Author's Note: I can't believe it's taken me over a month to complete this chapter! Work, etc, didn't allow me much time to work on it. Part of my time was also taken with up by a new Dragon's Dogma one-shot I'm working on. I realized during this chapter that I incorrectly called the lassitude spell 'torpor' last time - oops! If anyone's interested, I also set up a Facebook page called "Ceileigh", so you can see exactly what she and Leandor look like and maybe discuss the story, the game, your game characters and writing or gaming in general.
Things happening around Ceileigh reached her in flashes that seemed to come from very far away. She heard Leandor shout and then she was staring straight up at the cave's dark ceiling. The other pawns were shouting now, Ceileigh herself was screaming and writhing frantically without conscious thought, trying to escape the agony of her burning body. Something slammed into her, rolling her across the hard floor at top speed, then again, but she barely noticed through the excruciating pain already consuming her. As she skidded to a stop, her mouth was still wide open but she could no longer make a sound. She realized with detached curiosity that the pain was fading, calm washed over her, then everything went black.
Unwelcome consciousness crashed back onto her a few moments later and she groaned through clenched teeth, arching off the floor as her damaged body convulsed in one great spasm. She slowly became aware of her surroundings - weapons clashing, shouts, and something big jumping around the far side of the room. Elyze's face appeared above her.
"Hold on to me, Arisen," said the mage, draping Ceileigh's arm over her neck and hauling her upright. Somehow Elyze managed not to drop her as she knocked an attacking goblin away with the butt of her staff. Together they stumbled to the closest wall and the pawn sat her down against it. Ceileigh could now clearly see Leandor and Nissa fighting alone against the partially charred ogre and a goblin pack.
"Rest here while you heal," said Elyze. "I will guard you."
Ceileigh felt a desperate pang as Leandor was tackled by three goblins and the whole tangle was half-trampled by the ogre. She wanted to order Elyze to help the other pawns instead but she couldn't speak yet and realistically she was in no condition to defend herself if left alone. She squirmed and gasped for the next several minutes, tilting her head slightly to watch in fascinated horror as her skin grew back and returned to normal color. Elyze repeatedly cast frazil against goblins that broke away from the main fight to attack them. Soon they had a small group of frozen statues in front of them and the mage pawn hurried to break them all with her staff before they recovered.
"Elyze, help me over there," Ceileigh croaked, gesturing toward a semi-flat rock nearby. The mage pawn helped her lay prone with her arms and chest propped up on the rock, then handed Ceileigh her bow and arrows.
"I'm okay enough now, please go help the others," Ceileigh ordered.
Elyze looked worried but gave a curt nod. "On my way, Arisen." She ran into the fray, shooting fireballs as she went.
Ceileigh was relieved to see Leandor now on his feet, felling goblins left and right while dodging the rampaging ogre. There were definitely more than a dozen of the smaller creatures here - the noise of the initial encounter must have drawn more from the surrounding area. She picked off a few with arrows, moving painfully, then had to rest. Nissa cast a fog of lassitude where it looked like the ogre was going to run but it spun away at the last second, sweeping the ground with both fists and battering several goblins as a result. She quickly enchanted the party's weapons with thunder and cracked some goblin skulls with her staff before trying the lassitude spell again.
Only a few goblins were left now; Ceileigh took one out with a crackling arrow and finally found the strength to stand as Leandor cut down the last two, which jittered with electricity before falling to the ground. Wounds were no longer visible on Ceileigh's body, but she still felt weak as she rejoined her pawns. Leandor ran behind the beast and stabbed at its legs, gouging and frying them at the same time. The ogre threw itself backward onto the ground, forcing Leandor to scramble away before he was crushed beneath it.
Elyze shot fireballs at the beast's face while it was down and Ceileigh slashed one arm over and over as fast as she could. It jumped up into a crouch, hiding its long, ugly face behind two thick arms. Nissa struck again with lassitude while she had the chance and Leandor jumped onto the creature's back, stabbing just below the shoulder blade. The ogre roared in pain and tried to rear up, but its movements were slowed by Nissa's spell. Leandor withdrew his sword and dropped to the ground as it rose in slow motion. Ceileigh whirled low to slash at the tendon in its ankle. This time the beast screamed and gradually toppled over onto its side.
Now that the ogre was down again and not able to spring back up, everyone made the most of it and attacked in unison. The party's weapons went dark, then flickered bright again as Nissa re-enchanted them. Ceileigh spun down the length of the ogre's body with scarlet kisses, delivering the attack sideways instead of forward. Elyze blasted it in the face and chest again with fireballs, then froze its upper body while Leandor jumped onto its torso. He drove his crackling sword deep just below the sternum, then turned and pushed it to the bottom of the belly. A mass of steaming intestines bulged up through the opening and Leandor made a face of disgust as he jumped back down beside Ceileigh.
"That is most foul," he said, covering his nose and mouth with his arm.
