The Empress of Beasts, page 80
part #13 of The Wandering Inn Series
“You. [Barrier Mage]. Drop the staff.”
Montressa looked around. Then she ran. Relc exclaimed as she fled out the doors. He looked at Erin.
“You alright?”
“Fine!”
The former [Sergeant] spotted her bloody mouth and his eyes narrowed. He nodded at the [Sinew Magus] as Grimalkin strode towards the door.
“Hey, Grimalkin.”
“Relc. What is this, a Wistram thief team? Did they try to steal the door?”
“Apparently they got the Horns. There’s blood. No sign of the Horns; Lyonette got me. She was trying to find Klb and more Gold-ranks, but they must’ve been away. I had a heck of a time not killing them. Watch the Human. She’s the best. Lightning spells from that orb-thing. The Drake was Oldblood with two breath attacks.”
Grimalkin nodded. The two walked outside. Montressa was fleeing down the hill. She’d gotten far, but she wasn’t fit. She was gasping as she tried to summit the second slope, running to Liscor.
“Hey! Stop or we’ll break your legs!”
Relc bellowed after Montressa. She whirled with a scream.
“Stay away!”
Magical arrows shot from her staff and lightning flashed at the inn. Relc spun his spear, but Grimalkin raised a claw, preempting Montressa’s spells.
“[Barrier of Wind].”
The lightning struck the barrier and it exploded. The [Sinew Magus] swatted away an arrow that was flying at his mouth; the rest he ignored. Relc punched one and growled.
“I really want to hit her.”
He leapt down the hill, rushing at Montressa. She went pale and planted her staff in the ground. This time the ruby gemstone flashed illuminating the dark landscape.
“[Five-Fold Arcane Barrier]. [Chain Lightning]!”
Relc’s eyes widened. He dodged, slicing, but this time he was too slow. The layered ward sprang around Montressa at the same time as the orb unleashed something like true lightning. It hit Relc—no, his spear had caught it—Grimalkin saw Relc blur backwards, and then leap backwards. Grimalkin surged down the hill and met him. Relc appeared, clutching at his arm. There was a crater marring his scales. He swore a blue streak.
“I got tagged. I hate Tier 4 spells! What the hell’s that?”
He pointed. Grimalkin eyed the magical wards surrounding Montressa. Grudgingly, Grimalkin uncrossed his arms.
“That’s a Tier 4 spell—layered. I could hit that pretty hard.”
“Stay back!”
Montressa screamed at the two Drakes, her face pale with exhaustion. She was fumbling for a mana potion and dropped it. Relc laughed, and then grimaced, clutching at a smoking black spot on one arm.
“Amateur! She didn’t even have that in her belt! Ow!”
“How’s your arm?”
Grimalkin looked at Relc. The [Guardsman] growled.
“I got most of it with my spear. Damn, damn—I hate lightning. Hey, I can’t break more than one of those stupid shields at a time. My spear doesn’t go through ‘em all. I could get three with [Triple Thrust], but that—”
Both of them looked up as Montressa pointed her staff. Grimalkin raised his arm.
“Hm. [Resistance to Lightning]. [Force Shield].”
This time the lightning bolts burst on the shield. Arcs of electricity hit Relc and Grimalkin, but the enchantment meant the bolts did little more than tickle. Relc sighed.
“Ooh, nice.”
“Thank you.”
“You want to go up there and hit her? I’m fed up with eating spells.”
Grimalkin paused. He was watching Montressa with narrowed eyes.
“That’s a good barrier spell. She must be a specialist.”
He shouted up at Montressa.
“Human. Put down that staff! Release your mana or I will come up there! I am Grimalkin of Pallass and this is the Gecko of Liscor!”
“Aw, don’t say—”
“Don’t come any closer! I’m a [Mage] of Wistram! I’ve done nothing wrong!”
Montressa’s voice was hoarse. Grimalkin raised his brows.
“I’d surrender, Miss [Mage]. I’d prefer not to kill any more [Mages] from Wistram right now. You’ve attacked innocent people in Liscor. Put down your staff now.”
“Yeah! You’re under arrest! You’d better pray the Horns are alright! Surrender and you won’t be harmed!”
He turned to Grimalkin and lowered his voice.
“If they’re dead, we’ll probably feed them to Shield Spiders. If Erin doesn’t kill them.”
