible and call for a hunt first thing in the morning … Er… in the afternoon, they’ll all be really drunk after the feast tonight.
Still, he hoped that he could still try and fight the Knights, it was an opportunity hard to come by.
He started to scavenge through the Wolves for their hides and interesting parts, a die hard habit of his adventuring days. The magic stone inside of them would fetch a good price, or at least would be a good addition to any weapons any client would like to enchant.
He smiled to himself, remembering the one set into his Kid’s dagger.
“Well…” he said to himself “I’ll definitely be late, but at least i didn’t waste my Ti…”’
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA”
He perked up, it was sounding like …
“...Howard ?”
----------------------------------------
Alaster felt out of place.
The feast started tentatively, with the guests of honor taking place at the best table, in front of the scene set for the occasion.
Alaster was among them.
On his right, Deutera was already sipping some wine, listening to the musicians and the bard commissioned by the Village.
On his left, Tanya, playing with the knife and fork in front of her, looking around at the knights, and just like Alaster, probably wondering how and if all of this was really happening.
Alaster smiled at her, a strained, but honest smile. They both cried their fill, and were now seated with legends, he regretted the absence of his parents and the couple friends and acquaintances he had seated a few tables away.
The Knights had taken off their helmets, holding their pints and glasses as if they were children’s play sets, and were mostly doing what soldiers do when finally out of duty, chatting and laughing and drinking.
Most of their faces were the faces of hardened warriors, most of them having no doubt decades of service, and the youngest of them was easily spotted, a sort of naiveté in his eyes and smiles, he just didn’t see as much as they did yet.
Still, there was a lot of disparity between them from the loud commoners enjoying their ale to the more reserved nobles either envying their peers in their abandon of the decorum or the ones deploring it, they all seemed to enjoy the moment, even though they were only drinking for now.
He noticed how dense their mana felt, and while their eyes were not glowing like their new member, their stares were more intense than anyone he knew.
Alaster turned around to steal a glance at Todd, sticking out like a sore thumb at the next table, enjoying his last day with his parents and friends for some time. The knights said it was better this way, as they would have ample time to get to know each other really soon.
His Mom and Dad weren't here yet, nor was the Head of the council and his son.
He held out his hand to take the mug of fruit juice he was given, his scales glistening in the orange hues of the fire and candles, his clawed fingers closing around the handle, feeling his claw tips awkwardly pushing on his palm.
He brought the mug to his “lips”, his tongue slipping into it to funnel the liquid in his maw. He would have lapped it if he was alone, or asked for a cup to drink from.
The reminder of his otherness only annoyed him, especially in these little things.
The number of times he splashed drinks on himself because of this !
Still, the juice was good, and despite what happened, the ambiance started to get festive.
Loads of laughs, music, and damn, he got surprised by how lively the Knights were.
he fiddled with the dagger hidden under his winter cloak, happy to be seated so close to the fires.
The contact of his palm on the pommel felt reassuring as he adjusted it a little to keep it making a bump on his back.
“The more you touch it, the more obvious it is,” said Ultrogoth, the Knight’s captain. She was lazily leaning over the table, hand holding her mug resting on its elbow, her head tilted slightly as she was observing the young lizardman, her blue eyes glowing faintly in the orange light of the fires. Alaster, used to magic sight, could detect the Green color behind the blue hue of mana in her pupils.
She chased a stray strand of venetian hair with her other hand.
“You don’t seem to be used to wearing this kind of thing, how long have you had it ?” She asked, taking a sip of her ale.
“T..Today, Lady Captain, A gift from my Dad” He answered, slowly moving his hand away and back on the table, his index tapping on the surface a little nervously.
“It still doesn’t feel real” He admitted trying to stop his tail from fidgeting behind him.
“Given what I saw earlier, you don’t seem the kind of person to use that sort of tool, do you even know how to use it ?” She inquired, raising a scarred eyebrow.
“Not that i've seen it, but it doesn’t look like a wand”
Deutera groaned audibly besides Alaster “ We get it, Kid’s armed, and you want to know what it is ! Get on with it. Kid, take your toy out so my captain can finally stop beating around the bush.” She said, rolling her eyes as one of the cooking staff refilled her glass of wine.
Said captain looked down in her ale, a faint blush on her face, mumbling to herself.
“I.. i’m sorry, but my father made me promise not to, i’ll have to ask him” he answered,
feeling a lump in his throat as he refused to.
“...Fair.” The captain said, looking around “Where is he ?” She asked, turning her head, scanning the tables.
“...Who are you looking for?” said a voice behind Alaster, a hand suddenly on his shoulder. “Personally, i’m looking for your mother, where is she? Did she launch someone in the ether recently?”