I smiled, a little crookedly, and climbed to my feet. “I knew you’d be back for it.” I said, reaching up to pass it to her, but I staggered. “Do you mind if I heal myself and Eshaan first?”
“Oh, you brought the boy hero too! Hello!” She waggled her fingers at him. “Oh! Let me introduce you to my new friends!” She grabbed her hat off my head and plopped it onto her own. Turning and gesturing to the ladder she gestured to where two heads peeked through the trap door overhead. Soriya energetically beckoned the two figures to come down.
“Ah. You’ve got new party members.” I said, quickly casting a healing spell over myself and Eshaan, then a few more, breathing a sigh of relief as the melted patches in my robes knitted together and the pain of the slime burns covering my body finally eased.
“Yep!” Soriya seemed to be in fantastic spirits. “You were taking so long to get us out, I figured I should try to meet you halfway! Besides, my new friends have some really neat tricks up their sleeves.”
Eshaan staggered to his feet. “I still don’t understand how you escaped… imperial procedure is to fit explosive collars-”
Soriya laughed and pulled out a circle of black metal with glowing runes engraved on it. “This old thing?” She carelessly twirled it around on one finger, then turned and beckoned again to the two people waiting at the top of the ladder. “Dar! Dan! Come on down and show our friend how you helped me escape the ‘impenetrable’ imperial security! I want to introduce you!”
She turned back to us. “That girl is brilliant. Nutty as a bag of trail bar, but absolutely brilliant. The man’s the real treasure.”
A giant of a man with dark skin and muscles everywhere made his way down the ladder, followed by a slim boy… or, no, wait that was a girl, wasn’t it?
That is definitely a girl. She was probably pretending to be a boy, but gave it up.
How can you tell?
See the fragments of her breast binding? Plus, she moves like her hips hurt, that’s what happens when you try to walk like a boy. It never pays to pretend to be who you aren’t.
I blinked and nodded, completely unsure about any of this. What was I supposed to do now? I was glad Soriya was ok, but two more party members?! And there was no question they were supposed to join the heroes party with that red streak in her hair and that exotic appearance of his…
“Soirya, I’m not really sure-”
“It’ll be fine, it’ll be fine!” she flipped her hand at me in that familiar manner.
I pressed my lips together firmly. We’ll see about that.
The muscular man got to the bottom of the ladder, and then offered his hand to the girl. She ignored it, hopping the last distance down to the floor with a slight squishy splash. She paused, looking at her feet, then knelt down in the puddle of poison slime, running a gloved finger through the material. Her expression was sparked with interest and she started fumbling at her belt for an empty vial.
Well, that’s different.
The expression on the muscled man was quite something to behold. He stepped over the girl, then knelt down as well, picking up something from the virulent green puddle. With a smooth grace, he stepped forward, and offered me my missing boot.
“I fear it’s no proper gift for a lady.” He said, giving a small half bow “But as the situation is perhaps not the best for purchasing fine items, I feel I must make do. New friends, I feel, should be welcomed with a gift.” His smile was very bright and wide on his bronzed face, and I found myself smiling back. I hopped forward and took the boot from his hands. It was gross and slimy and stung from the acid, but it was still better than walking barefoot on the floor of a literal sewer. I pulled it on, hopping awkwardly.
“Well. It’s appreciated.” I grunted out as I hopped. “I’m Lilyanna and this is Eshaan.”
Eshaan nodded and raised his hand in greeting. The man steepled his fingers together and bowed. “And I am Daniyal. This is my captain, Darshana.”
The girl looked up, hearing her name, hurriedly corking the glass vial she’d stuffed some slime into. “Oh, hey! You must be Lilyanna! Soriya told us all about you!” She hopped up and strode over to shake my hand.
I raised an eyebrow, glancing quickly at Soriya. “Did she?”
“Well yeah! It’s clear you two are thick as thieves! Which is great, because as an air pirate captain, I’m looking for a crew and thieves are perfect!”
I scowled. “I’m not sure I like the idea of being called a criminal.” I said tightly.
Soriya interjected “You just broke one of the empire’s most wanted out of prison, I’d say you qualify. Also, you should have seen the holes you punched in that airship!” She whistled appreciatively.