Montressa hadn’t heard the last part, but her eyes bulged as Grimalkin began walking casually up towards her. She shrieked at him and Relc.
“For what? We apprehended criminals!”
The Drakes paused. Grimalkin was frowning. He looked at Relc. Montressa desperately seized onto that.
“We explained to your Watch Captain why we’re here! We did nothing wrong!”
Grimalkin glanced back at Relc questioningly. The [Guardsman] paled.
“Oh shit. Did she?”
“Liar!”
Erin burst out of The Wandering Inn. She was panting. She pointed down at Montressa and shouted at Relc and Grimalkin.
“They did something to the Horns of Hammerad! Mrsha said she smelled their blood.”
“Wait. You attacked a group of [Mages] just based on that?”
Grimalkin folded his arms. Relc scratched at the back of his head.
“Yeah, sort of shoddy evidence. Oh shit. Maybe—”
“We only captured them! They’re alive! But that monster—that—that murderer! The [Necromancer]! Pisces! He’s a monster!”
Montressa shouted up at Erin. She aimed her staff at the [Innkeeper] and it began to glow. Relc lifted his spear, aiming it. Grimalkin’s brows snapped together.
“Drop the staff. You won’t get a second chance.”
He lifted a fist. Montressa wavered. She looked at Erin. She looked down at Grimalkin. Relc was dodging around the hill, circling as he advanced. Suddenly he looked up. Stared at Liscor’s walls. Then he ran. Grimalkin glanced up as Relc bellowed at him.
“Incoming! Get clear—”
Atop Liscor’s walls, a spell was forming. Magic coalesced, blobbed together, and then shaped itself. A shimmering, purple-white comet tinged with brilliant blue shot down from the heavens. Montressa turned, and her eyes went wide. The spell was huge. She threw up her arms, mouthing a spell—
The explosion and impact of the comet striking the ground next to Montressa’s barriers was followed a second later by a kick that sent Erin stumbling backwards. Relc and Grimalkin didn’t move. The two Drakes braced and Erin looked around wildly. She was half-blind and her ears were ringing from the sound. What happened? What had—
She realized what had happened as she stared at Liscor, and then at the hill where Montressa had been standing. A spell. From atop one of Liscor’s walls. Someone had fired it! She looked down at the hill—
——
“Direct hit on the hill, Watch Captain!”
“Good.”
Watch Captain Zevara lowered the command scroll tied to the wall’s inbuilt spells. The rest of the Watch stared at her, keeping a respectful distance. She squinted down at the hill.
“The [Mage]?”
“Alive, Watch Captain. Her barriers—held the blast.”
A Gnoll gulped as he pointed. Zevara stared at the shimmering shield surrounding Montressa.
“Huh. I should have hit her directly, then. Send a team down, now.”
——
Grimalkin brushed at dirt on his scales. Relc was swearing, cupping a claw to one of his earholes. Grimalkin stared up at the hilltop. Despite himself, he was impressed.
“Hm. She is one of Wistram’s better [Mages]. That only got four of her barriers. A pure defensive expert; the orb’s got good synergy. You know, I could adapt this tactic. Where are my notes?”
Montressa was lying face-flat on the hilltop. The bombardment spell from Liscor’s walls had knocked her flat, barriers or not. She looked up, nose bloody, and tried to get up. Drakes and Gnolls were advancing from Liscor, running across the uneven terrain. She pointed a staff at Grimalkin and Relc as they climbed.
“[Flame Veil]! Stay back! This isn’t right! I said, stay back! [Chain Lightning]!”
This time Grimalkin caught the spell as Relc raised his spear. The lightning struck both spear and the [Sinew Magus]’s arm; it flared, thundering, and both he and Relc stepped back. Unharmed. It was mostly from curiosity at this point; Montressa was swaying, but both Drakes eyed the orb floating around her staff.
“What the hell is that orb? Some kind of artifact?”
“She’s dual-casting from it. No—the spells are linked to the orb. All lightning-based. Some kind of artifact?”
Montressa swung her staff, aiming at both Drakes. Relc sighed.
“Seriously, drop it. Or I will break something. I’m almost as mad as Captain Z.”
“I’m a Wistram—”
Grimalkin’s eye twitched.
“Young woman. Say that one more time and I will hurt you.”
