The Empress of Beasts, page 86
part #13 of The Wandering Inn Series
His eyes flickered.
“Her master. Illphres? A peer of the Siren of Savere. Ice magic. She must have been a permanent resident of the academy. But she dared Cognita’s…I see.”
He looked up.
“Brave. Foolish. But she dared it. And her apprentice left. So a [Mage] with the true heart of Wistram dies and her apprentice is forced to leave! This is what Wistram has become! Zelkyr. Is this what you intended?”
The room shook as Az’kerash stood. His Chosen fled. The Necromancer looked around the room. His fury dissipated in a moment.
“But she and he joined the same team. How…odd. She will turn on him too. They will poison her. But…”
He sank back down.
“A team of Wistram’s [Mages]. Does the academy desire Pisces this greatly? Or perhaps this Montressa has a grudge. Even so, this much effort.”
His brows snapped together.
“They’ve sent more teams. What are they doing? I must investigate this.”
The Necromancer traced a finger in the air, writing a note to himself. It followed him, a glimmering magical thought as he turned his head.
“There is no incentive for me to aid the young [Necromancer]. Not with Wistram there. However.”
He paused.
“Liscor. I wonder. Where is…Ijvani?”
Az’kerash looked around. An old thought resurfaced. Not one he’d bothered committing to note form or pursuing. But now, Az’kerash was reminded.
“Still absent? But Zel Shivertail’s death was months—has she gotten lost? Ijvani.”
He put his fingers to his temples. Across hundreds of miles, his thoughts flew. In a cave, a sulky skeleton sat up. Az’kerash frowned. He spoke crisply.
“Ijvani. Ijvani, why are you sitting in a cave?”
He listened to the babbled response. Bea, creeping back, saw her Master talking. She envied Ijvani, even as she looked at Venitra.
“She’s in trouble.”
Gleefully, the other Chosen nodded. Az’kerash was frowning, a sure sign of his wrath. His voice snapped.
“You—I am not an illusion. What are you holding? Is that…Ijvani, be silent. Good. Now listen to me. You are not to return yet. Remain where you are; I require you to set up a surveillance spell. Carefully. Grimalkin of Pallass among others may detect a lesser spell. Ijvani? Why are there beavers…”
——
The world moved. In big ways, and small ways. The bounty on Pisces went out across the world. And it was barely a blip in the grand scheme of things. Mage’s Guilds across Izril took note of the bounty, the [Scribes] on duty noting the details, forwarding it to relevant areas, largely unconcerned. Few cared, although some would read the report with disgust. But who would meet this fellow? Few, if any, surely.
It didn’t matter. And yet, it did. To the one the bounty concerned, it mattered greatly. The report went to the Adventurer’s Guild in Liscor. To the Watch. To anyone who wanted to know. It was a poster on the wall of the Mage’s Guild.
It was gleeful, the way they reported it. Pisces Jealnet, son of Padurn Jealnet. Accused of necrophilia, petty thievery—
Erin wanted to tear up the parchment. But she kept reading. The malice, the pure malice in the writing made her put it down after a second. She couldn’t go on. The bounty accused Pisces of necrophilia, theft, petty assault, murder—it made him out to be a criminal. Not even a grand one. But—she looked up and saw him at his table. Reading the same bounty.
What hurt most of all was the name. Jealnet. If you didn’t understand Terandria, or Pisces, it wouldn’t have been so significant. Erin didn’t understand it fully, but Lyonette helped her explain. It was a common name. And the way they wrote of him.
Pisces Jealnet, son of Padurn Jealnet, [Fencer]. Common-born of Terandria; family in service to the House Dultel.
A son of a [Fencer] in the employ of the nobility. Commoner. A nobody. Nobody special. In ink, it tore apart part of Pisces. Erin saw it. Saw it hitting him.
“He could almost pass for nobility. He has some of the styling. He fails in other ways, but I could believe he was a fourth son or something.”
Lyonette murmured as she swept the floor. Erin had reconstructed some of the broken tables and chairs; the rest were waiting for her Skill to recharge. The inn was quiet. Only a few people were there. The Halfseekers, talking quietly, trying to soothe Seborn. A few regulars. The Horns. Mrsha, staring at the Horns.