I squirmed uncomfortably, a sour taste in my mouth. “I didn’t mean to do that. I didn’t want to do that!”
Soriya finally caught my mood. “Hey. They tried to murder Breezewood as a demonstration. I think they got what they had coming to them.”
I swallowed and nodded, but then suddenly realized. “That’s right! You don’t know! Soriya, we did it! You did it, I mean! The ritual worked! Breezewood just skipped right past the part where it was destroyed!”
The smile that slowly spread over her face was like sunrise. “We did it? WE DID IT!” She started laughing, and then her eyes widened in shock. “Spirit farts, I just gained two levels!” She grabbed me in a hug and twirled me around laughing giddily. “WE DID IT!”
I staggered in her grip, and hugged her back smiling awkwardly. It did feel really good.
“Oh man, that shadow thing won’t know what hit him!”
The sudden reminder of the shadow Benjamin thing I’d unleashed felt like a punch to my stomach.
“Ah yes, Miss Soriya informed us that you’re seeking some dark shadow of evil that escaped from your village.” Daniyal’s rumbling bass interjected. “If I may humbly suggest, our paths might well mingle for a while. We are headed to Spyre, and the Imperial Academy doubtless has records that will assist you in spirit hunting. In addition, the church of the Crystal Dragon has many centuries of experience hunting evil spirits, and the cathedral in Spyre is second only to the holy city of Albidion’s great library.”
I staggered, and Eshaan caught me before I fell to my knees.
“Lily!”
“Lilyanna?”
“Miss Lilyanna, are you alright?”
The mingled voices of the group around me mixed with worry.
I swallowed past a lump in my throat, trying to get my feet under me, clinging rather tightly to Eshaan for stability. “But… but we were supposed to go home…” I said looking at Soriya.
Soriya looked at me in bafflement, and then reached out a hand to me, before letting it drop. “Lily… Lily, I know you don’t want to go on an adventure… but… we fucked up. We fucked up big time. We have to take responsibility. We have to fix this. We are likely the only people who even understand what that shadow is. And there are three of them.” Her eyes grew dark. “And one of them… one of them needs to die for sure. Even if no one else helps, I will end that one. That one is mine.”
The darkness that I’d briefly seen flickering behind her eyes back in Breezewood roiled in her violet eyes now, turning them stormy purple grey. I took a step back involuntarily. “But-“
No. We screwed up. We must make this right. You know this. You’re fighting it because you don’t want to admit it… it’s not just because we’re a heroine. It’s because this is something we did, and it’s something we can fix. Something we can do better than anyone else. Otherme’s voice was quiet but filled with steel. Nobody says we have to die to seal an evil. Nobody says we have to be stupid. But you know it… we are saying that we have to make this right.
“Damn you.” I whispered, and ground the palms of my hands into my eyes, pressing back tears. “I was supposed to avoid this.”
Soriya stepped up and hugged me tightly. “Nobody said you had to die. You’re smarter than that. We’re smarter than that. But you know this is the right thing to do. And we know how to handle right things.”
I let out a sigh, feeling as though my heart was punctured. “The next right thing.”
“That’s right.” She nodded. “And that is?”
I chewed my lower lip, and then said “Yeah. Ok. We’ll go to Spyre.” I licked my lips. “But before we do that, we’ve got to get out of the sewers. It’s a long walk back.”
Darshana perked up. “I still don’t understand why you’re so insistent on going through the sewers! We should just go liberate my airship!”
Eshaan’s eyes widened. “You have an airship?!”
Darshana bounced up and explained, waving her arms. “Oh yeah! It’s not as cool as it could be, and it’s still rough around the edges but we’ve totally got an airship! You want to go somewhere fast; we can handle it!”
I noticed that Daniyel didn’t say anything. I opened my mouth to ask a question, but was interrupted by Eshaan.
“Well yeah! Where is it?” He exclaimed.
Soriya stared at Darshana with narrowed eyes. “You really have an airship? You’re not just ballyhooing us?”
Darshana put her hands on her hips and glared angrily at Soriya. “I told you I did! Why didn’t you believe me?”
