Monstergirl Quest, page 17
I shrugged. “It could be anyone.”
“One of the duke’s few shortcomings is his insistence on keeping the castle open to commoners,” Therena said. “So many prying eyes, so many ears listening.”
“He believes in freedom,” I said.
“And risks his life because of it,” she replied. “He risks all of our lives because of it.”
I got where Therena was coming from. I had little doubt that the Imperial agent (or agents) hiding in Homehold took full advantage of the duke’s belief in equality. Yet it seemed to be a worthy tradeoff.
“Perhaps you can speak to him about this,” Therena said. “About locking down the castle. Restricting movement throughout the city would help us tremendously, as well. We’d be better able to monitor communication among the commoners, to find this traitor among us.”
“I can’t do that, Therena,” I said. “Where I come from, we believe in freedom, even during dangerous times.”
“Yet your world is wracked with war,” she countered.
I nodded. “It is, yeah,” I said. “I’m not saying I know all the answers, but we’ll risk alienating the people we want to protect.”
She laughed, though her laughter was just a tiny bit bitter. “You and the duke,” she sighed. “You’re both as stubborn as men can get. I suppose it doesn’t matter if they come from this realm or yours.”
“In my world, a really smart dude once said, ‘Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.’”
She chuckled. “Sounds familiar. Another righteous king, I assume?”
“Nah,” I said. “Just some horny bald guy with too many jobs to count. Survived a lightning strike once, though. Tied a goddamn key to a kite during a thunderstorm.”
“Like I said, the realms are full of stubborn, reckless men,” Therena said, and it was just then, as I turned away from the cityscape below me, did I realize that Therena had taken several steps closer to me.
Suddenly, before I could react, the high elf threw herself at me. Her lips fell upon mine. She tasted like red wine, like grapes and rich fruit, and her firm, golden body pressed temptingly against my own.
But it wasn’t going to happen.
I gently, but firmly, pushed the high elf away. “Therena, I can’t do this,” I said. “Don’t get me wrong. You’re a knockout and I’m flattered, but I’m taken.”
The high elf ran her fingers across her lips, as if reliving that kiss. Though she was disappointed, she managed a smile. “Perhaps another time, Earthman,” she said.
I laughed inwardly, because back on Earth, I’d have gone crazy for a woman like Therena. Strikingly beautiful with a body to match…but not now. My love for my Mananymphs was stronger than any suit of armor.
Then, outside, in the distance beyond the city walls, I thought I spotted a strange sort of movement. Despite the rapidly fading sunlight and the growing shadows as dusk wore on, I could have sworn that I caught something massive moving in the forest outside of Homehold.
“Did you see something, Gamelord?” Therena asked, returning to the window.
I pointed toward the forest in the distance. “I thought…shit. I dunno. For a moment, I could have sworn that one of those trees were moving out there.”
Therena cocked an eyebrow. “Do you mean you saw movement in the trees?”
“No, I…” I laughed it off and rubbed my eyes. “Christ, I think I just need to get some sleep. I fought through a blood ghoul army led by a master illusionist, but I’m just now starting to see things that aren’t there.”
Therena’s mischievous grin returned. “Perhaps I can take you into your bed and show you things that you’ve seen yet,” she said, running her hands down the length of her long, supple body. “Things that are very much not an illusion.”
“I’ll take a pass on that, Therena,” I said. Still, I took her hand in mine and kissed it. I figured that was a chivalrous move. “But the man who does get to take you to bed will be one lucky bastard.”
At that, she left me, and I returned to the window. I studied the forest, but if anything had been moving out there, it wasn’t moving anymore.
Chapter Nineteen
As the hour grew late, the world seemed quiet and peaceful enough that I allowed myself a rare treat, and when one of the duke’s servants offered me wine, I took some. It was relaxing, really, sitting by the window and admiring the darkening silk sky with a few glasses of red.
I didn’t drink overly much, though. As always, I wanted to stay sharp, because there was no telling when the Necromancer would decide to move against us again.