And the adventurers. They were at the center of silent attention. Everyone in the inn had read the bounty poster. Everyone was not quite watching Pisces. He sat there, at the center of it all.
“He never said his last name. Not ever.”
“Of course not. It would have given him away if you knew anything of Terandria. You could have even placed where he grew up with a few inquiries.”
The [Princess] looked at Pisces. Erin bit her tongue. Did it matter? No. Yes! Pisces loved being enigmatic. He loved pretending to be someone. But this poster laid out his life’s story. It said he was just a petty [Necromancer]. It was wrong. But Wistram had shouted it across all of Izril and put a bounty on Pisces’ head.
It made her hate the Wistram team. But Erin also remembered Montressa weeping. That didn’t dull her anger, but it was something else. Even so.
“Pisces Jealnet.”
It sounded wrong. Pisces was Pisces, not…Pisces Jealnet. In a way, Erin knew that hurt Pisces more than any beating could. His cheeks were stained and he was hunched in his seat. As withdrawn as he had been at the start.
“They can’t do this. A bounty?”
Ceria was exclaiming over the poster. She looked furious. She kept glancing at Pisces. He’d said nothing on the way back to the inn, even up till now. She looked at Yvlon.
“We won’t be able to go anywhere! With a two thousand gold bounty? Every idiot will be going after Pisces.”
“Can’t we pay it off? Not that I want to give those damn [Mages] anything. But at least it would solve the issue.”
“No good. Not with Wistram. You can pay off some bounties. Baleros lets you cancel a bounty with coin, and Drake cities let you clear fines, but Wistram won’t accept our gold. Damn them.”
Ceria shook her head. She looked at Pisces again.
“I understand these allegations are false. Are they not, Comrade Pisces? In this case, this is slander unbecoming of the academy.”
Ksmvr waved the parchment at Pisces. The [Necromancer] looked up. Ceria spoke for him.
“It’s false! Mostly, Ksmvr. But Wistram can say whatever they want. Damn, damn—they forced Liscor to let them go!”
“Are you surprised? The Academy does what it wants, Springwalker. This is—typical of them.”
Pisces’ voice grated. He jerked his hand; the parchment dropped to the table. His team stared at him, concerned. Yvlon looked at Pisces.
“Pisces, it’s completely wrong. Anyone who knows you—”
“And what of the countless thousands who don’t? My name is sullied forever. As Wistram pleases! I should have expected this. It matters not. I—I care not for the opinion of the uneducated masses.”
Pisces jerked his chair back. Yvlon reached for his arm.
“We’ll do something about this.”
“What, pray?”
He snapped at her. Yvlon hesitated.
“We’ll do something. Look, Ksmvr, throw away the posters. We’re all exhausted. Pisces, you’re pale as a sheet. You’re still not recovered. The [Healer] told you to rest.”
“She told us all to rest. You especially, Yvlon.”
The armored woman froze. Ceria looked at her. In the anger of meeting Montressa, she’d all but forgotten. Now, she looked at Yvlon’s arms. At the metal gauntlets covering…
“Yvlon. Take your armor off.”
The [Wounded Warrior] hesitated. She looked at Ceria and glanced at Pisces.
“We don’t need to do this now, Ceria. Pisces is—”
“Yvlon. That’s an order.”
The woman paused. Then she looked back at Ceria and slowly undid the gauntlets on one arm. Ksmvr helped her take off her vambrace, the rest of the metal.
A…smell filled the nearby air. It was mostly medicinal. A thick poultice. But behind that—Ceria stared. She’d seen it before when the [Healer] set Yvlon’s dislocated arm. But now?
Bone stared up at Ceria. Bone anchored into flesh. What flesh there was left. Yvlon’s arm was—Ceria remembered what it had been.
Torn, destroyed in parts by the metal that had melded with her bones. But it had still looked like an arm. Now, bone had been grafted onto the weak arm. Flesh was torn, infected, oozing pus around parts of the place where metal had rubbed against skin. Ceria smelled it, gagged—
Yvlon put the gauntlets back over her skin. She mumbled, avoiding Ceria’s stare. Even Pisces looked shocked by the sight.
“It’s fine. It’s just infected. The [Healer] says the poultice is working and I can use a healing potion once it clears. It’s—”
“What the fuck is that, Yvlon?”