“Oh, I don’t know.” Soriya smiled lazily. “An air-pirate in a jail sell telling me she has an airship, and can get us out if I just do a few favors for her? I’m sure it’s nothing.” Her tone went serious again. “What’s wrong with it?”
Darshana glared back “Absolutely nothing! She flies just fine!”
I glanced at Daniyel. Once again, he very obviously remained quiet.
“Daniyel? Do you trust this airship?”
Daniyel raised his eyebrows. “Of course I trust my captain. I would follow her anywhere.”
That… wasn’t quite what I asked.
I don’t understand why you’re so suspicious! He’s willing to help us, he seems nice for an air-pirate!
I sighed. “I suppose we’ll have to leave it at that.”
Daniyel nodded somberly. “Then we are agreed?”
Darshana pumped her fists excitedly. “Aw yeah! I got a real crew now! Come on! There’s only a few guards on the hangar, they’re conducting some kind of drill at the front gate!”
I sighed, and put my hand on Eshaan’s shoulder. “Eshaan. If we do this, we’re certain to encounter one of your former troop. Possibly even Khine.”
Soriya jerked a little. “Oooh, yeah, that’s right. Imperial base, first big escape scene…”
Eshaan looked back and forth between me and Soriya. “Is this more seer stuff?”
I smiled wryly. “Yes.”
He looked down at the stone slabs, his expression clouded, then looked up, and nodded at me. “Then it will come sooner than expected. At least I can ask him what I mean to ask him.”
Darshana looked confused. “You’re a trooper? I don’t understand, why didn’t you just come in the front gate?”
Eshaan’s grip tightened on the hilt of his sword. “Not anymore. My commander and I had a… misunderstanding.”
“But that’s-”
“Darshana.” Daniyel’s voice was cool but with a hint of iron in it. “A man’s concerns are his own. That is the air-pirate way.” He put distinct emphasis on ‘air-pirate’, I noted.
Darshana took the hint. “Well!” She clapped her hands together. “So let’s climb a ladder and liberate an airship!” She suited action to words and started climbing the ladder with an abundance of enthusiasm.
While we waited our turn, I took a moment to hang back next to Soriya. “So, what do you think?”
“Runaway princess. I’m sure of it.” She replied quietly.
“Really?” I glanced over up at her, then back at Soriya. “But she’s a techie. My money is on some underdog ethnic minority. Maybe an elf or even a dwarf.”
“Oh, they have those?” She got a faraway look in her eyes, that I was starting to recognize, then said “Oh, so they do!” She looked up at where Darshanna was clambering through the hatch in the ceiling followed by Daniyel. She pursed her lips thoughtfully, then shook her head. “No. Runaway princess, imperial model.”
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
I glanced up, and back. “Bet?”
Soriya grinned at me. “Sure! Lemon-blueberry bars?”
I stuck out my tongue at her. “I make you those anyway. And you already owe me sparkling fruit wine. 100 zeni.”
“Pfft. No fun at all.” Then she gave me a slight bow. I blinked in confusion and she laughed. “Right. American.” She stuck out her hand and I shook it. A nudge from otherme, and I gave her a neat bow in return.
“Now you’re getting it!” She said, and headed to the ladder with a wink.
I clambered up the ladder after her and our little group was shortly standing in a secluded area in the lowest level of the imperial dungeon.
“Well, which way?” Eshaan looked at the air-pirates curiously.
“Uhm… this way!” said Darshanna, pointing.
Soriya smiled, her hand on her hip. “You have no idea do you?”
“That’s not true! We came in that way, so we’ll have to go out that way, it’s just common sense!”
“That’s the way that all the pirates went when we got them out of the cell. It’ll be crawling with guards.”
Darshanna huffed angrily. “Do you have a better idea?”
Eshaan stepped forward. “Please ladies, calm down. Miss Lilyanna has a map.”
I blinked in surprise and then fumbled for the journal.
“You do?!” Said Soriya.
“She does?!” Said Darshanna.
