Vanessa's first strike of choice after the battle began was to rush at Alfyn, who threw up his axe as she slashed with the dagger she had concealed so gracefully up to that point. The blades clashed fiercely against one another before Alfyn was finally able to push her backwards, and Vanessa stumbled away before regaining her balance with a gentle slide. "Is all of this worth it to you?!" Alfyn shouted at her. "Is this really what you wanted?!"
"I had been hoping that you would stay in your lane and out of my business, but I suppose I should have known better. You're as pesky as a fly," Vanessa told him with a scowl blended with a smirk smashed across her features haphazardly. She started to reach for the ingredients of her pouch, but Alfyn didn't give her the chance to do anything, instead cutting with his axe at her once again.
Alfyn was able to get in a single hit on Vanessa, but she was quick to keep him from doing any further damage. She snapped her fingers, and one of the sellswords who had previously been engaged in battle with Tressa and Therion rushed to her aid. The man blocked Alfyn's next attack before kicking him backwards, and it took much more effort than Alfyn would have liked to keep his grip on his weapon intact. He let out a wheeze of a breath before managing to regain his composure, and he realized that there was nothing he was going to be able to do to stop her from finishing whatever it was that she was doing at the back of the group.
Well, two could play at that game.
"Phili, cover me!" Alfyn cried out as he retreated to the back of the group. He had heard about ingredients in the apothecary trade being used for dealing damage in the past, and if Vanessa knew how to do it, then he was going to have to at least try it in order to keep her from doing anything too severe. She had done more than enough damage as it was, and he couldn't let her get away with this again.
Ophilia was more than happy to follow his commands, and she came to stand in front of him as one of the mercenaries slashed at her. She ducked beneath the attack before sending out a blast of light magic that knocked him off course. It took him longer than he would have liked for him to correct himself, and Ophilia could already tell that she had hit the jackpot. As long as these fighters all used the same fundamental ideas in their combat, then she was going to be able to hit all of the mercenaries with light magic and likely catch them off guard.
The mercenary that Ophilia had hit was quickly struck a moment later with an arrow from H'aanit, and Linde and Hägen were swift in their convergence on one of the other men. Olberic concentrated his attention on the third of the men, and he was able to push the mercenary backwards with a slash from his sword. Cyrus followed up with a block of ice that froze the man in place, leaving him unable to move.
Alfyn was on the verge of figuring out what he was supposed to be doing when Vanessa finally showed her face once again from behind the mercenary that had been guarding her. Alfyn looked up at the last minute to catch what she was going to do just before the explosion rocked the cave. It was some type of fire magic mixed with explosive substances, if he had to guess, but this wasn't exactly the time for him to think too hard about it as all of his plans of concocting a countermeasure were blown to bits along with his concentration.
Tressa and Therion had been unlucky enough to be closest when the blast hit, and Tressa let out a cry of pain as she was sent flying backwards. Her spine slammed into the side of the cave as her head cracked against the crystals lining the area, and she was on the ground a moment later. Alfyn swore at the sight, but he wasn't exactly in much of a position to do anything about it. The explosion had hit all of them even if Tressa and Therion had been most impacted by it.
Vanessa scoffed as she shook her head before reaching for her dagger once again. She slashed at Primrose, though the dancer was more than able to dodge below the strike that threatened to open a rift in her abdomen. "I gave you the chance to leave, but you refused. If you had been smarter about this, then perhaps it wouldn't have ended this way for you," Vanessa said simply.
Primrose kicked at Vanessa's feet, and the apothecary was sent to the ground, though she rolled up into a crouch soon afterwards. Alfyn couldn't help but wonder if perhaps she had been forced through this song and dance in the past too. She wasn't hesitating at all to lash out at the group, and if she had truly been doing this in other towns, then chances were high that she had been forced to lash out at others who were able to find the truth as well. Alfyn's stomach churned at the thought, and he wondered just how many people Vanessa had sacrificed on the altar of her endless ambitions.
Ophilia was at Tressa's side as the merchant slowly but surely tried to push herself back to her feet using the Tempest Spear. Ophilia raised the Illumination Staff, and light washed through the area before healing all of the minor burns that had been left behind by the explosion. With his strength returned, Therion got to his feet and started to run at one of the mercenaries. The man was able to dodge the first attack that Therion had planned, but he overcompensated when attempting to lash out at the thief. All it took was a quick slide and roll across the cave's floor for Therion to end up behind him, and he slashed up the man's spine with enough force to pierce the man's armor. He let out a cry of pain before falling to the ground.
