Bates’s chainmail armour vanished, he was no longer dressed as a guard, but as a noble. His fine flashy padded jerkin was covered with a paper thin enchanted breastplate. I glared at it with envy, it was a stellar example of Kratin armour, forged by skilled mage smiths. My blades wouldn’t even leave a dent in it.
“Now, now. Can’t have a pretty lady using such…language,” Bates sneered, flashing his teeth into what I thought a smiling snake would look like.
“What do you want, Bates?” I shot back, my hands tensing towards my blades.
Bates and the thugs laughed, jostled each other around and all together seemed unimpressed with my snappy comment. They hadn’t seen Bazz yet and he gave me a fearful look before sneaking away. I prayed Martha was home to chase the odd man off again.
“I’m getting a bad feeling from this guy, Willow,” Raven said.
“Me too,” I mumbled back.
I didn’t recognize the thugs’ patches, they had to be either some new kids on the block, or people that didn’t want to be known. Rhast and Sergi shifted beside me, both men uneasy. I saw Rhast tug at his sleeves and there was a flash of steel, hidden daggers. Sergi’s hand went towards a heavy headed hammer on his belt, but I could see the minotaur was overburdened with his bags and wouldn’t be too helpful in the fight.
“I just need a little spear head back that you stole,” Bates said, he tossed me the apple he held. “Catch.”
Rhast’s arm shot up and a tiny dart fired out from his sleeve. He had a miniature crossbow on his wrist and the crazy gnome’s aim was good, sniping it out of the air. The apple exploded between our two groups, covering the street in a strange white powder.
Bates held up his apple with a bite mark, the one he had thrown was a trick of quick handed work. He was a rogue too, and a damn good one.
“How do you know it was her?” Rhast asked, pointing a dirty nail at Bates. “You know the punishment for harassing a false mark.”
Bates unfurled a small scroll, and raised a brow as he read aloud the contents. “A blonde elf with a black collar around her neck. The amulet attached from it has probably been snapped off, but the enchanted brass buckle should be visible. She won’t even remember wearing it.”
My hand shot up to my throat and I felt the collar Orinda had put on me. A quick series of memories passed by. Each time I woke up or cleaned myself up I would put it back on, like I would my underclothes. It was something of a habitat, and felt perfectly natural, not to mention nice.
“Blasted, they are using the minion charms in it to track you. I just thought you were a girl with good taste,” Raven said.
Bates then did a deep sweeping bow like a bard finishing his tale. “Then by the power invested in me, I-”
Rhast shot a dart towards him, and one of the thugs dashed in the way with a square metal shield, blocking it. The fight was on and I drew my shortswords, getting into the thick of it. I slid past one thug with a mace, twisting around his side and slashing down with my blade hacking the back of his leg. The padded pants tore under my blade and I cut his calf muscle, sending him down to a knee. I followed it up with a pommel strike to his iron capped helmet, creating a gong noise. The man collapsed to the ground dazed.
I felt the hairs on the back of my head stand up and I ducked, dodging a sword slash. I leapt to the side as a spear was thrust in my direction and I turned to bring both blades down on the haft, breaking the spear tip off. The thug grabbed the end of the spear and swung the wood shaft like a club, narrowly missing me.
I heard the sound of fighting around me, with Rhast dancing around like a whirling tornado of steel, shooting darts, throwing thin blades or stabbing with a jagged dagger made of jade. Arcs of lightning came off the dagger when he hit his foes, bouncing between two thugs until the magic built to a crescendo and exploded with a thunderous shockwave. The two men were thrown down the street, crashing into someone’s parked cart, destroying it. More men spilled in from alleys, cutting off our escape and our way to Martha’s home.
Bates thrusted a sharp steel blade towards me bringing me back into the fight, and I parried it away. I was forced to retreat as he followed it up with rapid jabs, each skillful strike intending to cut my legs or arms. His thin straight sword had a good degree of reach over my weapons and Bates was quick for a human, almost as fast as an elf. While I had more agility I couldn’t get near him as I was forced away at sword tip.
A thug came up behind me, trying to grab my shoulders and I spun around with an incantation on my lips. “Grace of the four winds, aid me!”