“I ah…” I flipped several pages, skimming rapidly, and felt a heated blush sweeping over my cheeks at everyone staring at me expectantly. “I… don’t.” I said, feeling my hopes crash as I skimmed the section in mother’s journal. I looked up and shook my head. “I’m sorry Eshaan, she only came to break someone out of the cells, then they returned back the same way. And I don’t think the imperial air docks were built yet. There’s nothing in here about them at all.”
“What on earth is that book?!” Soriya exclaimed, grabbing it out of my hands and flipping it open.
I yanked it back and hugged it to my chest. “It’s my mother’s journal! It’s my reward for saving the town!”
“Your mother’s journal?! Wait… she was an adventurer, wasn’t she? Is that… a strategy guide?!”
I glared at her. “No! It’s a real journal! It just has a lot of maps and creature info with encounters and…” I stopped. Looked down at the book. Looked back up. “Alright, yes, I guess it is a strategy guide.”
“Hah. Hah!” She hugged me tightly, and let me go giving a little woop. “Way to go, Lilyanna!”
I smiled shyly, clutching the journal tightly. “It’s… also nice to have saved the town.” I said quietly, and otherme nodded firm approval.
“Well. Yes, that too.” Soriya sobered and nodded. “Still. What a fantastic item!”
“So if you don’t have a map, we go this way!” Darshanna said confidently.
Eshaan cleared his throat modestly. “Actually, if Lily’s map doesn’t show us the base… I was stationed here for a week. And imperial installations are all constructed to a common plan. I think I can get us to the air docks.”
I could see that Darshanna was disappointed by this, crossing her arms and a definite pout appearing on her face.
Eshaan smiled apologetically then said “But I think Miss Darshanna is right. Out this door and then right should lead us to the cargo elevators.”
“Hah!” she pumped her hands in triumph. “See?! Come on, follow me, crew!” And she swaggered down the hall and out the door, Daniyel trailing silently behind her.
I stepped next to Eshaan as we walked. “We’re likely going to have to fight Imperial patrols. Are you ok with that?”
He frowned, walking silently for a moment. “I’m not really ok with it, anymore than I’m ok with much else… but it’s like you said Lily. I need to keep walking forward, and this is the direction that I’ve chosen.”
I pressed my lips together, and otherme reached out and grabbed Eshaan’s hand, squeezing it tightly in reassurance. He looked up at me in startlement, and smiled gratefully.
“Thanks.” He said softly.
Shortly thereafter we did indeed have our first encounter with a guard patrol. It still caught me a bit off guard, no swirly transition music, no slow dissolve. Just, bam. Round a corner, and three guards shouting at us to freeze, drop our weapons… and wham.
It’s different, fighting other humans. More intense. Less easy. Monsters and animated corpses are simple, obvious. These guys… are just people doing a job.
The fight was quick and decisive. Eshaan struck with lightning-fast sword sweeps, Soriya had the spells, and Darshanna and Daniyel both got into the brawl in real personal way.
Oh, I guess they didn’t get their weapons back?
The fight was over quickly, to my relief they didn’t have time to sound an alarm. But just as they collapsed, otherme dashed forward and cast a Healing spell on both of them.
Hey, wait, what?
“Hey, hold on! Lily what are you doing?!”
“I won’t be responsible for more death! I can’t bear it!” otherme’s exclamation burst out of my lips.
Oh no… but how-
No! I won’t hear it! Think how we felt when the troopers died at the airship! I won’t feel that way again if we can help it! I hated to admit it, but she had a point.
“Lily…” Eshaan started.
I jabbed my staff in the face of the guards on the floor. “You just lost a fight to us. We can make sure you lose again. So you’re going to sit quietly and let us tie you up. Or do you think your families would welcome the news of your death?” I glared at them and pushed with my {Persuade} as I did so.
I could see their resistance collapse and I smiled grimly.
“Lily…” said Eshaan
“No! I won’t hear it!” I jabbed my staff at him. “I know if we kill them, their bodies will just vanish, but I’m sure that the Imperials have some kind of alarm in place no matter what we do! So kill them, or don’t kill them, the only benefit is their drops. And I. Have had. Enough.”