Ceria hit the table as she rose. The half-Elf stared at her friend. Yvlon went still as the entire inn looked at Ceria. She glanced around and everyone pretended to look elsewhere. Ceria lowered herself, shaking.
“You didn’t tell me! Your arm is a mess! I’ve seen better—it doesn’t look like an arm! And that bone! What the hell is—”
She looked at Pisces. He didn’t respond. Yvlon shook her head.
“It’s—to support my bones. Remember how they kept on breaking? Well, this makes it so I can swing a sword. It helps, Ceria. Even the [Healer] agreed.”
“When she stopped shouting, yes.”
Both Ceria and Yvlon looked at Ksmvr. Ceria opened her mouth.
“You—you asked Pisces to do that?”
“I did. I asked, Ceria. And I haven’t had a reason to regret it. The infection’s not from the bones. It’s just—there. And I don’t feel it. It’s fine. I can move my arms.”
To demonstrate, Yvlon lifted the shoulder that had been dislocated. Ceria hissed.
“Don’t do that! You couldn’t use a potion! Those muscles are torn!”
“I can’t feel them. Ceria, I’m fine.”
“You’re as far from fine as Pisces is!”
The half-Elf snapped back. She looked at Yvlon. The woman had folded her arms. Ceria stared at Ksmvr and Pisces.
“You didn’t tell me. Why didn’t you tell me? I’m your Captain, Yvlon! Pisces knew. And Ksmvr? Did everyone know about Yvlon’s arms but me?”
Yvlon avoided Ceria’s gaze. Ksmvr raised one hand helpfully.
“I knew because I have an inadequate sense of personal privacy, Captain Ceria. My finding out was unintentional on Yvlon’s part.”
“But you knew. And I didn’t because, what, you don’t trust me?”
“I didn’t tell you because you’d react exactly like this. Ceria, what do you want me to do?”
Yvlon glared at Ceria, her cheeks flushed. The half-Elf folded her arms.
“Get help. You can’t continue like this. We need to find you a [Healer]—”
“To do what? They couldn’t even fix my arms! Pisces did. I don’t need to sit around while the [Healers] tell me there’s nothing else they can do. I’m an adventurer, Ceria.”
“Not with those arms.”
The woman’s hands tightened on the table.
“It’s what I want to do.”
“And I should just let you?”
“It’s my choice.”
“Not if you’re killing yourself—”
“What else should I do, then?”
Ceria rocked back. Yvlon’s raised voice prompted movement. Erin hurried over.
“Hey, guys. Do you need anything…?”
“No, Erin. Sorry. We’re fine.”
“It’s totally cool. I get it. If you need a drink, or food? Anything you want tonight.”
“I’m not hungry. Not right now.”
“Got it. Just say when…”
Erin looked at Pisces and hesitated. But for once the energetic [Innkeeper] didn’t say anything. The Horns watched her retreat and whisper to Lyonette. Ceria buried her head in her hands.
“How did this happen?”
“The Wistram team had been pursuing Comrade Pisces for a long time. I believe they ambushed us in an effective, if ill-considered move. We were saved by their inappropriate understanding of Liscorian law and their arrogance. And Mrsha’s nose and Miss Erin.”
Ksmvr looked around the table. Ceria nodded dully.
“Montressa. Dead gods. I haven’t seen her for years. And that’s what she turned into? She’s completely different than the Mons I knew. And—what has she been doing? Those spells! That staff and orb! I didn’t get a chance to ask.”
“Not much opportunity to ask with her screaming at you.”
Yvlon reached for a mug of water. She gritted her teeth. Ceria looked up.
“Yeah. Yeah. They’re—those bastards got us. Not a second time. And we’re safe in Liscor.”
“But there’s a bounty on my head. And I am sure Montressa will not rest until I am captured.”
Pisces looked up. He had a ghastly smile on his face. Ceria hesitated.
“We’ll do something about it.”
“What?”
He stared at her. She hesitated.
“We’ll get the bounty overturned. Appeal it! It’s not right. Maybe Watch Captain Zevara can vouch for us?”
Pisces made a disgusted noise and turned away. Ceria looked around desperately. Yvlon was looking at Pisces sympathetically. Ceria had a thought.