“Relc, Grimalkin! Watch your backs!”
The two Drakes turned. Relc and Grimalkin saw a shape appear in the door. Jelaqua roared, grabbing what remained of Ulinde’s corpse. She was still grappling with Ulinde, immobilizing her—part of her real body was seeped into the [Mage]’s wrecked corpse and it was twitching, signs of an internal battle. But that meant neither she nor the two immobilized Halfseekers or Numbtongue could stop—
“Nobody move!”
Isceil held a wand to Erin’s face. She was struggling, in the grip of Beza. The Minotaur looked unsteady, but she was holding Erin, ignoring the [Innkeeper] kicking at her and Isceil. The shout stopped the [Guards] rushing towards Montressa. Relc groaned and Grimalkin sighed.
“Should have broken the jaw.”
“Erin!”
“Stay back!”
Isceil’s eyes were wild as Relc began to storm up the hill. Grimalkin held up a claw, catching Relc.
“Relc, hold off the [Barrier Mage]. I’ll stop those two. Let the [Innkeeper] go, [Mages].”
He strode up the hill, ignoring Isceil’s shouts. The Drake’s wand emitted a jet of fire and Erin shouted. Grimalkin stopped. His voice was a roar, as loud as when Erin had first met him.
“I am Grimalkin of Pallass! You—Drake, and you, Minotaur. Let her go or you’ll find yourself on a watch list across all of Izril. And you, Minotauress! Where’s your honor?”
The Drake and Minotaur hesitated. Isceil gritted his teeth as Beza clenched one hand unsteadily. Isceil shouted back.
“Let us go! We’re from Wistram! We have rights—”
“You’re under arrest! Lay down your weapons or we will shoot you! [Archers]!”
Beilmark howled as she arrived. The [Guards] with her leveled their weapons. The [Mages] froze. Beza called out.
“Montressa, tell them! We’re hunting criminals!”
“That changes nothing about this situation. Lay. Down. Your. Weapons.”
Grimalkin was losing patience. Montressa shouted at him.
“We’re from Wistram! What part of that don’t you understand? The Academy sent us to—”
“[Piercing Shot].”
Someone loosed an arrow. Beilmark jerked. The arrow flew straight and true. On the hilltop, Montressa, Relc, Grimalkin—and the watching Isceil, Beza, and Erin all saw the arrow fly. Straight at Montressa du Valeross as she looked around.
The arrow went straight through her shoulder. Montressa spun with the impact. Her mouth was wide open, gaping. She stumbled. Isceil’s eyes went wide.
“Mont—”
A second arrow sprouted from the arm holding the wand to Erin’s face. He jerked screaming. Beza raised her arm. An arrow appeared in her left shoulder. Then her right. And then one more in her left forearm. She stared down at the arrows as Erin stumbled away from her, ducking reflexively.
Erin heard a soft hiss, and a thunk. Then a scream. The Minotaur stared down at an arrow sticking out of her abdomen. Another arrow hit Isceil in the knee.
What was happening? The [Guards] took cover reflexively, shouting at each other. Relc and Grimalkin stared around, pinpointing the [Archer].
And then—there was a song. A warbling voice, cheerful, singing, accompanied by the flight of arrows. Thock, thock, thock. Erin’s eyes widened.
“La, la, arrow here, arrow there. Should I shoot to kill? Or should I not? These are very complicated thoughts. Shoot, shoot, shot.”
Bird stood on a hill and drew back on his beloved, new bow. He was singing, drawing arrows and loosing with all four arms. Two more arrows shot from his bow. One struck Isceil in the other knee and he dropped. The other hit Montressa’s arm as she raised her wand. She went white and her eyes rolled up in her head. Beza was on her knees. Bird kept firing.
“Stop! Stop!”
Beilmark howled it, but Bird was still loosing arrows. Grimalkin moved to block the arrow shooting at Beza. Relc was quicker. He slashed with his spear and an arrow snapped in midair.
“Bird, stop!”
The rain of arrows obligingly ceased. In the silence, as the [Mages] lay on the ground and everyone, Zevara, the [Guards], Grimalkin, and Relc all stared, Bird marched up the hill.
