The fortress looked much less like a fortress than they had expected, which wasn’t to say it would be easy.

Trees and shrubs had been cleared and replaced with farmland and wide open spaces. Any attempt to sneak up on the place would be doomed to failure before it even began. Beyond the farms, a sturdy wall sat overlooking a deep moat. The wall itself was only stone at the base, but the thick wooden beams looked like they could stop almost anything. Beyond the wall, which stretched all the way to the precipitous cliffs, were several long houses.

The enemy that made it that far would have to cross a long, narrow wooden bridge over a massive drop between the cliff and the inner keep, which was built on a promontory of rock standing tall and proud in the grinding surf.

There, the tall stone tower rose, built onto the rock itself. A small door offered access, and no windows graced the lower levels.

It was, in short, a nightmare to attack.

Should the attackers threaten the place, the defenders could simply cut the rope bridge and sit pretty in their massive tower, likely firing down onto their enemy from above.

“So, how about I just fly in there and get her?” Bell asked.

“Works for me,” Bert agreed.

“They must have defenses against that,” Andre warned. “And at least one of the brothers is an accomplished mage.”

“Meh,” Bell flicked an errant hair behind her ear. “I’ll be fine.”

“And how will you extract the Princess safely?” Andre looked doubtful.

“With style and grace!” Bell proclaimed.

“They’ll chase us,” Bert said thoughtfully.

“Of course,” Bell sighed. “At least at first.”

“Need a distraction?” Bert offered.

“Nope,” Bell said, stretching as she yawned. “But the cart should head off now.”

“Good luck,” Bert hugged Bell and watched her as she changed into her pixie form and flew off into the sky.

“Let’s turn that cart around,” Bert told Andre.

The driver didn’t mind the quick turnaround, merely heading off down the road with a wave.

“Where did you find him?” Bert asked Andre.

“He’s my neighbor,” Andre replied, “Why?”

“He’s very calm,” Bert nodded. “Normally, people are more thrown by spending time around us.”

“He’s seen a lot in his life,” Andre said. “Ex-soldier, I believe.”

“Well, good choice, anyway.” Bert clapped Andre on the back.

“What do you think she is planning?” Andre asked as they made their way back to the small cluster of rocks they used to scout the fortress.

“I never know,” Bert admitted. “But it’s always worth seeing.”

Bert and Andre watched a flock of birds wheeling across the sky an hour later. They flowed across the sky as if dancing, unremarkable in the cool afternoon air.

Only as they neared the tower did one of the birds suddenly move away, darting in through a window at the very top of the tower.

“She can’t possibly fight her way out of-” Andre was interrupted by the sound of smashing glass and a piercing scream as a body rocketed out the window.

The woman’s golden hair trailed behind her as she vanished below the cliff line.

The screams got more distant and then seemed to stop in place.

Just as the fortress erupted into movement like a kicked anthill, the screams got closer again.

Finally, the woman burst into sight off to one side of the fortress, Held aloft by several small figures as they passed over the edge of the farmland and into the trees. The screaming stopped abruptly as the figure passed into the sparse woodland.

Bert turned to Andre to see the smooth-talking Bard with his mouth hanging open. He pointed weekly at the tower, then at the cliff.

“We should probably get going,” Bert said as the sound of snapping branches and rustling leaves got closer.

“Ya think?” Bell laughed as she burst out of the trees. The grinning Pixie was sitting on the head of the unconscious princess while a half dozen Multi-Bell’s wings buzzed to keep her aloft.

They sprinted down the road after the cart.

Bert hung back for a moment, felling trees over the road to slow their pursuers. Once he had a few good-sized trees blocking the path, he turned and sprinted after the others, chuckling to himself.

============

“So, this is awkward,” Bert said as the armed riders ahead of them glared down at the cart and its passengers. “I guess you guys knew a shortcut.”

“Hand over the princess,” The men were clearly brothers. They could almost have been triplets. “And we will make your deaths quick.”

“Sorry, mate,” Bert shook his head. “She’s part of our quest.”

“Do as you’re told!” The brother on the left demanded. He gripped the handle of his greatsword and drew it will all due menace.

“I did the tower,” Bell said. “You take this bit.”

“Stop talking!” The brother on the right slammed his fist into his palm, firing sparks of flame from the contact.

“Shhh!” Bell waved him away. “The grown-ups are talking.”

“You will pay for that, bitch!” The brother snapped.

Bell laughed.

Bert hopped out of the cart and approached the brothers with unhurried steps.