“I’ll—I’ll reach out to Falene. She’s a graduate. Maybe she can help.”
“I will speak to someone as well. She will see something is done if anything. But nothing will change the bounty.”
Pisces muttered darkly. Ceria stared at him. She opened her mouth. She wanted to say something.
“About Montressa. She was really—”
Pisces looked up. The half-Elf wavered. She fell silent. Yvlon looked at Ksmvr. He’d opened his mandibles. She slowly nudged him and he closed them and looked at her. The whirling silence grew deeper around the Horns of Hammerad.
——
Across the inn, Erin twisted her hands in her cooking apron. Lyonette was feeding Mrsha dinner at the bar. The Gnoll cub whined in the back of her throat, but Lyonette was soothing her.
“Not yet, Mrsha dear. They’re busy. Everyone’s a bit—just eat your dinner. You can go cheer up Moore, okay?”
She looked at Erin. The [Innkeeper] hadn’t taken her eyes off the Horns. She longed to go over, to smile—but it wouldn’t have been genuine. Erin wanted to do something. But she knew that she might make things worse. What could she do?
It was like a puzzle, one of the ones where you had a specific shape that could fit in a whole. That was how Erin would have described it. She muttered as she saw Pisces snap something at Ceria.
“Food? No. Cake? Spaghetti? No. Alcohol?”
She paused and eyed the Horns.
“No. Mrsha? No. Faerie flower drink? No.”
“Erin?”
Lyonette looked at her. Erin turned her head, blinking. Mrsha looked up quizzically. Erin silently shook her head.
“It’s nothing.”
She turned her head back to the Horns. She saw Pisces’ face. But nothing fit. So she just watched.
——
Ceria was hesitating, biting her lip. Ksmvr had cleared away the posters, but it hung over them. She could see Gnolls and Drakes glancing at Pisces. And his name hung in her head.
Pisces Jealnet. She had never known his name. And she’d been in the academy with him! All this time—she hesitated, clearing her throat.
“Pisces, if you want to talk about it—”
Pisces’ head jerked up. His cheeks were still flushed. He clenched his hands in his robes.
“Talk? About what, pray tell?”
His tone was beyond acerbic. Ceria could feel the hurt in every line of it. She hesitated.
“Look, the bounty’s wrong. We know the academy’s lying. Erin knows it. We all know it. But if you want to talk—about Montressa? About…”
His eyes narrowed dangerously.
“About my name? Or the spurious allegations? Are you wondering if any of them are accurate?”
“No! Not at all! It’s just—”
Ceria raised her hands defensively. Pisces stared at her.
“Just what?”
“Look—I know some of it’s not true, but I know you committed some crimes. And we never knew your name. Montressa appearing out of nowhere was a shock. But she—you know she has a reason to—”
“To beat me into unconsciousness? To cast a spell on Selys and kidnap you all?”
The half-Elf wavered. But she had to say it.
“Yes.”
He stared at her. Yvlon opened her mouth and Ceria rushed on.
“Not to attack us! But she was there, Pisces. You know what she must have thought. We never got to speak with her. Look, I’m saying she’s wrong. But she had a reason to hate you. I’m absolutely against her. You heard me shouting! But let’s talk about it, okay?”
“What is there to discuss? She is after me. If you would avoid Wistram’s ire—”
“We’re not abandoning you, Pisces. You’re a teammate.”
Yvlon spoke quietly. Pisces looked at her. He half-rose.
“And so I should confess all my sins, is that it?”
“No! Pisces! Just tell us—we just want to know the truth.”
“You can read it. I don’t owe you explanations!”
The [Necromancer] was furious. He got up. Ceria rose with him.
“Pisces, just talk to us—”
“Comrade Pisces, it would be best to share information at this time. The communication of information with your peers will help us better aid you. Captain Ceria is only inquiring about your wellbeing.”
Ksmvr piped up, looking at Pisces. The [Necromancer] flushed. Ceria saw him open his mouth and snap down at Ksmvr.
“My peers? Where are they? If I find anyone worthy of sharing my thoughts with, I will be pleasantly surprised!”
The Antinium flinched. He stared up at Pisces and then looked down.
