Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I really appreciate it and keep 'em coming! :) I redid this chapter MANY times, first because my characters were having a hard time taking it slow, then because it got too dark/angry. This is also my longest chapter yet, it just couldn't be contained. But please, let me know if it seems way too long or what. Enjoy!
"Yes! This is it!" Steffen cried, shaking the book triumphantly. They'd found him sitting on a bench inside the Pawn Guild, dozing against the wall. He'd jumped up quick enough when they'd announced themselves though, rubbing his hands together and practically hopping with anticipation on his bare feet until they'd handed him the book.
"At long last, Salomet's Grimoire is mine! There's an aura of such power about it. Salomet was a scholar, the leader of a council of sorcerers. He was a genius, a luminary! Until the day he went mad, of course," he finished with a shrug.
You're halfway there yourself, Ceileigh smirked, though she couldn't help but like the odd old-timer. Then a thought struck her. "His madness was not an effect of this magick, was it?"
"No, no," he chuckled, waving the notion away. "I know not what beset him. Salomet's Grimoire, here in my hand! Truly, I must repay this kindness in the future, should we meet again. Oh, I have something for you now as well. While you were away I found more. Ah, about those devoted to the dragon." He smoothed out a crumpled piece of paper and handed it to Ceileigh. "This is their symbol," he said.
She gasped and showed the paper to Leandor. The mark was composed of a vertical line with two more lines winding upward around it, topped with an open eye. "Remember this? It's the same symbol we saw on the hydra at the encampment! I saw it on a cyclops in the same area too, before you joined me. This must mean the group really exists, and directed those beasts to get me out of the way," she told him with a slight shiver.
Leandor clenched his fist. "That person in the woods was probably part of it. They must be keeping an eye on your movements."
"Yet they haven't made a move since I got to Gran Soren. Perhaps they dare not attack with so many witnesses."
Leandor's hand went to his sword. "I will not allow it, master," he said, scanning the area with a scowl as if he expected robed figures to pop out from the nearest bush, and Ceileigh couldn't help but smile a little.
"Thank you, Steffen, this is a great help," she told the old man, who cackled at the compliment. "We will keep a look out."
"My pleasure, Arisen," he said with a bow. They left him at the same table where they'd found him, happily jabbering to himself while he flipped through the grimoire.
Bandits were trying to ambush them, hiding just off the path behind some trees. She thought of using arrows but instead snuck closer; she wanted to kill them up close. Her heart pounded with fear of being seen and something else she couldn't put her finger on. Just as she reached them a branch snapped under her foot and they whirled to face her, shouting. She thrust a dagger into the nearest man's heart before kicking the next one back, then lunged forward to open that one's stomach with both her blades. His insides hadn't hit the ground before she slit the throat of a third man. It was then she realized what made her heart pound so - it was joy. Exhilaration and disgust mingled in her gut as she slew the remaining bandits, and as the last one fell, so did she, onto her hands and knees as her bloodlust drained away and she vomited at the sight of the dead bodies. Wiping her mouth with a shaky hand, she dared to look over at the men she'd killed. Fear and horror sliced sharply through her chest when she saw they weren't bandits at all, but innocent people from her village. There was Mikael, Lorna, Robert, little Shanna - Maker, a child! - and was that - ?
"Adaro!" she half-screamed, bolting upright in bed with an outstretched hand. The first thing she became aware of were Leandor's arms going around her. In her distress, she reflexively blocked her head with her hands as if under attack.
"Master, what is it?" he asked, pulling her to her feet and holding her still as she tried to pull away with a whimper. After she calmed some, he sat her down on the bed and sat beside her. She slumped forward with her elbows on her knees and her face in her hands.
"I believe you were having another bad dream," said Leandor, watching her with concern. "I have noticed they affect you many nights, though not this badly."
"Yes," she said, rubbing her eyes wearily. She hadn't realized he was aware of all the others, and hoped he didn't think less of her after seeing her fears and insecurities bubbling to the surface time and again. She tried to meet challenges with a brave face during the day, and she didn't want him to think she was weak.