“Right, off your horses,” He called up to them. “Then we can do this.”

The brothers looked at each other.

“Hurry up, will you?” Bert huffed. “She gets bored easily.”

“I do not!” Bell protested.

“Uh…” The middle brother seemed confused. “You want to fight us?”

“You the smart brother?” Bert grinned. “Come on, I don’t have all day.”

“For the sake of the gods!” The greatsword wielder dropped from his horse and swung at Bert.

Bert stepped back, feeling the tip scraping across his armor. The momentum of the sword pulled the man off balance, so Bert followed it up with a kick to the arse.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

He may have put more force into it than was strictly necessary.

The main wailed, dropping his sword as he cupped his bruised ass.

Bert was still laughing when the horse kicked him in the head.

Bert heard the low chuckle from the driver, and it did not help his mood at all. He summoned his shield and armor, going from relaxed traveling gear to dark metal and leather in a moment. It was just in time.

The brothers attacked as one.

Bert raised his shield to block the fireball and caught the next kick from the riderless horse on his prosthetic arm, but the middle brother’s dagger found a weak spot in the armor around his knee.

“Fuck!” Bert swore. The next kick got past his guard as well, sending him back a step as his chest armor rang from the impact.

“Stop playing around!” Bell yelled.

Bert let the tides flow, ripping the dagger from his knee and flinging it off to the side. As the brothers attacked in earnest, Bert sped up, unable to move due to his injured knee. His shield moved in a blur, blocking strikes, spells, and kicks alike.

“What are you doing?” Bell yelled.

“I don’t want to hurt the horses!” Bert yelled back.

“So don’t,” Bell said. He could hear her rolling her eyes.

Keeping his guard up, Bert sent a blast of mana through his shield. One brother was sent flying, and Bert got enough time to change his prosthetic into its crossbow form. Finally able to strike back, he started to fire off bolts at his attackers.

The mage went down first, having missed the bolts headed for his legs as Bert sent another blast of mana out of his shield.

The problem was still the horses; as the men fell away, the three horses closed in, kicking and biting from odd angles as they tried to protect their riders.

Bert dove between the horses, feeling his knee screaming in protest.

The last brother was in front of him now. The horses, wheeling as they readied to continue the attack…. A sudden scream made them all freeze.

“You threw me out a window!” A blond figure launched herself at Bell, screaming again as Bell simply leaned out of the way.

The princess hit the floor with a thud.

“Don’t hurt her!” The remaining brother roared.

“What?” Bert asked, “You kidnapped her; why would we hurt her?”

“We didn’t kidnap her; you did!” The mage yelled.

The two groups looked at each other and then slowly backed away.

“Her parents sent us to rescue her,” Bert said carefully.

“She is to marry my brother,” the mage said, pulling the bolts from his legs and downing a potion.

“The one you kicked in the ass,” The middle brother said.

“Hey, he swung first,” Bert added.

“You threw my fiance out a window!” The man barked.

“I caught her before she went splat!” Bell argued defensively.

“By my hair!” The princess was trying to pull herself together.

“It was the nearest thing to hand,” Bell shrugged, unrepentant.

“Why do your parents send people after you?” The middle brother demanded of the princess.

“Ugh, they just want the money,” She said with a huff. “It’s all they care about.”

“Why didn’t you just ask?” The mage snapped. “We are happy to pay their price.”

“I’m not for sale, Hector!” The Princess snapped. “I have my dignity.”

“How was your dignity as you flew out the window?” Hector chuckled, but his brother hit him.

===============

“Do you reckon this counts as a success or a failure?” Bell asked from her spot on the floor of the cart.

“I call it a success,” Bert said after considering it for a minute. “Princess happy, safe, and beyond her family's clutches.”

They rattled along the cobbles as they drove through the town, heading back to a certain house to give their final report. Andre was scribbling furiously in his notebook as he had been for a long time now.

“Happy, if partially bald,” Andre added drily.

“Hey!” Bell complained, tossing a bag of coins from one hand to the other, “She only lost a couple of clumps!”

“We’re here,” The driver added as he pulled on the reigns.

“Want me to come?” Bell asked.

“Naah, this won’t take long,” Bert said, hopping over the side of the cart and catching the bag of coins as Bell chucked them to him.

Daylight did little to improve the place. The faded and peeling paint was all the more obvious, as were the bare patches on the lawn.

He knocked and waited… and waited… and waited.

Shuffling steps approached the door, and it swung open to reveal the fallen King, still in the same clothes. Large sweat stains had joined the crumbs on his clothes.