Cyrus was more than ready to follow up on that, and he flicked his wrist to create a massive barrage of icicles that kept the man pinned in place. He wasn't losing much blood, but he was still out cold, meaning he wasn't going to be interfering with the fight from then on. Cyrus moved the ice so that it was pressed firmly against the outside wall of the cave, putting as much distance between Vanessa and the mercenary as possible.
It was easy enough for Alfyn to figure out what Cyrus was trying to do. Vanessa didn't seem to know any healing magic, instead having made her trade in being an apothecary. In other words, she was going to need to get close to her allies in order to heal them, and she would be able to supply them with endless recovery as long as they had the energy to keep fighting. The strategy that was going to win this fight was going to involve separating Vanessa from her allies and keeping her focused enough on the battle that she was unable to heal them.
Of course, that was much easier said than done given just how slippery Vanessa was. She was easily able to duck beneath a slice from Olberic, and she danced backwards effortlessly when H'aanit attempted to use her axe against Vanessa in melee quarters. Vanessa, much to Alfyn's surprise, didn't seem to care at all that one of her men had been wounded and taken out of the fight. After all, she had seemed so confident that she would be able to win as long as she had help on her side.
She doesn't care about them at all, does she? She doesn't care about anyone but herself.
Another mercenary swerved around a blast of dark magic from Primrose before preparing to slash at Ophilia. She threw up the Illumination Staff to block the strike before letting out a quick blast of magic that knocked the man backwards. He stumbled for a few feet before Cyrus swept in once again, utilizing his tome to create a wall of ice magic that kept the man far from Ophilia. The mercenary attempted to find a way to swerve around the wall, but he was quickly struck in the shoulder with an arrow from H'aanit. That was enough to keep him from getting any closer than he already had, and Tressa was quick to follow up on that with a flick of her hand and a blast of wind magic that forced the man backwards while simultaneously shredding the ice wall to push him backwards even farther.
It was while the man was struggling with finding his balance that Alfyn released a quick attack of ice magic as well, once again trapping the mercenary in place. He sighed with relief before looking over and realizing that Vanessa was continuing to work on a concoction of some sort. Given the fact that the last creation of hers had ended with a massive explosion, Alfyn knew that he had to find some way to stop her.
Before Alfyn had the chance to try, he saw Vanessa moving closer to Cyrus, taking full advantage of her speed. It was difficult to say for sure what happened afterwards, but Cyrus let out a cry of pain before falling to one knee and reaching for his arm with one hand. His expression was dark and filled with agony, and Alfyn realized that Vanessa had likely made something that was meant to keep him out of the battle for as long as possible.
Alfyn darted in Cyrus' direction, and he immediately got to work on curing Cyrus. It didn't take long for him to figure out that it was a minor poison of some kind, something that would take full effect within the next few hours. Alfyn growled at the sight, wondering just how far Vanessa was willing to take this even though he already knew the answer all too well. Luckily, it wasn't too difficult for him to make a remedy for Vanessa's poison, and Cyrus let out a sigh as soon as the medicine was in his system. He still seemed somewhat drained from the strike, but it was something that Alfyn was considering a victory regardless. After all, being drained but conscious was better than being knocked out of the battle entirely under such dangerous circumstances.
Alfyn looked up just in time to see that Therion and Olberic had managed to pin one of the two remaining mercenaries against the wall. Olberic stabbed at the man from the front while Therion slithered behind the mercenary before lashing out for himself. That was enough to leave the man unable to do much more to fight back, and Alfyn watched as the mercenary started to crumble.
"Watch out!" Alfyn cried out to Olberic and Therion. The warrior and thief were quick to get out of the way as Alfyn took full advantage of the ice magic that Alephan had taught him so well. Alfyn had experience with ice magic before that, and it meant that the blast that he released a moment later was even more effortless than it would have been for the others. Either way, it was more than enough to pin the mercenary in place, leaving him thrashing and struggling to escape. He ultimately fell slack when he gave up on escaping the grasp of the ice a few moments later, though Alfyn could see that there was still rage and determination manifesting in his gaze.
Alfyn realized a few moments later that Therion had accidentally rolled into Vanessa's line of attack, and he let out a strangled cry in an attempt to get Therion's attention, not that it worked the way that he would have liked. All that really accomplished was prompting Therion to look up at him like he was out of his mind, and from there, Vanessa was easily able to shove something against Therion's face, and the thief's eyes went wide as he tried to fight his way out of her grasp.
It didn't take long for Therion to escape, but he seemed tired compared to how sharp his fighting skills had been before. This time, it wasn't a poison that Vanessa had tried to use; instead, it was some type of sedative that would keep Therion out of the fight if all had gone according to plan. Unfortunately for Vanessa, she had been just a bit too slow to take care of the job in full. She snarled before starting to try and concoct something else that could have gotten rid of at least one of the travelers in terms of the rest of the battle.