Ceileigh looked miserable and Leandor recognized that he felt bad for her. He put his hand on her shoulder as he'd seen her other friends do. "This is for support, yes?" he asked.
She breathed a little laugh at that, and grateful tears sprang to her eyes. "Yes," she said, putting her hand over his. "I had a horrible dream, where I…I don't want to talk about the dream, actually, but there are other things if you don't mind listening." I need to get this out, no matter what his opinion of me afterward. She knew holding it all in would probably lead to depression or another blowup.
"I am here, master," he said, giving her shoulder a squeeze.
She sighed and dropped both hands into her lap, pressing them together to brace herself. "I hate having to…take human lives," she said with a quiver in her voice. "It really, really upsets me, but I'm afraid that one day it won't anymore."
"You have a good heart, master, as I have said before. You are not…evil, if that is your worry. You are kind, and brave."
She felt a small burst of pride and happiness at his words, but didn't look up from her lap. "I feel guilty over Adaro's death and everything that happened in my village. I wonder if I'm responsible for bringing the dragon there. Did he truly descend on Cassardis by chance, and then choose me because I was the only one who fought back? Or was I already the 'chosen one' and he was drawn there because of me? Was I predestined to be Arisen? I may never know."
"That is an interesting question, master," said Leandor with a small frown. He'd never thought about the whys of their situation before. To him, it simply was. All his energy went toward supporting the Arisen and defeating the dragon, and without that he would have no purpose. He now realized he knew very little about the bigger picture behind his own existence, and it felt uncomfortable.
"Then here I am missing home, not knowing if I'll ever be there again, and when I see familiar faces for the first time in months, Quina's in danger and Valmiro gets mad at me." She shook her head and turned toward Leandor. "But I've been thinking that after all I've been through, Cassardis seems distant anyway. I told my friends I'm the same person they knew before, but the truth is I'm not at all. I've changed, and...outgrown my home. As much as I miss it sometimes, I don't know that I'd truly be happy there now, going about my old life. I feel more at home here, with you."
She smiled at him, shy after her little speech, especially the last part. His face was passive as always, and unreadable, especially in the darkened room. They stared at each other for a long moment, and Ceileigh became very aware of his hand still resting on her shoulder. She was about to pull away when Leandor stood up. She quickly rose too, relieved.
"Well - thanks for listening. We should try to sleep," she said, turning away, and he thought she looked sad again or even angry. Had he not assisted her correctly? He caught her hand and she stopped, staring at her bed with that look on her face.
"Please believe I will be at your side, always," he said earnestly, not sure what more he could do or say.
She turned back then and smiled at him, but that sad look was still underneath. "I know." She pulled her hand away gently and climbed back into bed.
Leandor woke before Ceileigh the next morning. He saw she was bundled in her blanket, facing him with only her head showing. He'd heard her crying quietly on and off throughout the night, which hadn't allowed him much sleep. Lack of sleep he could handle; it was her distress that wore him out. The sun was already up, but he let her sleep while he prepared for the day. He scratched again at his beard, which was getting thick, then decided to shave most of it off, including the mustache, leaving just a thin strip of dark reddish brown hair running the entirety of his jaw line. When he was washed, shaved and fully dressed he came back around the partition board that constituted the bathroom-and-dressing-room door to find Ceileigh sitting up in bed. She was feeling her face, which was puffy from last night's tears.
"Master, are you well today?" he asked.
"Yes, much better than last night. I am myself again, for now at least," she said wryly. "It felt good to talk everything out. We humans require that from time to time." She smiled up at him.
"Did I upset you somehow, at the end?"
"No, I was just - thinking." That you're perfect, she wanted to say. "About everything. Our problems and my concerns will still be on my mind, but as usual you've helped me pull through." Leandor actually smiled for the first time ever, just barely, and gave a little bow, which Ceileigh found very cute. He turned to prepare his pack for the day and she noticed then that she'd awakened much later than normal.
