They spent the next three days at the inn, sleeping during the day and roaming the surrounding area at night. Elida had provided a long list of creatures from the world of the Fae that walked on two legs, and Vultressant made sure that the information was inputted correctly in his interface. He quickly realized that they needed to know exactly what they were dealing with for all of this information to be of much use, but he continued to summon her to gain what knowledge he could from the Sprite. She was pleasant to talk to, so he looked forward to their chats.
“The Brownies are rascals, but they are not much larger than my people,” Elida said during one such summoning. “They could abduct an infant, but they lack the ability to assault someone your size.”
“What if there were a bunch of them?” he asked, thinking of the movie Army of Darkness. It had a scene where a handful of tiny Ashs ran around and attacked the actual Ash. It was mostly slapstick nonsense, but the little guys had ultimately subdued him.
“I think that you would be fine even if there were fifty of them,” she said. “One of your wind spells would kill them all or send them sprawling far away from you. It is possible that if they found you tied up or asleep, they could kill you.”
Vultressant was a member of a diminutive race in this world, and if the Brownies were small enough to pose no threat to Gnomes, they were unlikely to be the ones that his party was hunting. He checked his HUD interface to confirm the information Elida had provided. “Alright, I’ve got that. Is there anything else you can think of?” he asked.
Elida crossed her arms and nodded. “Your companion does not care for me,” she said.
He thought that she was trying to look stern, but if she was, her high-pitched baby-talk voice ruined it. “Which one?” he asked. He could not remember a time when anyone in the group had made any negative statement about Elida.
“You are with both of the females?” she asked, looking a little confused.
“Wait, what?”
She waved a tiny hand, a dismissive gesture. “The Elf. She does not care for the time that you spend with me.”
“Vanya?” he asked. “What makes you say that?” He couldn’t recall Vanya saying or doing anything that would… Realization dawned on him. “I’m not with Isla.”
“Then why did you ask which one?”
“I thought that you were talking about everyone in the party—my companions—and not Vanya, who is… my girlfriend?”
“Do you not know if she is with you?”
“Well, I had a girlfriend before coming here; we were together for a couple of months, but then I got stuck here, and it’s years later for her. She’s probably married with a kid by now.”
“I have heard you talk,” Elida interrupted. “You have not been here for years. What do you mean?”
“Well, we think that time might move differently here, or maybe the method of travel was instantaneous for us but took years on our old world.”
Elida shook her head. “Time does not slow or stop. Time is time.”
He was reluctant to argue what little he knew about how these things might work, as most of them were sci-fi notions. “Anyway, Vanya and I are together now. Why do you think that she doesn’t like you?”
“You talk to me often, and she has looked at me in a displeased way. Your companion is jealous.”
“Why would she be jealous?” he asked. “You are so small that nothing could happen between us.”
Elida shook her head slowly several times. “You males always think of the physical. Your Elf believes that we have an emotional connection. She feels threatened, or she might just wish to have this type of connection with you as well.”
It sounded crazy to him, but he didn’t want to upset Vanya. “What do I do?” he asked.
“You need to pay attention to her needs.”
“I’ll try to work on that,” he said. “We can talk more later.” He dismissed the Sprite and went to have a think.
_________________
Vultressant entered the common room of the inn. The rest of the group had already assembled around two tables that they had pushed together to accommodate the group. There were two Dwarves sitting with them who appeared to be telling a story. He went up to Vanya and took her by the hand. She looked at him quizzically, but she rose and followed him to another table away from the group.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
They sat down, but he did not release her hand. “You know that I care about you, right?” he asked tentatively.
She looked at him warily now. “Yes,” she replied slowly.
“Then could you do me a favor?” he asked. When she nodded, he continued. “Could you let me know if I do or say anything that truly bothers you?”
“Vult, everyone is bothered by things people do at times. It’s no big deal.”
He shook his head. “I don’t mean like being annoyed that someone bites their nails. I mean things that really bother you.”
Vanya smiled and covered the hand holding hers with her free one. “I can do that,” she said. “Now, do you want me to fill you in on what the Dwarves had to say?” When he nodded, she began. “Their group was attacked last night to the south of here—probably a little east too—but Taloc was taking notes, so you can get the location from him or the Dwarves. Anyway, they think that the attackers were Gnomes, but they were very stealthy. They all wielded sickles, had oversized feet, and did a lot of kicking.”
The description tickled a memory, and he brought up the list of Fae creatures that he and Elida had been discussing. He found what he was looking for, and he abruptly got up and went over to the table where his party was seated. “What were your attackers wearing?” he asked, interrupting one of the Dwarves midsentence.