Luckily, Therion was able to see what she was doing, and he slid in her direction with his dagger outstretched. He slashed at the strap of the bag hanging over her shoulder, causing it to fall to the floor. Thanks to all of the ice that had built up throughout the cave, the ground was slippery enough for the bag to slip away. Therion followed the bag with much more control over his actions before he picked it up and tossed it in Tressa's direction after swiftly sealing the top of it shut.
Tressa caught it by throwing out the edge of the Tempest Spear to stab into part of the weakened strap. Her accuracy was perfect, and she pulled the bag free of the lance a moment later before dropping it behind her feet. Without her bag, Vanessa wouldn't be able to concoct anything else, and that meant that she was left at the mercy of the party unless she was able to work miracles with her knife.
There was one mercenary remaining, and Vanessa was practically fuming with rage when she pointed to the bag with her free hand. "What the hell are you doing standing around?! Get it!" she screamed in anger. The mercenary was quick to nod and attempt to slide across the ice to reclaim the fallen bag of ingredients, but he was knocked off course by a quick team attack from Linde and Hägen, forcing him to hit the wall a few moments later. The sound of his head making contact with the cave was enough to make Alfyn wince, and something in the back of his mind told him that the man most certainly had a concussion.
The mercenary attempted to get to his feet regardless, pushing carefully away from the ground with one hand while he nursed his injury with the other. He was unable to fight off his dizziness though, and that left him as a perfect target for an admittedly incredibly exhausted Cyrus to flick an ice spell in his direction and trap him in place. The man gave up on remaining conscious soon afterwards, and he slumped over in sleep a few moments later.
That left only Vanessa on the battlefield, and Alfyn turned to face her with a glare clear as could be in his darkened eyes. "I hope this is what you were wanting from this battle," he snarled to her. "You were the one who started this fight the instant you raised your hand against innocent people." His grip on his axe grew tighter as he tried to channel as much of his rage out through his fingertips, but he wasn't able to fully calm the tempest inside of him no matter how hard he tried. He didn't think he would ever come close; as long as Vanessa was still hurting people, she was a monster deserving of all the punishment he was about to rain down on her.
Vanessa scoffed and shook her head. "What are you hoping to accomplish with all of this?" she asked. "Do you really think that this is going to be as easy as you're hoping? You keep going on about how I'm the one in the wrong here, but I don't think you understand what you want to do with your life at all. I'm going to be living comfortably forever, and you'll be the same poor apothecary as ever whether it be now or five years from now. You're not doing anything of value with your life, and maybe you'll understand just how idealistic and foolish you're being when this career of yours falls through and leaves you with nothing else in this world."
Alfyn was unable to hold his rage back at this point, but luckily for him, he didn't have to deal with Vanessa despite his anger. A blast of dark magic hit her from behind, and it was followed up soon after by a fiery sphere of energy. Vanessa was forced to slide forward along the ice of the cave's floor from the force of the attacks, leaving her in the perfect position for Alfyn to slash at her with his axe, finally unveiling all of the fury that had started building inside of him the moment he realized just how cruel and twisted she truly was.
Vanessa was left to collapse to her knees at the sudden hit, her dagger sliding away from her. With her satchel and knife gone, she was left defenseless, and Alfyn pointed his axe at her to make sure she didn't try anything. Tressa was more than happy to pick up the knife, examining it before sheathing it a few moments later as a sign of pride from having won the battle. Once she had put the dagger away, she started walking towards Vanessa, and the other members of the group were quick to follow, completely cornering Vanessa in a matter of seconds.
The trapped woman glanced around the cave at the mercenaries that had been knocked unconscious and pinned down by the ice, her hands shaking from some untold combination of exertion and rage. "Damn it all! I paid good coin for them..." she muttered.
"The game's up. I'll be taking this moss now," Alfyn told her, walking over to the edge of the cave where a few bottles of the moss could be found. The phials held the moss that Vanessa and her men had collected prior to Alfyn's arrival, and it had already been primed perfectly for his usage in the name of the rest of Goldshore. The other companions of Alfyn's remained firm around Vanessa to make sure she didn't lash out in light of her defeat.