He had a new bow. And his carapace looked—new. Undamaged with the nicks and damage older Workers and Soldiers accumulated. More than that, he had four arms. Two legs. He was whole. He paused as Erin stared at him. Both of them ignored the [Mages]. After a moment, Bird raised a hand.
“Hello, Erin. I am Bird. Did you forget about me?”
“Bird?”
The Worker paused uncertainly.
“Is that a yes? I am Bird. I have a room here. And I used to have a tower. It was exploded by a Goblin. With a sword. May I have it back?”
He pointed up at the roof of the inn, still not finished. Bird paused. And he looked at Erin. His mandibles opened and closed.
“Do you remember me?”
Erin reached out, her eyes filling with tears. She hugged him, laughing. Bird held stock still, and then he patted her on the head with one of his hands.
“Is this a yes? Or a no?”
“Of course I missed you, Bird. I tried to visit! Where were you?”
“Healing.”
The Worker stared at Erin. She laughed, and he kicked at the ground. She heard a groan and looked down. Beza’s eyes were nearly rolled up in her head. Bird paused.
“I’m home. Who are these people? Bad people?”
“I—”
And then the inn was crowded. Zevara slammed out of the door of the inn, having used the magic door. Erin turned as the Watch Captain stared around.
“What in the name of the Ancestors was that? Senior Guardsman Relc? Front and center!”
She bellowed as [Guards] streamed out. They dropped on the [Mages], grabbing wands and their possessions as more trained bows on them. Erin saw Relc jogging up the hill.
“Hi Watch Captain—”
“Senior Guardsman Relc! Explain this before I take that spear and shove it up your tailpipe!”
Zevara bellowed in his face. Erin hadn’t heard her this mad in a long time, and never not at her. Bird looked at her and she hugged him. He sighed.
“I am much cuddled. Are there any birds left? I have missed them.”
“Watch Captain, I uh, was responding to a distress call—”
“Why in the name of the Ancestors was I not informed?”
“It was an emergency, Watch Captain. Lyonette found me first, and then she ran to see you—”
“We were busy dealing with the Centaur situation, Watch Captain.”
One of the [Guards] winced as Zevara rounded on him. She stared at the door—and then as it burst open.
“Move! I heard—by the walls!”
Keldrass and Bevussa burst into the inn. Zevara stared at them and shouted.
“Keep them clear! No—shut up, Relc! Someone find Miss Lyonette before she calls half the city on this inn!”
“Is Lyonette okay? I sent everyone out of the inn! And I tried to tell you all, but it was hard and I was looking for Relc and the Gold-ranks—oh no! There’s one more [Mage]!”
Erin was panting, wiping at her bloody mouth. Beilmark shook her head.
“Miss Lyonette wasn’t in the barracks. She must have missed the excitement. There’s a Centaur in custody.”
“Put all these [Mages] in a magic-warded cell! Patch them up first—[Healers]! And get me Guildmistress Alonna!”
Zevara was roaring, looking for someone to take her fury out on. But the [Mages] weren’t even conscious. Jelaqua dropped what looked like a side of meat in front of the [Guards]. Everyone recoiled.
“Dead?”
“Selphid.”
Jelaqua growled. The Gnolls backed up as the Raskghar-body rolled its shoulders. The…remains of the corpse that was Ulinde was making a sound, but not with any part of the body. It came from inside and sounded a bit like sobbing; a buzzing, bubbling sound.
“I dealt with this one. It’s not causing any more trouble. And I was nice after what they did to my team.”
The Gold-rank Selphid looked around. Moore was sitting up, prodding at his chest, and Seborn was helping him up, supporting one arm. Relc snorted as he saw Numbtongue leaning against the bar.
“That was a terrible fight. Those stupid [Mages] were using spells and I was afraid to hit them too hard. So was everyone else.”
Zevara’s lips compressed. She looked at Erin. The [Innkeeper] was unsteady on her feet.
“Miss Solstice. Explain this to me. I met one of the Wistram [Mages] who informed me he attacked and abducted Pisces, and the rest of his team after enchanting Miss Selys.”
“Selys! Is she alright? The Horns—”
Zevara held up a claw. She was looking around.
“Magus Grimalkin?”
“Here.”
The Drake loomed and the Watch respectfully backed up. Grimalkin’s arms were folded and he looked extremely displeased. Zevara nodded to him, modulating her bark.
“Magus Grimalkin, thank you for your help.”
