The group kept running long after Ezekiel's spell expired, their legs pumping hard to keep ahead of an enemy they couldn't see or hear. The terror of the unknown kept their muscles working, until Ezekiel decided to risk slowing down long enough to summon a pair of horses.
They divided up, with Korlac and Drez on one horse while Liarra and Ezekiel rode the other. Due to the extra load, the horses had to keep to a slower trot, but they were able to handle their passengers well enough to give everyone a reprieve as they passed the rest of the day on the road. Everyone kept a fearful eye on their rear, looking for the telltale hands reaching up from the soil.
Riding well into the night, unhindered as they were by the need for lanterns or torches, it wasn't until very late in the evening that they stopped and made camp, Ezekiel once again providing the benefits of his cottage spell. Korlac took a turn at the stove, making a stew from the last of their rations.
"Do we need to feed Onyx?" Drez asked as he carefully petted the leopard.
"No, she'll probably try to find herself a meal later tonight. She should be fine," Ezekiel explained.
"You still haven't explained where she came from," Liarra pointed out as she leaned on one of the chairs at the center table.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize I owed you an explanation," Ezekiel snapped back, feeling annoyed at her constant interrogations.
"Hey, I'm just trying to understand. It's not often you encounter someone who literally knows the past untold by the Church. You know they control all history books, that people don't know what it was like prior to the Fall. You're literally the only one alive who probably knows."
"One of three at least," Ezekiel corrected.
"Three?" Korlac asked as he stirred the stew.
"Myself, my brother, and Tal’ Dar..."
A moment of silence passed through the group, only the crackling fire and the purring of Onyx as Drez continued petting her filling the void.
"So, she is a planar familiar then?" Liarra asked.
"She was. She's still planar aligned, but she's not anyone's familiar anymore," Ezekiel explained, not wanting to fight with the alchemist as he sipped his warm tea.
"What's a familiar?" Drez asked as he continued petting Onyx, scratching her furiously behind one ear she seemed to particularly enjoy.
"A familiar is a specific animal bound to a spellcaster. Clerics can receive them from the gods they worship, while wizards and other arcane casters gain their partnership through ritual pacts."
"And she's earthbound, obviously," Liarra said.
"What gave it away, the metal fur?" Ezekiel teased.
"What does that mean, earthbound?" Korlac asked as he scooped up bowls of stew for everyone.
"Most creatures born on the mortal plane have their souls fully bound to this plane. Some, however, are born here while a small portion of their soul is bound to another plane. Most of their soul is still bound to Terrial, but a small amount is tied elsewhere. We see this in mortals like the demon bound..." Ezekiel said as he looked at Liarra.
Her attention perked up as she met his gaze, her eyes dancing with the flames Ezekiel had seen previously. For the first time there was an odd unspoken pleading look on her face, so the moon elf decided not to press the issue any further.
"Don't you mean ‘demon-tainted?’" Drez asked.
Liarra snapped her head at the water goblin, but Ezekiel interrupted before anything could escalate.
"That's not a very nice way to phrase it, as you imply there's inherently something wrong with them, like they're bad meat. Demon bound merely derive a portion of their essence from the Abyss, through no fault of their own. While this can negatively impact some, plenty discover methods of managing their essence. In fact, some are so good at it, and blessed with a lack of distinctive outward signs, that you'd never know they were demon bound." Ezekiel said, once again holding Liarra's gaze.
"Okay, sorry. I didn't realize it was bad..." Drez started before being cut off by the alchemist.
"So, Onyx was born earthbound," Liarra interrupted.
"Onyx? No, she was born heavenbound."
"Heaven?" Korlac asked, a puzzled expression painted on his face.
"By the dead gods, were the stories true? Heaven exists?" Liarra asked in awe.
"The Celestial Plane did exist, at one point. The angels and their gods were well intentioned, but they suffered from hubris, much like anyone else. Ultimately, that's what led to their downfall." Ezekiel downed the last of his tea. Pulling out his grimoire, Ezekiel was about to open it and start reviewing it for tomorrow's journey, until Liarra placed a hand on the book.
"What are the chances you'll let me take a peek through this?" she asked as Drez and Korlac prepared their beds for the evening. Onyx had already curled up in her bunk, and Albert was fast at work cleaning and polishing everyone's boots and shoes again.
"My spellbook? Why?" Ezekiel snapped back with a raised eyebrow.
"I've got my own book, full of formulae used to create tonics, elixirs, and various bombs. I can cure diseases, remove poisons, craft webbing to restrain people, and create explosions that can't be put out, but I've always thought that more could be accomplished through alchemy."
"And what does this have to do with my grimoire?" Ezekiel asked, not removing his hand from the tome.