Far below my bed chamber window, I spotted Pandora and Sephara walking through the gardens behind the castle. They were easy to see, as Pandora led their way with a torch. They eventually sat down at a bench to talk.
Well, I guess it was better that Sephara would tell Pandora about her little mysticism burst. Sephara was right. Though I’d successfully wielded some magic, I had no idea what magic meant to the Mananymphs.
Given their divine lineage, I figured they were more sensitive to it, more…
The world rippled. For a moment, I thought I was just dizzy from the wine. I caught myself, though, realizing it was Ciara contacting me again, and got myself to bed before I passed out to view the vision.
Once more, I fell down through that shimmering, watery void, and found the red-haired Mananymph as I always did, shackled cruelly to that stone wall.
“Greetings Gamelord,” Ciara said. “Forgive me, but this communication must be quick.”
“Any word on Lord Ephemera yet?” I asked.
“Sadly, no. But once more, I’ve heard rumors among the Emperor’s advisors that the Necromancer’s forces are on the move,” Ciara said. “Alas, there are also rumors that Aegis Winterhollow fell in combat, taking on a legion of wyvern-riders on his own.”
I hung my head a bit, cursing under my breath. I hadn’t expected him to survive, but still…
“Yeah, it’s true,” I said. “But we were able to secure an elixir to cure Bella before the rival vampire clan arrived.”
“I take it that Sir Lucien served you well in combat,” Ciara went on.
“On that front, things are looking good,” I said. I recounted for her how willing Sir Lucien had been to see us through safely, the sacrifices that he’d been willing to make. “We were wrong to doubt him,” I finished.
Ciara was visibly relieved to hear it. “Thank Mother Gaia for that,” she said. “Then it must be one of the soldiers, perhaps one of the servants in Duke Gladios’ castle. No matter. The Emperor can wait until we’ve finished with King Darkheart.”
“And how are you, Ciara?” I asked. “You’re always so concerned with everyone else, sometimes I’m afraid that you neglect your own well-being.”
Ciara smiled, then ran her fingers across the watery, rippling barrier between us. For a moment, I feared she was going to try to reach through the barrier again, as she’d done before. Yet as much as I longed to touch her again, I was glad that she didn’t. I didn’t want to see her injured again.
“Gamelord, trust me when I say that you’ve done more to make me smile than anyone has in some time,” she said. Then she blushed. “Perhaps no one ever has made me smile the way you do. For now, that’s the best news I’ve got.”
“Well, knowing that I make you smile better than anyone else is more than enough good news for me,” I answered.
“Farewell for now, Gamelord,” Ciara said. “I’ll reach out to you again when I have more news.”
“Or you could, you know…just reach out to say hello,” I said.
For a second, the immortal Mananymph seemed lost for words. Though always so precise in the way she spoke, Ciara nearly stuttered.
Finally, she just laughed. “Perhaps I will, Gamelord,” she said, and then I plummeted in all directions at once, until my consciousness crashed back down into my physical body.
By that time, it was just about the crack of dawn. I blinked, my eyes adjusting to the dull, pre-dawn light in the sky.
The hearth was cracking, nice and warm, and at some point in the night, Pandora and Sephara had returned to me.
I didn’t think I’d ever get tired of waking up like this, with one Mananymph curled up on either side of me.
As Sephara nestled against me, eyes shut tight and breathing lightly, I saw Pandora’s eyes crack open. She smiled at me. I kissed her forehead.
“Hey,” I whispered.
“Good morning, Earthman,” she answered, keeping her voice just as low as mine, so we didn’t wake Sephara.
“I saw you two down in the gardens last night,” I said. “It looked like you guys were having a nice conversation.”
Pandora rested her chin on my chest and stared up at me with her full, dark eyes that sparkled from the light coming from the hearth. “So you saw me use my mysticism magic,” she said.
I nodded. “I didn’t know how to approach you about it,” I said, squeezing her hand. “When Sephara offered to bring it up to you, I agreed that she was the right one to do it.”