Thankfully they didn't have any work lined up.
"I do have something else to tell you," she said as she disappeared behind the partition. "It may or may not be a concern, and could actually be favorable. In the Witchwood, when Quina and I were reading the grimoire, we found a part about enhancing fighting styles with magick. People who use a regular sword and shield already, can use special ones with magick woven into them. You can even cast spells with some of them! It's possible with the weapons I use too. There are special bows that fire magick arrows, and you can cast spells through your daggers. I never knew such talents existed!"
She took a deep breath and spoke the part that worried her. "I read the spell to Quina, and right afterward, heat coated my whole body for a moment and then sank into my skin. It was a very strange feeling, but I didn't say anything. Steffen did say the book could give anyone magick, and I think I…gave it to myself." She paused. "I'm sure magick-enhanced skills would be useful, but I'm also scared of having a power I don't know how to control."
"This is why you asked Steffen about Salomet's madness," Leandor stated.
"Yes. I'm glad to know it's not related, but still - it was foolish of me to read a spell out loud, I don't know what I was thinking!"
"These skills do sound useful, master. Perhaps Ser Berne would know more, since the matter involves battle and weaponry?"
"Yes, he may know soldiers with these talents, who could help me learn." She came out from behind the partition, put her coin purse in her belt and gathered up her current red leather armor. "But first, let's check the notice board and see about new armor. And lanterns."
As they went down to the lobby, Ceileigh was glad Leandor hadn't brought up their awkward moment from the night before. Then again, he wouldn't think anything of it anyway, she thought with some disappointment. He looked human, but he wasn't, so those kinds of thoughts were pointless. I wonder if alllll of him looks human… She caught herself against the wall as she tripped on the last step down.
"Please be careful, master," said Leandor, grabbing her upper arm to steady her.
"I'm okay," she said quickly, giving herself a mental shake and walking ahead of him to the notice board. As she perused the postings, she heard an uproar of laughter from the dining area and turned to see a very busty blonde woman in a short, frilly traveling dress, surrounded by a group of merchants and workers who seemed to be hanging on her every word.
Ceileigh rolled her eyes and turned back to the board. "I don't see much of interest on here, Leandor. We have shopping to do anyway and we've just had a tiring mission. I say we take it easy today," she suggested.
"What is 'taking it easy'?" he asked curiously.
"It means not doing anything strenuous. No missions, not a lot of plans. Just walking around, doing whatever we want for the most part."
"Should we not at least train? Besides," he said with a raised eyebrow and that small smile again, "you already 'took it easy' for three extra hours this morning. I believe it is already half past nine."
That smile is so cute! Ceileigh thought before she could stop herself. "Oh, are we feeling humorous?" she asked, holding her hand to her chest in mock disbelief. She really was surprised though, since he had never teased her or cracked a joke before.
"I…it appears so. I do not know," he said lightly as they left the inn. "I have been feeling many things lately."
"Uh, well, alright then!" Ceileigh replied, truly astonished now, at his words and his tone. "Then maybe you can learn to enjoy leisure time, and we can add 'relaxed' to the list. Later we can talk to Ber-" She stopped short as a soldier stepped into her path. His armor declared him one of the Duke's men. He had short black hair and a large mustache.
"Hail, Arisen. I am Ser Aerick, I stand guard at the castle. Do you have a moment?"
"Of course, ser."
"I would beg aid of you with a matter reported to us from the Craftsman's Quarter. We would handle it ourselves but we are overburdened with other duties."
So much for a day off! But I agreed to make my name known, so - "What is it?" Ceileigh asked.
"A pack of saurians have taken up residence on our northern beach, very near the Quarter's exit gate. Some have attacked workers on the road. Would you and your…followers…," he said with an uncertain look at Leandor, "clear them out for us? I hear you excel at this sort of thing."