“Who is this now?” the Dwarf asked, looking to Taloc, who was likely leading the questioning.
“That is our Wizard,” Taloc said. “He lacks manners, but he means well. Do you remember what the Gnomes were wearing?”
“Aye, they wore outdoor clothing and boots, likely made of metal.”
“Were they wearing hoods?” Vultressant asked intently.
“Well, either they were wearing cloaks with the hook up, like your friend here,” he said, pointing at Ewtain, “or they just had a large hood on.”
“Were the hoods red?” he asked.
“It was dark, lad.”
“Possibly,” interjected the other Dwarf. “Is that important?”
Vultressant nodded. “They wielded sickles then.” It was not a question. The Dwarves looked at each other, and they nodded in unison. “They weren’t Gnomes at all; they are some sort of Goblin of the Fae realm; Elida called them Redcaps.” Vultressant projected a map of the surrounding area, at least the part that they had explored. “Show me where you encountered them.” His high Intellect was certainly helping him—he had always been quick to solve puzzles, but this connection had come to him extremely fast.
The area of the attack was miles south of the explored map. The Dwarves described the region as rocky, with a small stream winding through it. It should be fairly straightforward to find the location, and the party, anxious to be able to finally finish this mission, decided to set out as soon as they ate.
They traveled at night and camped to sleep once both suns were fully visible in the morning sky. They needed to hunt at night, so this was the schedule that made the most sense if they were to be as rested and alert as possible during those times. Vultressant questioned Elida for more information on the Redcaps, but she could only provide descriptions, lacking any knowledge of their fighting tactics.
The terrain had changed dramatically to a rough, gravely ground with fewer small hills than nearer the town. Vultressant carried a globe of light, but the others were content to rely on lamplight; Vanya carried one, more for those around her than for herself, and Taloc used one to scout the area. The Ranger had been adamant that the light from the lamp was better than the globes for discerning tracks, but Vultressant was skeptical, as it seemed logical that more light was better. He had watched several crime dramas where the detectives or CSI characters would use a flashlight to inspect a room instead of simply turning on the lights. He had always assumed that it was for dramatic effect, but maybe there was a reason for it.
An hour into the new terrain, Taloc stopped and motioned for the others to halt, looking carefully at the ground. He squatted down and pointed to what appeared to Vultressant to be completely normal ground. “There are at least five sets of tracks, one of which is smaller than the others.”
“I don’t see anything,” Vultressant said. “How are you able to?”
Taloc rose from his hunkered-down position and turned to Vultressant. “They just sort of glow in the shape of a foot. I need light to see them since they don’t actually glow in the dark, but it’s just the track skill triggering. It’s the same as you and Vanya seeing the essences to harvest, and I can’t see those.”
“That’s magic, though,” he protested.
Taloc looked at him and frowned in disbelief. “This whole world is magic,” he said, moving a hand around him for emphasis. “I guess it could be something coming through my HUD, but either way it just works.”
“I see where I need to cut when I use my skinning skill,” Ewtain said, “so it makes sense that other skills work that way too.”
It did make sense. Vultressant had assumed that seeing the essence and where to focus his will and mana was due to it being magical in nature, but apparently that was not localized to his ability. He held up his hands. “Okay,” he said, “sorry about doubting you. What’s the plan?”
“We follow the tracks until we spot whatever made them, and then horribly murder them,” Ewtain said.
Maroftis barked a laugh. “You are awfully quick to the violence.”
“Mmmm,” Ewtain replied with a casual tone. “That’s the job. These are murderous Goblins who steal and probably eat children. Think of the children!” He added the last part with mock seriousness.
Isla’s lips curled into a smile. “You know about Redcaps?”
Ewtain shrugged. “Sure? Some wear crazy masks; they have sharp claws and teeth; and apparently, they wield sickles. We need to banish them to the fairy world, and hopefully they drop the caps, which is probably where their power comes from.”
“You don’t plan on putting a hat on, do you?” Isla asked.
“Oh yes.” Ewtain confirmed. “And if that doesn’t work, I will try to boil the power out of them. I suppose that all we’ll get are more of those cores and nothing else, but we can try to stuff those into a weapon or item.”
“Maybe we should follow them soon, or we may not catch them in time to, um… horribly murder them before dawn,” Taloc said.
Isla elbowed Ewtain playfully. “Yeah, if we don’t get moving, we might be too late for whatever violence you have planned.”
“It’s never too late for violence!” Ewtain declared, holding up a finger for emphasis. He began moving in the direction he thought the tracks were headed. Taloc quickly corrected him, and Ewtain, with a mock flourish, made an ‘after you’ motion, waiting for the Ranger to take the lead again.