My swords glowed and I struck the thug in his chainmail shirt. The impact of the two swords was augmented by a gale of wind that threw the man back a few feet while empowering my steps. I shot past Bates like an arrow let loose, retreating to Sergi’s side before anyone could blink. The sapping of the magic reduced my limited magical ability, and I knew I had one, maybe two spells left in me.
“Willow, I’m just a black smith not a…” Sergi was covered in sweat, his slick muscles glinting in the light. If it wasn’t life or death I would have loved to take a moment to paint that with a scenic view behind him. I was then broken out of the illusion as I saw his shirt was stained crimson red and torn. “Fighter…I don’t think I can do this.”
A thug charged us, a battle cry on his lips as he hefted a two handed axe. Sergi let out a shrill girlish cry and threw his hammer in a panic, striking the man square in the face. His iron helmet with a chainmail face cover was knocked off his head and I watched the thug do a backflip before hitting the street facedown.
With us being safe for the moment as Rhast dealt with a few thugs I put my hand on Sergi’s side, feeling the incredible muscles underneath. I muttered a quick flurry of words, asking the wind to knit his wounds and keep him safe from infection. I felt my knees buckle as the spell nearly tapped out my shallow reserves of magic. I had at best a single spell left in me.
“Thanks Willow, you're the best,” Sergi smiled, giving me a thumbs up before drawing two freshly forged swords out of his bag. Sheer confidence filled his gaze as he stepped ahead to defend me. “Maybe I can do this!”
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“Idiots, just kill the men and grab the girl!” Bates snarled, bringing a whistle to his lips. “Time to call the city guards- Urk!”
Bates's strangled cry grabbed everyone’s attention and looming over the man was a shadow. The shadow held Bates’s head in a single hand, cutting off his air supply as the roguish man flailed around. The shadowy figure approached me, the sun was cut off from view and the menacing aura from them froze me in my tracks.
One of the braver thugs swung an axe at the stranger, getting the blade caught between armoured plates of the stranger's black suit of armour. The thug tried to retrieve his weapon, only for the stranger to flex and snapped the axe head off. The thug looked at the useless handle for his weapon, he then fled as fast as his feet could carry him.
The nine foot tall, black armoured titan raised Bates into the air. The fingers of their plate gauntlet were blue with enchantment metal backing it. The fingers ended in sharp claws that dug into Bates and in one swift motion the stranger whipped Bates at the fleeing thug. I hear a blast as the air parted for the flying man to impact his underling, sending both of them into a stonewall, knocking them out cold.
The last few thugs standing banished their weapons, and shifted uneasily on their feet. One of the thugs snuck up behind the armoured figure, and I heard something slide along the paved street. The thug raised his mace, and I spied a long blue tail with black armour plates appear, striking the man. The thug crumbled to the ground, and the rest of the goons attacked.
Rhast and I rushed to aid them, but we were not needed. The armoured titan raised a huge shield, bashing two men away before swinging a flail in the other hand. The spiky head crackled with energy and when it impacted a thug I felt my hair stand up, and an overpowering taste of ozone hit me. The man was lifted off his feet, suspended in the air, with lightning flaking off his armour. Then gravity seemed to kick in and the man was sent cartwheeling into his fellows, knocking them over.
Rhast and I fought our way past two thugs to reach the armoured figure as they held a thug up and used him to thrash another man, both screaming in terror. The chaos of the fight dragged to a halt as I heard magical incantation and the stones on the street rose up, hovering beside my head.
Arronold stood by the gate, a look of fury locked on his face. He pointed his staff towards a group of thugs, flames gathering in his hands. He was the perfect image of a wizard, powerful, imposing and ready to unmake the world by word alone.
“Leave my wife alone!” Arronold demanded, throwing the glob of fire into the midst of the thugs, a massive wave of heat emanating from the impact site. “Martha, please leave some for me.”
The thugs made a run for it, scorched, bleeding or hobbling. A few men ran while sparks arced off their armour making them cry out in pain, the fur on their cloaks standing on end. They dragged their wounded comrades away and soon we were left alone. I looked up at the armoured figure looming over me, and I recognized the familiar sets of horns.