"Let's get out of here," Ceileigh coughed. They walked through former-goblin puddles and the few that were still liquefying, and heard the ogre begin to splatter and sizzle as they exited the far side of the room. Around the corner, Ceileigh leaned against the wall and took a deep breath.
"Are you well now, master?" Leandor asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. He'd felt a new level of fear seeing her burn, and his stomach was still in knots as he looked her over to make sure she was alright. Her hair was a matted mess and most of her clothing had burned away except for a few small patches that kept her decent. Her armor was still usable, if a tad warped and blackened, and her boots were scorched but mostly intact.
"Physically, yes. I'm a bit shaken up, but I'll be fine. My thanks to all of you for keeping me alive and standing your ground," she said sincerely, looking at each of her pawns. The memory of intense pain reverberated through her body, making her feel ill despite the transcendent effects of pawn healing.
Leandor looked her over once more and, noting no lingering marks on her exposed skin, suggested moving on.
Ceileigh turned to Elyze after a few minutes of walking. "Did you stop me from burning with a spell?" she asked her. "I know our water flasks don't hold enough to put out flames like those."
"'Twas smother sap, Arisen. I found some in the first cavern."
"Huh, I've never heard of that before. I guess all that gathering paid off," she said, smiling faintly.
The tunnel rose, fell, and curved many times. Their lantern flames eventually grew dim, so Ceileigh handed out flasks of oil. Leandor fidgeted with the hilt of his sword, glancing at her often as they walked. He felt the odd compulsion to watch her, like something else would happen to her if he didn't. After a while they came upon a pile of dying embers surrounded by log benches and many, many crates.
"This must have been the goblins' camp, master," said Leandor as he moved forward to investigate.
"Judging by the amount of goods hoarded here, I'd say so," Ceileigh replied with a look of wonder. She rubbed her hands together in anticipation. "Dig in!"
The massive stockpile held many treasures and the four of them filled their packs and pockets with as many useful items and as much money as they could. Ceileigh even found some armor in the stash - a new helmet she recognized from her many visits to Caxton's as coupled headgear, and even better, a set of brown dragon hide bracers for her arms. She was forced to leave her old helmet behind because they just didn't have enough room to carry it anymore.
Residual anxiety over her injuries and overwhelming relief that she was alive swirled within Leandor as his gaze flickered over Ceileigh once again. Despite her excitement, he could see tightness around her eyes and a worried set to her mouth that belied inner turmoil. She hardly spoke a word on the way back to the entrance cave. They took the final tunnel, where they surprised a lone goblin preoccupied with trying to pull a rat out of a hole in the wall but met no other trouble.
"This way, Arisen," said Elyze, suddenly jogging around the next curve. Ceileigh paused, reaching up under her armor to assess and shift her tattered shirt. All that remained of it was one shoulder and what covered her breastband. Her pants were now shorter than Madeleine's skirt, though she could barely bring herself to care about modesty at the moment.
"I do dearly miss the sun…" Nissa's voice drifted back as she followed Elyze out of sight. Leandor watched Ceileigh mess irritably with her clothes for another moment, then approached her hesitantly.
"Master, I hope you do not think me negligent or…uncaring," he said, watching her expression carefully, waiting for a harsh reaction.
She glanced up at him in surprise. "What do you mean?"
"For not going to you when you were injured. I knew I could defend you better by staying in the fight. If the ogre had reached you while you recovered…"
"No, don't be sorry. I agree that you were exactly where you needed to be, holding back the beast."
"It was not easy. Surprisingly difficult, in fact."
"I know, ogres are so fast for their size. And my panic didn't help. It threw off my magick - I almost killed myself and I could have killed all of us!" Ceileigh's voice trembled and she fretfully tucked in a wayward strand of hair with a shaky hand.
Leandor gently lowered her arm and pulled her into a hug. She started crying softly as soon as he did, thankful again that he was there for her, pressing her hands and forehead against his armor. "For comfort," he stated, and as he said it he realized it comforted him as well, to feel her breathing against him. It drove home the fact that she was alive and well, which calmed his mind.
"I promise I'll be in control next time, keep a clear head," she cried. "I shouldn't have tried the strongest sunburst spell yet either, I'm not ready. I was so startled I didn't think."
"With more practice, precision magick strikes will become routine, just like any other battle skill," he assured her. "Besides, that is not what I meant."
"What?" she asked again, resting her cheek against him as she wiped away tears.
"I meant," he said, holding her a little tighter, "it was difficult not to go to you."
Something in her chest leapt at his words. Is he saying- no, he doesn't know those feelings. She kept a straight face as she drew back to look at him. "I would think you'd be used to me being in danger by now," she sniffled, wiping away more tears. "We've fought together many times, not to mention all your experience with Arisens in other worlds. Why was this any different?"
"You have never been so close to death, not even in the Everfall," he said, releasing her and stepping back. "You were going so quickly and it was hard to focus on the fight, knowing that."
