Chapter III

Chapter III

Qwandra

Qwandra woke up the next day feeling refreshed, happy, and a little nervous. At the university, I pretended that I had had a plan and knew exactly what I was doing, but now…what should I do? She swung her legs out of bed and changed into a fresh set of blue mage robes. She picked Notus up off her pack, and stowed it in her belt. While she was brushing out her hair, she heard her stomach growl, and decided that the best course of action was to ride Aquus to the market to buy hay for him and food for her. She yawned and stretched again, and made her way downstairs and out the door.

Aquus was standing right where she left him the night before, and he nickered to her as she walked over. "Ready for some food, boy?" She whispered, reaching out to stroke his neck. She swung her legs over his back and squirmed around a little, before deciding to ride sidesaddle and bareback. Wveris" said Qwandra. Aquus had been trained to respond to voice commands such as this. In response, he trotted forward in the direction of the market.

Qwandra let her mind wander as Aquus followed his nose toward the market. She absentmindedly wondered who to handle first. Sijli's bound to have guards around her house in addition to the Citylords. The Citylords do have expensive weapons, but I don't think they'd pose as much of a challenge as attacking Sijli directly. She gave a start as Aquus snorted. They had come to the edge of the marketplace, and Aquus had stopped instinctively by the other horses tied up to hitching posts nearby.

He looked toward Qwandra inquiringly, and she said, "Wveris" and dropped off his back. He trotted over to where the other horses were. She knew he wouldn't run off, but she placed wards over him in case someone decided they wanted him. After some thought, she did the same for the other horses there, even though they were nowhere near as intelligent as Aquus, and owned by others. Satisfied, she turned around to enter the marketplace--and found herself face-to face with a large group of children her age.

Sighing, she asked, in perfect Hijrelian, "I assume you are the Citylords?" A boy who looked like the leader looked taken aback for a moment, then recovered and nodded, smiling as if he liked her comprehensiveness. She didn't notice that one boy in the gang never took his eyes off her for a second.

Wolf

When Jaani and Wolf came back from their spying, Jaani reported to Bane exactly how Qwandra had made the apparition appear. Bane nodded and looked concerned for awhile, then told the Citylords that they would track Qwandra the next day and then attack her. Wolf jumped on the chance to see Qwandra again, and found himself facing her in person in front of the marketplace.

Tingles ran up his spine to see her speak in perfect Hijrelian, and to see her stand her ground in front of Bane, who was huge compared to her slight figure. Bane spoke.

"We come to stop you from meddling with the Lady Sijli Dajha's affairs. We know you come from Swordhaven University in Somersea, ordered here by the Dean Wyrlik." Bane said, grinning, expecting her to be confused by how much he knew. He was frustrated when she kept her poise and smiled. Wolf could tell that he had rehearsed that short speech.

"Yes, but my dear Bane, have I done anything to upset you yet? What cause do you have to attack?" She asked. Bane looked even more frustrated.

"Girl, how do you know my name?"

"Oh. In addition to being an aquamancer, detective, ninja, ranger, et cetera, I'm also quite a skilled mind-reader." She answered, continuing to smile. Bane looked ready to explode with irritation.

"Look, I know you're planning to stop Sijli from doing her own thing, but we're gonna have to stop you. Citylords, attack!" Bane yelled, finally losing it. He drew his knives and rushed at her.

No! Thought Wolf. But Qwandra merely waved her strange black wand, and Bane froze in his tracks. The rest of the Citylords ran towards her too, and she seemed unable to perform the same spell on so many people at the same time. But she had plans of her own. Wolf watched in awe as she waved her wand and enclosed herself in a shiny bluish bubble that deflected the Citylords' onslaught. Jaani looked furious at being so easily blocked, and she picked herself up off the ground and rushed Qwandra again. Qwandra's bubble had faded away, and she didn't seem to want to attack Jaani back. So instead, she waved her wand again and Wolf found that he was overcome with a desire to return back to headquarters. He looked over at Bane, and his leader's eyes were glassy. His binding spell had worn off, and he was now walking in the direction towards the abandoned house. The rest of the Citylords were following him, and Wolf decided that going back was a good idea. So one by one, they all forgot about the brawl, picked themselves up, and walked home.