Alfyn glanced back over to Vanessa and saw that she still had a bit of fight in her eyes. He had hoped that he wouldn't have to do this, but it seemed as if the only way to make sure she stayed out of trouble was to push her a little bit. Even with her satchel stolen and her dagger gone, there was still some desire deep within her to keep pushing back. Alfyn wasn't going to let her get away with anything else on his watch though, so he crossed his arms after tucking the phials of moss away in his bag. "And I've alerted the guards. You'll turn yourself in if you know what's good for you," he bluffed. He would be able to tell them about the situation soon, he was sure. The only reason he hadn't done it before was because he was too emotionally charged after learning the truth to sit still, much less think through his next steps rationally. He would take care of it as soon as they got back to Goldshore though. He had to.
"Alright, you've got me. I repent, I repent..." Vanessa muttered as she stared down at the ground. Alfyn turned away from her, and the rest of the travelers followed his actions with their gazes. Vanessa, meanwhile, started to move backwards carefully across the cave's floor, almost as if she was trying to reach something.
Alfyn turned around before she could make much progress, his arms crossed. He should have known it wasn't going to be that easy. Vanessa wasn't sorry about what she had done at all; she was just upset that she got caught. "Sussed out your escape route already?" Alfyn questioned of her with a bitter frown on his face. Vanessa gasped sharply, and Alfyn frowned. "I'm not as naive as I look."
Alfyn reached into his satchel before drawing closer to her with his item of choice pressed firmly in one hand. "In fact, I brought a special treat just for you."
Vanessa's eyes flashed with panic immediately. "W-Wait, that's-!"
"I had a feeling you'd recognize it," Alfyn cut in with a good natured chuckle on his lips. "Slumberthorn-the most powerful sleep-inducing substance in the realm. One prick, and the next thing you know, you'll be waking up on a dungeon floor."
Vanessa didn't even have the chance to gasp before Alfyn gently touched her arm with the thorn. She stared up at him in shock as he went on. Alfyn crossed his arms and glared down at her with all the vitriol left behind after their previous encounter. "Maybe one day, you can start over as a real apothecary-if they ever let you out."
"Y-You'll pay for this..." Vanessa cursed softly, her rage dying away in favor of the exhaustion quickly mounting in her eyes. "You stupid... Naive..." That was all she was able to get out before her body gave out from beneath her, and a few seconds later, she was sound asleep on the floor of the cave, her breathing evening out. It was impressive how quickly the slumberthorn had taken effect, though it was just as odd to see her sound asleep at the center of a cave filled to the brim with signs of combat.
Therion approached Vanessa carefully, nudging at her with his foot. He watched to make sure that she truly was asleep before glancing up to Alfyn. He nodded gently in confirmation, and the rest of the travelers allowed their eyes to travel in the apothecary's direction, eagerly awaiting his next words.
Alfyn sighed before nodding, seemingly only halfway acknowledging the people watching him. "That'll keep her quiet until the guards come. For now, I'll just help myself to some more of this moss," he announced, reaching into his bag and retrieving a few more phials before moving to the edge of the cave. It was a precarious situation given all of the ice scattered through the area, but he was able to fill up a few more bottles before sighing and tucking them away in his bag. "That'll do 'er. Hold tight, Flynn-I'm on my way!"
Going back to the main part of town was a dizzying experience for Alfyn, and he barely processed anything his body was doing. He just knew that he had to help Flynn as soon as possible before reaching out to the other people in town. Flynn was so small and young that curing her had to be his first priority to make sure that she survived. The other people in town had higher chances of pulling through, but Flynn... Alfyn hadn't been this worried for someone in a long time.
Telling the Goldshore guards wasn't as difficult as part of Alfyn had been fearing it would be, and it seemed like the truth all came streaming out before he had the chance to stop himself from explaining it. In the end, the guards ran off in the direction of the Caves of Azure to reclaim Vanessa, though they had been somewhat uncertain at first given how Alfyn hadn't done any apothecary work in town quite yet. At the very least, he was able to convince them eventually, and that meant everything was going to be fine... For now, anyways.
"What do you intend to do about that woman?"
Therion's voice came from somewhere off to Alfyn's right, and he glanced up to see the thief walking up to him nearby. It took Alfyn a moment to respond, but when he did, the answer was simple. After all, he hadn't really thought about what he was going to do with Vanessa after managing to get rid of her. "Vanessa? I reckon I'll let her stew in gaol and ponder all she's done," Alfyn said simply.
"Gaol or no, she doesn't strike me as the type to suddenly turn introspective..." Therion muttered. He seemed to have the same fears that Alfyn did, though he didn't phrase them openly. Therion was just as afraid of the idea of having to kill Vanessa as Alfyn was. Even if it seemed as if they were in the clear on that front now, the paranoia yet remained, impossible to escape after all they had fought through to reach this point.