Eshaan shook his head in frustration. Behind us, Darshanna said hesitantly “I have some paralysis potions, actually…”
Eshsaan, Soriya and I all turned and spoke as one. “You do?!”
“Well sure!” she said, pulling out a few sparkling purple vials. “We’re air-pirates! We have to be prepared! How else would we rob a place!? I mixed em special, they’re good for several hours!”
Eshaan blinked a few times, and while he was processing that, I grabbed the vials from Darshanna’s hands and marched over to the seated guards. “Right. You’re going to drink these, and we’re going to stash you. Or do we have to do this the messy way?”
My {Persuade} must have worked, because they all meekly drank the potions, and promptly slumped to the side. I was a little disappointed they didn’t have jagged purple lines floating around them to indicate a status, but taking a close look at them, I felt a swimming sensation in my head, and suddenly a status window popped up! I gaped at it in surprise.
“Since when can you get a status window on other people!?” I complained.
Eshaan turned to look from where he was preparing to drag the soldiers. “Eh? Lily, didn’t you know? Anyone can use {Study}. {Loremaster}s just get a lot more information when they do.”
Soriya nodded, looking at me in clear surprise.
I glanced back at the status screen.
{Name}: ??? {Classes}: ???/??? {Level}: ???
HP:5 MP: 45 DEF: ??? M.DEF: ???
Current Status:
DEX: ??? INS: ???
MIG: ??? WIL: ???
Special: ???
“So can you all see this?!” I demanded.
“Well we can’t see what you’re looking at, but we can all use Study?” Eshaan sounded confused.
“Indeed.” Daniyel nodded. “It is a most useful technique before battle, but one rarely used in the heat of the moment.”
I pondered this, looking over the numbers. Or rather, their lack. There really isn’t much there at all is there? But it’s there! Why didn’t it come up when I first arrived?!
We didn’t {Study} ourselves, you just yelled the words.
I blinked, blinked again.
Why didn’t you tell me any of this!?
You weren’t listening to us yet, and later you didn’t ask.
My head spun, and I rubbed my temples.
“Let’s… Let’s just hurry on. Eshaan, do you need a hand?”
“I can drag them ok, but if you’ll get that door there?” He gestured to one of the door sin the hall.
“If I’m right…” He said as I pulled open the door, revealing an empty room filled with empty shelves and dust.
He smiled. “Yep! Empty storage area. I don’t think they’ll cause a problem here.” He dragged the three paralyzed guards into the storage room and shut the door, then dusted his hands. He looked at me appraisingly. “Thank you. You really are very kind hearted. It didn’t even occur to me that we could just… not. But you know that we’re probably not going to be able to keep that up?”
I gagged a little at the thought, remembering the clearing outside the cavern, filled with empty suits of armor, weapons and potion bottles. I squeezed my staff tightly and nodded.
“But we didn’t this time. Today, for now, we didn’t.”
Eshaan patted my shoulder and squeezed gently. We headed down the empty corridor silently.
I chewed my lower lip thoughtfully as we went. Finally, I ventured,
What else haven’t you told me?
We don’t know how to answer that. Everything that we know that you haven’t asked?
Hang on. … Who… who are you?
A soft mental giggle. We’re Lilyanna, who else would we be?
No, hold on! You said we. I’m Benjamin! Who are you?
We… we are you. But Lilyanna!
I don’t understand. Why… why aren’t you mad at me?! I’m… I’ve taken your body! Why aren’t you… you just keep helping me!
I am helping us! You are me! Why wouldn’t I help myself!? You don’t know so many things, it’s only natural to help!
I am not you! I am not Lilyanna!
We mustn’t say that out loud! Remember what happened!
Honeysuckle meadowlark, who are you?!
Otherme’s voice was half broken in confusion. I don’t know how to answer this! I am you! But Lilyanna!
You existed before me!
No, I didn’t.
I was stunned into baffled silence, and my concentration was broken by another brief battle with a group of guards. I didn’t manage to save all of them this time. It hurt, like a twisting knife in the gut. Soriya was grimly satisfied, Darshanna seemed disturbed, Danyiel remained his quiet and inscrutable self, and Eshaan… he turned to me and squeezed my arm.