"If I can read it, if I can pick apart the spells, I might not be able to cast them myself, but I could try to reproduce their effects alchemically. Like that quickened spell you cast yesterday, I think I can do that, though more limited in scope. A tonic that produces the same effect in a single person."
"Is that why you agreed to come with us?" the summoner asked.
"What? No, I'm here to help save Davis and Greencoast, same as you," Liarra replied, aghast at the implication.
"That's why Korlac is here, that's why Drez is here, and that's why I'm here. You needed more convincing, and during this entire trip you've been grilling me every opportunity you get."
Drez and Korlac both slunk into their beds, not wanting to get in the middle of the fight brewing between the other two. Onyx lazily opened her eyes for a moment before shifting a paw over her brow to block the flickering light of the fire and candles.
"I'm sorry, but I just found it a little weird that you just showed up out of nowhere. You don't seem to know a whole heck of a lot about the Inquisition, and apparently you were casting magic openly in front of the boy, until someone told you it wasn't such a good idea. If it's been 127 years since the Fall, what the hell have you been doing?!" Liarra replied, her tone escalating.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Grabbing his grimoire, Ezekiel shoved it back into his jacket.
"Good night, Liarra," he said as he climbed into a bunk and slid under the blankets, turning to face the wall of the cabin.
All she could do was huff in frustration, taking her own bunk for the night as awkward silence fell over the cabin.
The next morning the group got up, moving in the same awkward silence that had dominated the evening. Ezekiel summoned the two horses again, but this time Liarra opted to ride with Korlac rather than Ezekiel, reasoning that a summoned horse could likely take the extra load. Not wanting to argue with her, the summoner hefted Drez up onto the horse with him, and the four left at a trot with Onyx walking between them.
The morning and afternoon came and went as the group continued on their horses, all suffering soreness from prolonged travel in tight confines on the horses. By late afternoon everyone's stomachs were grumbling at the lack of food, further adding to their irritation.
"If we keep pushing, we should reach the next town after sundown," Ezekiel explained.
"Good. I could do with a pint and some fish." Drez moaned.
"I want eight pints and whole spit-roasted pig!" Korlac bellowed.
"We're just lucky we had enough food after the dwarves swallowed our two mounts and the supplies we had on their packs," Liarra replied hungrily.
The sun worked its way over the horizon. Ezekiel saw Liarra and Korlac get into a hushed argument as they rode. His ears twitched, picking up more than he knew they wanted him to hear.
"Once we get to the next town, we should get the hell out of here, Kay."
"Davis needs help," Korlac countered.
"He has help. Ezekiel is gonna save the day," She joked with a hiss.
"He's not bad. Why don't you trust him?"
"There's something he's not telling us."
"Yeah, and we're not telling him stuff, either."
"Shhhhhhhhhhh," she hissed as she saw Zeke's ears twitching.
The rest of the ride went uneventful as the group engaged in some idle chatter, breaking up the silence. Drez and Korlac were already good friends prior to this, and Zeke could tell that they were kindred spirits, both loyal to a fault and extremely good natured. He found Liarra harder to read and chastised himself for getting frustrated with her. She had a point. He was a living relic of an era they had only heard of in rumors. It was only natural for her to be inquisitive. Beyond that, he knew that her alchemical skills had proved extremely helpful thus far, and those same abilities would be of great benefit if they were serious about storming the Citadel.
Evening fell as they came to the town of Millstone. It was a large village, and nearly a city, that looked to be about three times the size of Greencoast, with a few buildings towering five stories in height. Despite the late hour, the town was bustling with activity, and people still came and went through its gates. The guards watched, but didn't stop anyone, and only interacted a few times with travelers, mostly to give directions.
"I stayed here on my way to Greencoast. We can lodge in the tavern where I stayed then. The couple who owned it were nice enough," Ezekiel said as he led the way into town.
Weaving through a few side roads, the group entered an alley on their horses which obscured them from public view.
"What are we doing?" Korlac asked.
"Dismounting. It'd be better not to have to explain why our horses disappeared during the evening to the tavern keeper," Ezekiel explained.
Nodding, the group dismounted, and Ezekiel looked down both sides of the alley before chanting the dismissal phrase, causing both of their mounts to disappear in puffs of smoke.
"Does it hurt when they leave?" Drez asked.
"No, that portion of their soul simply returns to them on the plane they reside on."
"Wait, what do you mean by that?" Liarra asked, both intrigued and confused.
"Sorry, but the ‘intro to summoning’ class can wait for another day. Let's just get to the tavern and procure some beds for the evening," Ezekiel hissed.
Following his lead, the group soon found themselves in front of the Dancing Duck Tavern. Music could be heard from within as the smell of warm food made everyone's stomach grumble.