Alfyn did his best to keep it from getting to him, instead simply shrugging to himself and looking at the path ahead. "Maybe, maybe not. But I figure she's tossin' and turnin' somethin' fierce right about now," he told Therion simply.
"What do you mean?" Therion asked slowly, almost as if he was afraid of the answer he was going to receive.
"See, slumberthorn has other effects, albeit less well known. It can prick a person's conscience, for example," Alfyn began to say. "If there's somethin' in your heart you'd rather avoid, it'll come out in your sleep instead..."
"As a nightmare," Therion finished as realization finally started to dawn on him.
Alfyn nodded. "That's right. How she'll deal with it when she wakes up is up to her... But I warrant she's having second thoughts about what she did," he said, unwilling to face the possibility of what would happen if she didn't regret what she had done. It was too soon for that, and it was the last thing Alfyn wanted to think about right then.
Therion seemed significantly less certain, and he looked down at the ground. Part of him almost seemed tempted to sink into his scarf and never come back out again. "Well, I hope so," Therion muttered.
Alfyn stared at Therion for a long time, trying to figure out what the thief was getting at, but he couldn't seem to come close to the truth quite yet. He had been hoping that they were making progress in getting Therion to open up, but it seemed as if his harsh words back in Bolderfall had brought every wall back up in the blink of an eye. Recovery wasn't easy, and Alfyn had come to understand this all too well, but he still disliked how easy it was for Therion to slip right back into old habits despite clearly not wanting that.
But Alfyn didn't say any of this, knowing without a shadow of a doubt that it wasn't going to be productive. "Why? For my sake?" he asked instead, knowing that he was going to have to probe at Therion's mind later on regardless. After all, Therion's actions had been strange ever since they arrived in Goldshore, and it was bound to be just a matter of time before everything came out for better or worse.
Therion didn't seem to want to acknowledge this possibility though, instead simply looking away from Alfyn and training his eyes on the cobblestones below. "Just be careful, alright?" he said bluntly. With that, he started walking away a bit faster than before, and he seemingly vanished into the crowd of Goldshore a few moments later.
Alfyn sighed at Therion's retreating back, wishing that there was more he could do to coax the thief out of his shell. It was amazing that he had made so much progress as it was, but he knew that it wasn't going to be that simple. There was always going to be something else holding Therion back until they were able to get to the root of the problem, and it seemed like figuring out what the issue itself was wouldn't be happening for quite some time. Primrose was at least starting to open up to the rest of the group, but Therion... There was always something holding him back, and Alfyn just wanted to understand why.
He did his best to shake it off though; this wasn't the time to get distracted. He had all the moss he could ever need, and if he just so happened to require more later on, then he would be able to drop by the Caves of Azure before they left town. It was wild to him that all of this had taken place in a single day, though he was glad that they were planning on staying overnight in Goldshore still. It would certainly give Alfyn all the time he needed to cure all of the people who had been poisoned by Vanessa, and he could use the rest as well.
Flynn was going to be his first patient, and after that, Alfyn would figure something out. He got the feeling that Vanessa wasn't going to be keeping the gold that she had at her disposal, assuming there was any even left on her. After all, Tressa had taken her bag, and that meant that most of Vanessa's leaves were in perfect hands to be refunded to the customers that she had swindled. They might not have been able to fix the misdeeds of Vanessa's past, but they could at least do something for the people of Goldshore, and that had to be enough for now.
There was a time-worn exhaustion starting to seep into Alfyn's bones, and all he wanted to do was sleep for a week. Still, he had to find Flynn first and foremost and cure her. Vanessa had failed this town, so it was up to Alfyn to save the people who had been hurt. It wasn't going to be easy, but the work of a true apothecary never was.
Posting this at lightning speed before going off to class. Woohoo!
I really do like how this fight turned out, and Vanessa definitely deserved everything that was coming to her. Alfyn's feelings towards her are going to be messy for the foreseeable future for understandable reasons, and let's just say that he's got a lot going through his head right now. Because of how much happens near the end of his chapter two, we're going to take a couple chapters to decompress and see how everyone is responding to the events unfolding. After all, Vanessa is... Well, she's the worst, and everybody finally gets the chance to face that here and now.
The last few chapters focused on Vanessa's misdeeds really do help to establish Alfyn as a much more complex character than you would expect at a first glance. The fact that he's still worried about having to kill Vanessa after everything she's done certainly nails this point home, though it's not exactly in the way you would like. Poor Alfyn. He really has no idea what's coming for him in the chapter three portion of this story, does he?
For now though, I'm going to leave off there. We'll pick up next time with the conversation with Flynn. Until then, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Feedback is appreciated as always. Have a nice day, everyone!
-Digital