“Martha?” I asked, cocking my head to the side.
Martha removed her helmet, shaking her head to get her hair out of her face. She smiled down at me with perfect blue lipgloss and a cheerful glint in her eyes. I looked around at the devastation she had wrought and trembled in fear.
“Oh don’t be like that, I don’t hurt cute ladies like you,” Martha said, dropping her weapon to scoop me up. “My word, look at you coming to try to save me, it was adorable.”
Martha tapped me on the nose and I sneezed. The tall woman laughed and her husband came out to use his magic to levitate her gear. Arronold glanced about nervously, and waved us into the safety of their walled home. Martha put me down and scanned the area, pushing us ahead as she brought up the rear. We shuffled in and only when we made it into the house did I breathe a sigh of relief.
“That was close,” I said.
“Willow!” Bazz said, tackling me and wailing. “I’m so sorry I’m a coward. I should have helped.”
“Bazz, you're okay!” I grinned, hugging the cat bard back. “Did you send Martha?”
“I did,” Bazz nodded, hugging me back.
“You certainly sent the queen of the battlefield. She waded in there like a goddess of war,” I said, shaking my head. “They didn’t stand a chance.”
Martha snickered to herself and fired up the stove while Arronold took out a medical bag of herbs and bandages. He started to bind the few wounds I had failed to heal on Sergi, before aiding Rhast. The gnome had a few scrapes, a cut on his cheek and a sprained wrist. Overall he had escaped a lot of damage, but I was leery of the gnome. He was more than he appeared to be.
“Did you get the supplies?” Arronold asked.
Rhast held up the lust potion, still in perfect condition. He kicked back in his chair and held the potion out, popping open the seal. “I gotcha ulfen, but you are gonna fill me in on what the scramic is.”
“Scramic, ulfen?” I blinked, trying to figure out the sudden accent that slipped into the gnome's speech.
“Scheme, and ulfen is an old term for elves pretending to be harmless. Like a wolf in sheep's clothing, it’s old Underside lingo,” Arronold said. He crossed his arms and tapped his fingers on his staff.
“Come on,” Rhast said, speaking normally again. “Don't you recognize me, little love birds?”
“Ralgala von Stillskreig, leader of the Shadowed Throne. You certainly have fallen from grace, old friend,” Martha said grimly.
“Old life is gone, Rhast the simple salesman is here,” the gnome said, tipping the potion just enough to make the liquid bead on the lip of the bottle.
Arronold sighed and looked at me. I nodded, and we filled Rhast and Sergi in. We left out some of the more graphic details, but once we were done the two men looked at me like they were impressed.
“Quite the adventurous lass, never a dull day with you around Willow,” Sergi said.
“Alright, I’m in. Place is a hare den under attack by black throat weasels in the wyld,” Rhast said, slipping into the accent.
“Me too,” Sergi nodded.
I blinked, unsure what I was hearing was real. “What?”
“You're going to need a smith. Adventuring the world, looking for rare materials. They are probably guarded, and you might go through a blade or two. Now my services aren't free…” Sergi said, wringing his hands together.
“I need employment too. You need someone to pop open locks, scout with you and make poisons, no?” Rhast asked, wiggling his eyebrows. “Looks like we have a quest, and an adventuring party.”
I saw around me everyone was chatting, planning and getting their gear in order. I grabbed my hair and shook my head, overwhelmed with what was happening. I felt a comforting hand on my shoulder, Martha having walked up behind me. She pulled me into a hug and despite her wearing a full plate mail set, I felt the gentle hug lift my woes.
“We are all in this. Arronold and I have been looking for an excuse to travel again, and they are right, we might need their skills,” Martha said.
“And I need to pay you back for saving me!” Bazz said. He saluted me and held up his lute. “Bazz the bard, at your service. I’ll be sure to record your tale and spin the tale of Willow. It can be a great story of you overcoming great odds. I’m thinking… the trials of Willow.”
My stomach growled and it was soon echoed by everyone else. We shared a hearty laugh as Martha got lunch out and we began discussing our plan. We went over our skills, how much Sergi and Rhast wanted, and how we were going to sneak out of town later. It looked like I had found my adventuring party after all.
End of Book 1