"We have some experience," she said. She glanced at Leandor questioningly and he gave her a nod, his serious expression back in place. "Alright, we'll do it. We need to gather more pawns and buy a few supplies first though."
"My thanks. Whenever you're ready, head out that gate and you'll see the pack to your right," said Ser Aerick with a bow.
Ceileigh tromped through the overgrown field in the Craftsman's Quarter, trying in vain to puff away grass seeds that flew up into her face. She affixed her newly acquired lantern to her belt and sighed as she looked down at herself. Her new outfit consisted of a dark blue long sleeved shirt under a bronze lorica that covered her left side from neck to hips. She also wore a sturdy pair of fitted brown leggings and knee high black boots. She fiddled with the strap beneath her chin that held on her red leather helmet, the only piece of armor she hadn't ended up trading in. I am ill put-together, she mused, but these are the best pieces I can afford, so they're what I'm going to wear.
Leandor's armor was brown leather reinforced with metal bands across the chest, topped with spiky bone pauldrons. He wore an iron barreled helm with a striking gold "T" on the front that ran across the thin eyeholes and down to the chin. He wore a black long sleeved shirt and black pants, the bottom half of which were hidden by iron leg guards that covered the tops of his brown shoes and had two tusk-like bones sticking out from each knee.
Two new pawns followed them; a mage in a dark blue robe named Elijah, who carried an iron staff with permanent fire enchantment, and a warrior named Morten who wore nothing but black pants, black boots, and several straps running diagonally across his chest that had rodent skulls and feathers dangling from them. His sword was a huge serrated thing exactly like the one Ceileigh had almost been killed with when Mercedes left her to the bandits, and it made her shiver. Leandor glanced at her questioningly as they passed through the exit gate but she shook her head dismissively.
"I believe bandits favor the southern side of the city, master. We are unlikely to see them here," he reassured her. She looked at him in surprise again, marveling at how well he could read her sometimes.
"You're right, I'm sure," she said with a smile, flushing a little and hoping he didn't start to see her as skittish and fearful.
"Master, wariness is normal and healthy for those of us who do battle or face danger," he told her. His voice echoed strangely inside his helmet.
"Thanks," she said, nudging him affectionately with her elbow. His acceptance and support made her feel even more comfortable with him. Even if it was only because of pawn loyalty, she thought she could probably open up to him about anything without him turning away or thinking less of her. It was a nice feeling.
The beach was easily visible from the path, and they could already see a handful of large lizards from where they stood, dozing on their stomachs with long spears at their sides.
"Saurians, Arisen!" Elijah shouted fretfully, pointing.
"Yes, I see them," Ceileigh said with a roll of her eyes. "That's why we're here, remember?"
"They are all but immune to frontal attacks," Leandor told her, readying his sword and shield.
"In that case, let's try to sneak-"
"Leave them to me, Arisen!" Morten shouted, ripping his giant sword out of its scabbard. Several lizards' heads popped up in alarm as he thundered toward them with a loud war cry.
Elijah looked between Ceileigh and Morten uncertainly, eyes wide with anxiety. Leandor scowled after the warrior, awaiting her order. She sighed. "Go," she said, waving toward the saurians with an I-give-up gesture. Leandor ran to join Morten while Elijah stayed closer to Ceileigh's side. As saurians rose up on two legs to fight, she fired arrows into their undersides, weakening them for her pawns' sword attacks. She walked slowly forward, firing again and again, often shooting three arrows simultaneously as she'd recently learned to do, wondering if this was her last time using a regular bow.
"Sever the tail!" cried Morten as she drew closer.
Ceileigh switched to daggers and jumped into the fray. She spun behind the nearest reptile as it lunged, dragging both her daggers across its tail. Its skin was tough and the daggers didn't even make it halfway through the appendage. She quickly turned back and removed it with another strong swipe. The lizard whipped around to face her with a gurgling roar, but without a tail for balance it fell to the side. Ceileigh took the chance to put an arrow through its throat.
