A big part of Richard had wanted to go running into town and go looking for Jehan, but Harry and Bertrand had insisted they go back to the farm house and share information and plan first, and Richard knew they were right. They had run back to the farmhouse, and they were in the main room, with Evelyn and Kateryn. Bertrand was quickly gathering up his mismatched pieces of armor, and Harry was loading arrows into his quiver, checking each one as he selected it and putting back the ones that weren't quite straight. Both of them seemed able to do these activities without thinking about them and were focusing most of their attention on Richard as he told the other four what had happened to him.
“Go back. What exactly did she do? Did you hear her cast any spells out loud?” Evelyn asked.
Richard thought. “I'm not sure. She might have whispered something under her breath the first time, but most of the time she was just...” Richard raised his hand and started tracing shapes in the air.
Evelyn nodded. “Runic magic. Makes sense. It's hard to do that by tracing patterns in the air, you have to be really precise with how you create your runes and most people draw or carve them, but a real expert can cast runic spells like that.”
“She also...um. Traced it on my skin, once.” Richard blushed slightly. “On the back of my neck.”
“Can I see?” Evelyn walked behind him, and when Richard nodded, she lifted the hair off of his neck. “I just have to activate my magic sight...” she closed her eyes for a second, and concentrated. A few moments later she opened them again. “Oh, wow.” She leaned over and traced a pattern on the back of his neck. Richard shivered slightly. “She put a hell of lot of magic power into this spell, I can still see it glowing now. And...” she stepped back a bit “Yeah, I can see at least 4 different powerful spells were cast on you a few hours ago.” She shook her head. “I can see that the spells are broken, shattered, but I've never seen a spell shattered quite like this before. How did you break free so quickly?”
“I...have a new skill. Rational introspection, it's called. Let’s me resist this kind of magic using my intelligence, and break through charm spells over time.”
She shook her head. “I've never even heard of that skill.” She turned and looked at Harry and Bertrand. “There's no way she would expect anyone to break free of those spells in a few hours like Richard did. She probably thinks she'll be safe for a while.” They nodded. “Richard...it's impressive you managed to struggle your way out of those spells so quickly, but the spells aren't totally banished, just broken. You broke through them, but there's still pieces of them there that we need to get someone to dispel. Until we do, you're going to be even more vulnerable to her mental magic than you were before.”
Richard sighed, but nodded his head, he knew she was right. He could still feel echoes of the charm spell in his head, and not all of his memories of the warehouse were totally clear.
“Anyway...to use runes like that, with that kind of proficiency, she's probably an Enchanter. And it sounds like the kind who's seriously into mind magic.”
Bertrand nodded slowly. “I guess she's probably the summoner you guys were looking for then, huh?”
“No.” Richard said. They looked at him, surprised. “I still have gaps in my memory, but I know she said that both her and the corrupted summoner were working for the Duke. She was trying to clean up the mess he made, find and shut down anyone who knew about them. That's why I think Jehan might be in danger right now.”
Evelyn started pacing back and forth. “Damn it, I should have realized. The Duke was trying to recruit me, his men said it was because they knew I was wanted for practicing forbidden magics. It sounds like he's already recruited other people who are practicing forbidden magics; he has a corrupted summoner and someone who uses enchantments to control people's minds, and both are highly forbidden.”
“Gods...what does he want with people like that?” Kateryn ask wonderingly, and then suddenly realized who she was talking to. “Erm, no offense Evelyn.”
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“More importantly” asked Harry, quickly cutting in before Evelyn could respond “if the Duke has been trying so hard to recruit people like that, why would he send them here?”
“Whatever play the Duke is making, we're not in a position to do anything about it.” Bertrand said. He had put a heavy iron pauldron onto his left shoulder that had an eagle carved into it and was currently strapping a slightly lighter and smaller pauldron onto his right shoulder. The two clearly came from different sets of armor, and neither seemed to fit with the chain mail he was now wearing over his chest. “These guys are power hitters, way above any of your levels, and probably above mine as well, and if Duke Rudhale is behind them they might have anything up to a medium sized army backing them up. Let's go into town, find Jehan, and then let's all just get out of here.”