“I’m sorry.” He said. “I know you wanted to save them.”
I swallowed and nodded. “I did. But if we’re captured or killed… then… I’m sorry. I’ll do better.” I dipped a bow to him in apology.
Eshaan smiled at me. “I like that you’re so kind hearted, Lily. It… it’s not always possible, but I think you trying helps make the rest of us better people. I was… I was willing to just let them die. You stopped that. That’s not something to be sorry for.”
I nodded gratefully. I didn’t get much more chance to stew in my own thoughts, the next guard group managed to trigger the alarm before we could take them down, and then it was a race to get to the hangar. The mazelike corridors confused us several times, we had to hide from passing patrols too large to take on our own, and I couldn’t save everyone. That hurt worse than the minor injuries they inflicted on me, but there wasn’t time to think about that now. If we didn’t get to the hangar soon, Khine would be here.
We dashed up several flights of stairs, and I was absurdly grateful for my outrageous stamina. In my old body, I would have been panting and gasping for breath not even halfway up. Down another series of mazelike hallways and we burst out into the main hangar floor, a vast expanse of grey steel and yawning trenches with floating sculptures of glass and baroque bronze and twisting propellers. And standing a few yards away, the lt. who had moved to execute Soriya on Commander Khine’s orders, surrounded by a group of imperial troopers.
“Isha.” Eshaan growled.
Lt. Isha blinked in surprise. “You’re alive?! Pfah. More proof that the commander is slipping. And that’s Lieutenant Isha to you, traitor!”
Eshaan stepped forward, pointing his drawn sword at Isha. “I’m the traitor?! Me?! Remind me who cut me down for protesting illegal orders!”
“Illegal orders? The authorized commander in charge of a battalion ordered you to perform an action, and you refused! I’m not the one-”
“OH SHUT UP!” Soriya shouted with a surprising amount of rage in her voice. “Just shut up and DIE!”
Faster than I could follow, the chant for Flare flashed out, and Diaboli barked. A brilliant slash of red-orange elemental power shot across the space between them forcing Isha to dive to the side into a roll. Smoke wafted off of his uniform and a few flakes of ash tickled to the hangar floor.
“What are you fools waiting for! Shoot! SHOOT!” Isha screamed at the troopers with him,
“But sir! The Commander said-”
“Forget what the Commander said! It’s a bunch of little girls and a traitor! KILL THEM!”
Oh, this is bad I thought, even as I hurriedly chanted Barrier. Barely in time, as Isha roared upwards propelling himself from the floor, driving his fisted into Eshaan’s stomach, my barrier flaring silver white as his fists impacted.
Even then, the force of his blow was so great that Eshaan was propelled backwards several feet, his boots skidding on the deck. “We don’t have to do this, Lieutenant. We don’t have to be enemies!”
“Loyal soldiers of the empire follow orders, traitor!”
Daniyel punched his fists together, and glowing orange yellow gauntlets appeared around hands. “If we are to fight, we had best get to it.” He took a stance that was something like a martial artists, then blurred, moving too fast for me to see, his path ending with his fist buried in the stomach of one of the unfortunate unnamed troopers. I barely caught his murmured apology as the unfortunate fellow crumpled to the deck, gasping for breath. It didn’t slow him down though, he lunged upwards, spinning his rifle butt up, smashing it into Daniyel’s chin. Daniyel rocked backwards, a spray of blood from his lower lip, and a fierce grin split his face.
“Good. It would be unfortunate if this fight was to have no meaning. Let us dance.”
Darshanna’s eyes were big, but she moved without hesitation, grabbing a cylinder from her belt and throwing overhead.
“Eyes!” She shouted, and I barely had time to squeeze my eyes closed before a brilliant flash of blinding white light burst overhead. Isha and the troopers were not so lucky, and I heard a staggering curse from them as they staggered.
Oh. I’d spoken too soon. Eshaan hadn’t gotten his eyes closed in time either. He rushed forward, his elbow out to crash into Isha’s chest, the both of them tumbling forward and sprawling into an untidy heap of punching and squirming fits and elbows. Half the strikes seemed to miss from the blinding, but it didn’t slow either of them down. If anything, the speed and frequency of the attacks was only increasing!