“Well?” The man grumbled.

“She’s marrying the Dane boy,” Bert said. “She said you wanted this?” He held up the bag of coins.

The king snatched the bag from Bert’s hands with a grin.

“Do they have much land?” The king asked.

“Loads,” Bert confirmed, “And plenty of money.”

“She did well,” The king laughed. “Charleen! She did it!” He called into the house.

“I’ll start packing!” Charleen called back. “We’ll go by carriage.”

“No, you won’t.” Bert countered.

“What?” The king sputtered.

“The Dane brothers are taking your daughter, not her family. If you show up, they’ll kill you.” Bert smiled.

“They wouldn’t dare!” The king sputtered.

“Try them,” Bert chuckled, “Please.” He reached out and closed the door, leaving the king with his mouth hanging open.

“Hey, Bell?” Bert called as he trotted down the path and back to the cart, “Want to get dinner with me?”

“Yes!” She called. “And this time, if we hear a scream, we ignore it!”

After a delightful meal in a lovely little tavern, they returned to the Waystation, arm in arm. Bell considered the whole quest to be their first official date and was telling him how it was almost perfect. Next time, there just needed to be more blood.

As they approached the entrance to the Bear’s Fall, a familiar figure was waiting for them. It is hard to be inconspicuous when you are the size of a shaved yeti, but Dagon wasn’t even trying. He was leaning against the side of the Waystation, carving a small tree with a blade long enough to be a sword in anyone else’s hand.

“A fun outing, I hope?” He asked with a smile.

“It was certainly eventful,” Bert said, noticing Andre’s notebook sticking out of the King’s trousers pocket. “So, how did we do?”

“Hah!” Dagon patted his chest, “Very well!”

“Can we offer you something to eat or drink?” Bell asked.

“No, no,” Dagon waved his massive hand as he shook his head. “I am fine. I am merely here to drop off the quest reward.”

“There is a reward?” Bell asked, delighted.

“Of course,” Dagon said seriously, “Every quest must have a reward.” He fished in another pocket for a moment and then tossed something to Bert and Bell.

“I think this will be a suitable reward.” He patted the side of the Waystation gently and strolled off down the road. “Four more quests to go, my friends, four more rewards to earn!”

Bert looked at the small bundle of silk Bell had caught.

“What do you think it is?” She asked.

“Open it, and let’s find out,” Bert grinned.

Bell undid the tie, finding a paper wrapped around something like a small orb. Bert took the paper, looking at it in surprise.

“This is the deed to some land,” He said, squinting in the light. “I think it’s the land where we’re parked at the moment or part of it.” He laughed. “Not bad for a day’s work.”

“Bert,” Bell said. “Is this what I think it is?”

Bert looked at the small orb in her hand.

Solpara Control Orb 1/12

The Gift of Water

??Unknown??

“Son of a bitch!” Bert gasped. “He knows.”

A deep booming laugh echoed in the distance.

“Who is that guy?” Bell asked, peering down the road. “Really?”

“No idea,” Bert shook his head, “But I think we’ll find out when he wants us to.”

“Four more quests,” Bell said, “Do you think?”

“I have no idea,” Bert sighed.

===============

Integrating the Gift of Water was simpler than the Gift of Sight.

“Tickles!” Way Way said in a weird voice. “I hate it!”

“Duly noted,” Bert said. “So, what did it do?”

“You’ll see!” Way Way said with a mischievous giggle.

Bert rose out of the mana tides and spluttered. Water was lapping at the edges of the chair as he lay there.

“Bert!” Bell shrieked. “Make them stop!”

He laughed as Bell shot through the door, wings a blur as she dodged jets of water that sprayed her from every angle.

“Stop laughing!” She demanded. “It’s not funny!”

“Way Way,” Bert asked, “Why are you spraying Bell?”

“You think she’s dirty, so I thought I’d wash her!”

“You what?” Bell shrieked.

“Not that kind of dirty!” Bert protested. “Oh, shit,” He rolled out of his chair as Bell held out her hand and summoned her Ringer.

“I am not dirty!” Bell hissed. “I am cleaner than you are!”

“It’s just slang for sexy!” Bert insisted.

“Ooops!”

“Apologize!” Bell growled.

“I’m so sorry!” Bert said, “I should never have called you sexy!” He realized what he had said a fraction of a second before Bell’s eyes narrowed.

“Ah, bollocks,” Bert summoned his shield and ran.