Pandora took a deep breath, then smiled sadly. “It turns out that stupid, stubborn Earthmen can listen to good advice, after all.”
I laughed quietly and ran my fingers through her hair. I was curious as to exactly what they discussed in regards to Pandora’s magical outburst, but I decided not to press her on it. Magic was clearly an intimate, personal subject with the Mananymphs. When Pandora was ready to tell me about it, I’d be there to listen, though.
“So what else did you two talk about?” I asked.
Pandora smiled a knowing smile and cocked a flirtatious eyebrow. “Wouldn’t you like to know,” she answered.
********
When the sun rose, we all went to the duke’s dining hall for breakfast. There was a bit more food than usual. When I asked him about it, the duke grinned brightly, his weathered but fiery eyes flaring bright as the morning sun.
“Gifts from rebel sympathizers have been coming in,” he said, raising a goblet of water in a toast. “More than enough to see us through a siege. Enough, at last, so that the people of Homehold can eat proper dinners again.”
Sir Lucien sat dutifully next to Duke Gladios, picking at a piece of bread with a steaming mug of coffee cooling next to the plate. “Duke Gladios, I hear that we’re expecting supplies from Silverton today?”
The Duke grunted. He didn’t look worried, specifically, but he was getting there. “Sir Lucien, those supplies were due two days ago, when you all left for the vampire’s keep. Hopefully there’s a harmless explanation for the delay.”
Sir Lucien didn’t like the sound of that. “Yet Silverton is only a day’s ride away,” he said. “I’ve heard nothing from my patrols outside the city.”
I turned to Pandora. “Silverton?” I asked with a low voice.
“Another mid-sized city, to the north of Homehold,” Pandora explained. “Silverton is a great friend of the rebellion. Duke Gretchen Elfblood is sympathetic to our cause.”
I stopped, confused by that Duke’s name. “Wait, Duke Gretchen? Gretchen is a woman’s name.”
“The Earthman is so easily confused,” Sephara giggled as she sipped her juice.
I laughed. “I’m not confused at all,” I said. “A female duke is called a duchess.”
Duke Gladios let out a belly laugh when he heard me say that. “Gamelord, do yourself a favor, lad,” he said. “If you’re ever in Duke Gretchen’s presence, be sure not to refer to her as duchess, at least if you’d like to have an heir one day.”
Then, over our laughter, I caught someone shouting through the window. It was one of the guards up on of the north-facing battlements.
“…the gates open the gates!...”
At once, Sir Lucien got up, wiping the bread crumbs from his beard as he went to the window.
Now, more voices joined the first. The soldiers were shouting louder now. “A rider’s come from Silverton! Someone get a healer down to him, NOW!”
Sir Lucien grunted. “I’ll get to the bottom of this matter,” the old knight said. “With any luck, it’s just some trouble related to the supplies they’d sent. Perhaps some bandits got to it.”
Sephara joined him. “I’ll see to the rider’s wounds,” she said. “But yes, perhaps it was just bandits…”
As Sir Lucien and Sephara walked away though, I had a dark feeling in the pit of my stomach.
No, something told me that we’d be damn lucky if this was the work of bandits.
********
Pandora and Sephara explained to me the history of Silverton, the stout little city a day north of Homehold.
The city was named, of course, after its extensive silver mines a quarter-mile below the streets, a labyrinthine honeycomb of the precious metal. The mine made the city quite prosperous, despite being one of the few largescale industries within Silverton.
Indeed, Silverton alone supplied nearly thirty percent of all the silver in the Empire. However, Duke Gretchen Elfblood was no friend of the Emperor, and the wily woman was rumored to have kept vast stores of silver weapons hidden, to bolster her forces for the day when the rebellion went on the offensive.
Silverton was relatively safe, geographically speaking, from any Imperial force, should open war with the Empire break out. Mountains lay to the west. To the east was the vast Darkwood Forest. If the Empire were to move on Silverton, its forces would be led into a natural bottleneck, for the Darkwood Forest was too dense for an army to navigate.