"Now, Arisen! End it!" Morten shouted from farther down the beach. She looked up to see many dead saurians already scattered across the sand. She ran to where Morten was practically laying on top of a wriggling beast and put both her daggers through the top of its head.
"Strength in numbers, Arisen," said the warrior pawn as he jumped to his feet. In the next instant they dove apart as another saurian jabbed its spear at them. Morten cracked it in half with a mighty upward swing, then tackled the beast. Ceileigh jumped in and slashed its throat. The lizard grabbed at her as it died, cutting her arm deeply and making her cry out. Elijah instantly began healing her and she doubled over for an instant with the pain of it. She could feel her arm continue to mend as she ran to catch up with Morten, who had gone to help Leandor with the remaining few lizards. Morten was holding one saurian upright under the arms, keeping it in place so Leandor could slice its stomach open. Another was sneaking up behind the latter, waddling on two legs as quietly as possible. It hefted its spear, preparing to strike at his unprotected back.
"Leandor, look out!" Ceileigh cried, acting quickly. She threw herself between them, bashing the beast's spear aside as with both forearms just as it struck. The weapon stuck into the ground, but the lizard kept coming, raking down the front of Ceileigh's body with both front claws. She screamed and fell backward into Leandor, just as the other remaining saurian tackled Morten, who was still holding onto its packmate's corpse.
"Master!" Leandor cried, twisting around onto his back underneath Ceileigh. The saurian's weight had them both firmly pinned but he fumbled for his sword and used it like an oversized knife to stab at the saurian's head. When it reared back to dodge the strike, Leandor all but threw Ceileigh to the left, then rolled to the right as the giant lizard stomped back down with its front feet. Elijah sent a wall of flame toward it, blasting its tail right off. Leandor jumped up and stabbed the screaming animal through the top of the head, silencing it once and for all, then turned and grabbed Elijah by the front of his robes.
"Why are you wasting time with attacks?! Heal her!" he yelled angrily, shoving the cowering mage in Ceileigh's direction. Elijah ran to where she was laying on her back with her arms curled up, crying and shaking in pain from deep slashes down her face, chest and arms. Morten had managed to wrestle his way out from under the last beast, and held it down with a foot on its head while Leandor sliced cleanly through its neck.
"There's so much blood!" Elijah blurted unhelpfully as he pushed a green ball of healing energy into Ceileigh. She screamed in pain and Leandor flew to his knees beside her, letting her crush his hand as her wounds mended. When it was done she lay there panting from the strain of it for a moment, then that powerful feeling flowed through her again. Leandor turned her face toward him with his fingertips gently, but his face was serious.
"Master, you promised you would not put yourself in harm's way for me," he chided her, his mouth in a stern line. "Why did you do this to yourself?"
Ceileigh laughed hoarsely, pushing up onto her elbows. "I only promised about other pawns. You agreed to be friends, that means you have to accept my care - I look out for you like you do for me," she informed him with a wink.
Leandor sighed and ground his teeth, then surprised her by scooping her up in his arms. "I am the one who takes care of you," he said firmly, standing up and setting her on her feet.
She shrugged lightly. "It goes both ways, you don't have a choice," she said airily.
"You…tricked me," he said like he couldn't believe it. Ceileigh tried not to upset him further by laughing at his shocked expression as they headed back to find Ser Aerick.
"Hey crabby," she said teasingly, elbowing him again. "We are still friends, right?"
His expression softened and he exhaled. "Of course, master. I worry about you, is all."
"I know," she said more seriously. "I didn't really mean to trick you, I just…didn't agree with your whole request. I worry about you too, that's what friends do. I couldn't just stand there and watch you get run through."
"Thank you," he said grudgingly. "I have learned more about what it means to be a friend, and I shall respect that."
Ceileigh smiled at this progress as they pushed through the overgrown field again, but her expression soon soured. If only feelings were eradicated as easily as monsters, she thought. After today's battle she could no longer push aside what she'd been trying to deny for days - she wanted more than friendship.