Harry nodded. “Me and Bertrand can go into town. Richard, Evelyn, and Kateryn, why don't the three of you stay here.”
“No, I want to come along.” Richard responded.
“Lad, we know you're brave, but you don't even have a combat class yet...” Bertrand responded.
“Oh, I do, I just got one.”
“You...got a combat class? Just like that?” Bertrand looked surprised. “What class?”
“Skirmisher.”
“Not many of those around here, but I've heard of them.” Harry responded.
“Yeah, some of the kingdoms up north train skirmishers for their armies.” Evelyn said, clearly repeating something she'd read in a textbook. “While the main armies are still closing on each other, they run in, throw javelins at the enemy shield wall, and then run away. Usually kill a few enemies, and at least ruin some their shields, weaken the shield wall before the main armies clash. They're considered cheap and expendable...” Evelyn paused, and swallowed. “Um. Yeah.”
“I've known a few skirmishers. Traveled with a halfling skirmisher for a while. Not much use in a head to head fight, but given room and time he could run circles around a monster and pelt it with rocks from his sling until it collapsed.” Bertrand shook his head. “But even so, that's a big accomplishment lad, but you're still just level 1, you'll just get yourself killed if we get into any real fights. You should stay here.”
“It's not any safer here.” Richard said quietly. “They might already have Jehan, and if they do, he's going to tell them everything he knows, especially who else he's talked to and where they are. I'm sure he's got more resistance then I do, but I don't know if anyone could resist her for long. For all we know they could all already be on their way here.”
They went quiet at that. “Wait. We don't even know where to find Jehan, do we.” Evelyn said.
“Well, last I spoke to him, he was going to go and talk to the town guard.” Richard said.
“But you don't really expect to find him there, do you.” She said. Richard didn't respond.
Evelyn went digging through her backpack. “I doubt the Duke has that many enchanters working for him, and he was equipping all of his soldiers with these when they were trying to capture me...” out of her backpack, she pulled three charms out. Each charm was a square of leather on a long string, designed to be worn as a necklace, with runes embroidered into the leather. “These are a cheap, easy enchantment, designed to block fire. Each one would only stop maybe a couple of fire spells before it gave out, but a good enchanter could make dozens of these in a few days. If the enchanter who made these is the same one who's in the town now...” Evelyn closed her eyes and whispered a few words. “Power return to your master, power return to your creator, power return to your master...” Richard heard, in a soft repeated chant, in the same ancient language as the other spells he'd heard. The three charms lifted into the air, and all three pointed towards the town, pulling their strings taught, like iron being pulled by a magnet. “I can find her with these. And if she has Jehan, then if we find her, we find him.”
“Slow down. You want to walk right into the town?” Bertrand said. “You do know that all the guards are looking for you, right?”
“We don't have to go in through the main gates.” Evelyn responded calmly. “There's a place by the docks where it's not hard to climb over the wall.”
“This is a bad idea.”
“If he's been captured, do you have any better idea how to find him?”
They went quiet for a little while, and then Harry spoke up.
“Kateryn, Richard is right; if they have Jehan, this house might not be safe. Maybe...you'd better go stay with your mother for a few days?”
Kateryn spoke up. “If they have Jehan, and he tells them that he talked to me, they'll find me, Richard. If they don't find me here, they'll find me at my parent's house, Jehan knows where that is too. And if they don't find me there...they'll find my parents.” She shook her head. “No, I'm coming with you guys too.”
Bertrand shook his head. “You're...Kat, you're a farmer. Do you even have a combat class?”
“I'm a good frontierswoman, Bertrand. I've been putting in my militia training every month. I'm a level 2 Spearman.” She walked into her room and came back carrying the same kind of spear Richard had seen the town militia carrying. “And I'm coming with you.” Her tone didn't brook any argument.
“Gods preserve us...” Bertrand sighed.