Aside from its silver mines and its natural geographic defenses, Silverton was notable for having the highest population of wood elves in the Empire. The wood elves lived in the trees on the edges of Darkwood Forest, but many moved to Silverton for both convenience and safety.
Quick with a short blade, but quicker with a bow, wood elves also made for fantastic miners. I was surprised to hear this, but Pandora and Sephara assured me it was true. They were only a few inches taller than an average Mananymph, and though the typical wood elf wasn’t overly muscled, they inherited a natural functional strength that was compounded by their extensive use of bows.
A single wood elf with a pick could crawl into a mineshaft too tight for a full-grown man, and clear the way to hit silver veins, making them invaluable to the mining operations within Silverton.
There were hardly any ethnic tensions to speak of, as well. The wood elves and the humans in Silverton had been living side by side for centuries now. There was intermarrying between them, too, with Duke Gretchen Elfblood being a product of such a family, hence her surname.
Yet, the city wasn’t without its problems. Imperial agents were everywhere. The Emperor was particularly interested in quelling rebel sentiment in Silverton, given the value of the silver mines.
Also, though Darkwood Forest was an effective natural barrier when it came to most enemies, the forest was a dangerous, dangerous place, which was why most wood elves chose to leave for Silverton.
In the bowels of that dark, dense forest, the tallest trees were greedy, with a thick canopy that refused sunlight to anything beneath it. Because of this, the creatures dwelling inside the Darkwood Forest had become aggressive, resentful, and often, very wicked.
The perimeter of Darkwood Forest, where some wood elves still lived traditionally in tiny villages suspended among the tallest trees, was relatively safe, generally. But the deeper one ventured into the forest, the denser and darker it got. Soon, one would encounter vicious little fairies and sprites. There were hordes of goblins, rendered albino from lack of sunlight, and cannibalistic wood elves, twisted and depraved by their long years living among the wicked magic that festered in such a dark place.
Dangerous as the inhabitants of this forest could be, Silverton and the small surrounding villages had little to fear of them. Those creatures in the Darkwood Forest were disparate, fractured, often skirmishing with one another too often to be bothered with the men and mer outside their dark surroundings.
That was, until recently.
As we learned from that lone, mortally wounded rider from Silverton, something compelled the most powerful being inside that dark forest to unite the beasts within it.
And I was fairly certain that it had been the Necromancer’s doing. Everyone else agreed. “For what other damnable creature could talk any sort of sense into the Spriggan King of the Darkwood Forest?”
I’d always imagined spriggans as being fairly friendly, sometimes mischievous woodland creatures, but that wasn’t true of those in the Darkwood Forest.
They were often towering, cruel creatures, anthropomorphic trees that had no trouble crushing whatever lesser creatures might get in their way. There were spriggan sprites, Pandora explained to me, which were only a bit taller than a man of above-average height, yet the sprites were just as vicious, serving as the footsoldiers to the towering Spriggan King.
The guards brought the wounded rider to the Duke’s chamber for questioning. His body had been ravaged with wooden spears, the wounds now foul with infection. Sephara had led the effort to heal him, but his wounds were far too dire. The most she could do was mask his pain so he could die without agony.
The Spriggan King’s forces must have been lying in wait for days, the dying rider explained, hunkering down in caves and other various hiding spots just south of Silverton.
“Aye,” Duke Gladios said. “It’s no wonder, then, that their supply shipment never came through.”
They’d come from everywhere, the dying rider explained. Some had even marched up from south of Homehold, then I remembered glimpsing that gargantuan movement out in the trees the night before.
The Darkwood Forest was huge, I found out, stretching down alongside the vast mountain ranges east of Homehold. It must have been easier for some of the larger spriggans to make their way north by leaving those dense woods and traveling through the comparatively easier terrain near Homehold, under the cover of darkness.