Soriya chanted a Poizone, streaks of green shooting out from Diabloli. They hit the troopers square on, but there was a flaring snapping pop from each of them, and the green mist immediately dissipated.
“Oh come on! Who has poison cancelation this early in the story?! This is bullshit!” She shouted angrily.
I didn’t share her emotion, one of the troopers was choking, and fell to the ground his face turning purple.
Oh no, not again. I thought, feeling my heart twist. It’s not fair that real battles like this mean something! I aimed by staff to try and cure him, but Lt. Isha and Eshaan’s twisting brawl rolled over under me, and knocked me aside. I watched helplessly as the trooper’s body discorporated into the air, leaving a small bundle of goods. Tears stung my eyes. I’ve failed again.
Isha roared, shoving Eshaan backwards, and leaped towards Soriya. “My men! Die for the empire, witch!” He shouted wildly. His flailing punch connected with Soriya’s chin, and her head snapped to the side, a splatter of blood flying from her mouth.
Daniyel’s brawling strikes flashed faster and faster with his target, but the trooper used his gun like a short staff, knocking blow after blow to the side. Daniyel’s attack was unrelenting, like a torrent of water flowing down hill, and like any torrent, it had an inevitable result. The trooper’s defense slowly weakened, falling back under the barrage. With a flourish, Daniyel slammed his fist into the trooper one last time, and the trooper’s eyes crossed. He staggered backwards, swaying. It was obvious he was about to go down. But as he fell, I saw a triumphant smile on his face. He was holding up a grenade pin! Daniyel’s eyes widened in realization, and he blurred backwards. An explosive flare chased him, blasting him up and back, flinging him into the air. My Barrier held, if only barely, but I didn’t have time to focus on that.
I have to save him. I have to save at least one! I chanted out {Heal}, and spirits grace preserve me I was in time. The flickering sparkle around his body ceased.
Lt. Isha stopped, his gaze darting between me and the trooper in bafflement. Darshanna took the opening, and threw one of her purple paralysis gas potions. It nailed the downed trooper squarely, and Isha staggered backwards coughing.
“Please, Isha! Please! Can’t you see this is pointless!? We don’t want to hurt anyone! We just want to leave. Please let us leave without us having to kill you!”
Whose voice was that? Oh… oh that was my voice. My voice using {Persuade} with all my mana poured into it. My eyes were blurring with tears.
This is pointless! They always fight to the death! I berated my otherself.
It is never pointless to try! She responded fiercely.
Isha looked around, his eyes flicking between his trooper and our group, bloody but ready to continue. And then, to my disbelief, Isha raised his hands and said “I am outmatched. You are a fool to let me live, and I will make you regret it bitterly. But for now… Commander Khine’s advice seems to be unexpectedly useful.”
I looked at him, my eyes wide with shock, Eshaan grabbed my upper arm and hauled. “Come on Lily! We’ve got to go!”
We dashed over the hangar, following Darshanna’s eager shouts. “This way! Over here!”
We threaded our way through the maze of smaller airships at speed, doing our best to catch up to her as she did her best to vanish into the maze of bronze gold metal and shimmering blue lift magic.
She finally stopped next to a skiff that looked much like all the others to me. Perhaps a bit duller gleam to her metalwork.
“Here! Here she is!” She patted the hull fondly, as a clamshell doorway opened in the side of the ship, and stairs descended with a clanking shudder.
Eshaan stopped, staring. “You’ve got to me kidding me! What a piece of junk!”
Darshanna bristled, standing straighter. “She’s a work in progress! She’s faster than she looks, and I don’t see any of you with the keys to another ship! Plus, she’s quiet! Real quiet! Which I thought was important since we’re trying to escape some scary commander or something?”
Eshaan looked at me. I looked at Soriya. She looked at Danyiel, gave a little flicker of a smile and back to Darshanna. “Sounds perfectly fine to me.” She said, and stepped over to the ship, mounting the stairs inside.
“How is this my life now?” Eshaan muttered as he followed. I patted him on the shoulder sympathetically.
“You stole my line.” I said as we entered the cabin.