Ezekiel was just about to open the door, when Liarra held Korlac's arm. "I have to run to the Alchemy Guild. I need to restock components for my kit."
"Now?" Korlac asked.
"I'd rather be fully equipped now, in case something goes wrong. I'll be quick. Save me a meal and get a room for just the two of us, okay?"
"Sure..." Korlac said sheepishly.
Leaving the group, Liarra pulled her goggles on and wandered the streets, her eyes constantly scanning the walls and doors of buildings she passed, looking for something familiar.
Soon, she found what she was looking for. Invisible to the unassisted eye and discernible only with lenses similar to those in her goggles, glowing graffiti on the brick wall of an alley held two large images. The first was a potion tipping over, pouring its contents out, with a skull and crossbones on the glass. The other image was an arrow, pointing further into the alley.
Following the directions, Liarra walked further down the alley, finding additional images directing her down different twists and turns. She had to formulate a mental map quickly so she'd know how to get back out of the maze that was the center of Millstone and return to the Dancing Duck.
Eventually, she found herself at an innocuous door, with no imagery, no fancy dressings, nothing indicating anything special about it.
Liarra knocked on the door four times, then five, then three. After the last set of knocks, the door opened revealing the inside of a cramped laboratory. Cauldrons bubbled, beakers swirled, and the whole room smelled acidic. Behind a large counter sat an old bald man with a bushy beard reading a handful of parchments carefully.
"Balance be upon you..." the man said without looking up from his papers.
"Balance be upon you as well," Liarra returned.
"Are you looking for reagents or work?" he asked without introducing himself. Oftentimes in the Alchemy Guild, also called the Poisoner’s Guild, names were too much of a liability to be used cordially.
"A bit of both."
"Need anything exotic?"
"Not at this time, I'm just low on sulfur, salt, powdered iron, and distilled water."
The man nodded as he stood up and started gathering the materials she was asking for. "How much do you need for each?"
"Full batch of the sulfur, salt, and iron. For the water, half a liter should do."
The shopkeeper started putting together her order as Liarra wandered the shop, idly looking at everything he had going on. It was standard stuff, preparing reagents for alchemists to purchase, nothing crazy or outrageous.
Running a finger on one of the tables, Liarra asked, "Have you ever heard of a tonic that could make people run and act fast, as fast as the wind?"
The shopkeeper paused and looked up in thought. "There have been stories of alchemists doing crazy things, especially long ago, before the Fall." The Alchemy Guild was one of the few organizations that knew of history outside the Church's influence, but even then it was rarely spoken of and only in secure places such as this where non-alchemists weren't allowed.”
"Some stories claimed they could turn lead into gold, others that they could fly above the trees. In all those stories, I do vaguely recall something about an elixir of some kind giving unusual speed."
"And if you had to take a guess at the reagents needed for such an elixir?"
The man scrunched his face, deep in thought as he gave the question an honest consideration.
"Well first, you'd need something to imbed in the muscles, so I'd use ground up caffeine to bind the elements to the body. Then, an infusion of air of some kind, though you have to be careful what you use so as not to negatively impact blood flow. Other than that, I'm not sure. Maybe a small amount of sulfur to kick start a reaction?"
Liarra nodded in agreement. It all made sense, it was just a matter of getting the ingredients and figuring out the ratios. Alchemy was all about balance.
Wrapping up a package with string, completing her order, the man nodded his head to the stack of parchments on his counter.
"Orders ready, that'll be 3 gold for everything. As far as work goes, there's my stack of commissions. Just had one come in early this morning by crow from the Citadel."
Liarra stopped in her wandering as she tried to measure her reaction carefully. She could feel her heart beating wildly in her chest, but she fought to keep it from reaching her voice as she asked, "Oh, what's that job?"
"Poisoning, if you're into that. Apparently, there's an elf wandering the land, if you can believe it. Darker skin, wears a suit or something, passes for demon-tainted. Here, take a look." The man said as he offered the parchment to Liarra.
Frowning at the demon comment, she read it over and saw that a bounty of a thousand gold had been placed on Ezekiel for poisoning. Liarra couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the offered price.
"Does the Church always pay so generously?"
"No, it's way outside their normal price range. Whoever this poor bastard is, he's gonna be dead before he knows it. Already had a couple of fellows come in and read the order, then head out immediately."
Liarra ran a thumb over the order, rereading the request and the bounty a few times as she looked at the rough image of Ezekiel at the top of the order. The description was scant, and the image was extremely rough, but it matched him enough that people would be able to make the connection.
"Yeah, you'd have to be crazy to not go after this bounty, wouldn't you?" Liarra mumbled.
She lost herself in thought for a few more moments before she snapped her head up back to the nameless shop keep.
"Sorry, but there are a few more things I'd like to add to my order..."