Ceileigh glanced away, a small smile creeping onto her face. "Well, I- appreciate- your concern," she stuttered. You couldn't sound more stupid if you tried! she yelled internally, turning red.
"You said friends take care of each other. And you have been so quiet since the battle, I thought you might consider me a bad friend for not going to you," he continued, picking at his sword handle somewhat nervously. "So I wanted to explain."
Friends. And that's all we'll ever be. Ceileigh renewed her smile with an effort and tried to shrug casually. "Of course I know that, you don't have to tell me," she assured him. "I am not quiet because I'm mad, it's only that…almost dying is a sobering experience to say the least."
"Yes, master, I understand," said Leandor with a small relieved smile.
Ceileigh turned away, feeling utterly foolish as they continued on. Why did you get your hopes up even a little? Despite being irritated with herself and disappointed anew with the reality of her and Leandor's relationship, she managed a small laugh when she caught sight of her other two pawns down the way. Both were swiftly pacing the width of the tunnel, scouring every inch for usable items, swiveling their heads and swinging their arms so quickly it was comical. Every time Elyze reached the left side, she jumped up and down off of a stone slab. What on earth is she doing? Ceileigh wondered, shaking her head in amusement. Drawing closer, Ceileigh could see the stone was one of a pile formed into a rudimentary staircase that led to a higher area.
"This way, Arisen," Elyze announced again, climbing higher.
"Sounds good to me, I thought we'd be walking this tunnel forever!" she replied in relief, following the mage eagerly.
The spacious new area was still musty but felt warmer and had two passages leading out the other side. They went left until that tunnel also split in two, then headed right, but Ceileigh suddenly signaled them to stop.
"I hear something," she said very quietly. She took a few steps forward, listening intently. "Breathing, I think. Be watchful." She drew her daggers and took a few more steps, but still couldn't see anything within the circle of her lantern light except stony ground and the tunnel walls. The sound came again and this time Ceileigh was sure she heard grunting breaths, like a large animal sniffling along the ground. She inched forward a little more.
"There," she barely dared to whisper to Leandor, who hovered at her side. At the very edge of the lantern light, they could make out the familiar feet and rear end of a large creature covered in brown fur.
"Forgive me for calling so late," Mason said with a bow. "I could not get away sooner."
"It is no matter," said the man he was reporting to, waving his words away. "What news do you bring?"
"She entered the old quarry this morning," Mason told him.
"A new test of skill, then. Combat within the tunnels differs greatly from facing enemies on open ground," said the man, shifting in his chair. "'Tis harder to maneuver in such confines, or retreat if necessary.""
"Do you think it will be too much for her? Perhaps it has been already, as it is now late in the day and she has yet to reappear."
"The quarry covers much ground, and is full of twists and turns. Perhaps that is the reason she is still inside. On the other hand, she could have been set upon by beasts."
"Either way, let us hope she is strong enough to meet the challenge," said Mason. "The future of this world may depend on it."
The squatting ogre shuffled slightly backward, resting on its forearms to root at something on the ground. Ceileigh knew at once what she should do.
"After I cast, draw the beast to us," she whispered to Leandor.
Ceileigh knelt slowly with her daggers at the ready, careful not to alert the creature too soon. "Umbra potior," she intoned in a low voice, then drove her daggers into the ground. The dark swirl of the shadowpin spell opened underneath them, with her and the pawns standing in the edge of it. Ceileigh knew they weren't in danger of being trapped, since, like many spells, this one only affected intended targets, but they backed up anyway to leave room for the beast.
Leandor then shouted and drummed his sword and shield together, causing the ogre to whip around with a loud grunt. It roared and charged, but was stopped short when it ran onto the shadowpin cloud. It punched the ground in anger and pawed with its feet like a bull as it strained to break free and get at them.
"Attack!" Ceileigh commanded. Leandor immediately ran forward, blocking a swing from the ogre before dashing forward to slice its leg. Nissa followed, her staff whirling with vicious strikes that echoed loudly in the cavern. Stuck in place, the ogre bellowed and bent into a defensive crouch as the last one had. Ceileigh saw her chance.
"Aeris decens terra!" she shouted as she jumped toward the beast. The air before her momentarily thickened and she pushed off of it to backflip over the ogre's head and bury her daggers in the back of its neck. Getting a firm hold with one blade, she sliced and hacked with the other, dealing as much damage as she could before she was shaken off. As she fell she stabbed into the creature's back and hung there with her feet dangling near the back of the ogre's knees. She couldn't manage to gain purchase with her feet and continue her attack. Craning her head around, she saw Leandor stabbing and slashing with his sword to her right, and Elyze alternately healing the other pawns and shooting fireballs from the left. She heard Nissa shouting an intonation in front of the beast, but before the sorcerer could finish, it scooped her up in both hands and began to squeeze.
When the ogre leaned forward to grab Nissa, Ceileigh was able to lift her legs into a crouch. She quickly climbed its body as she had with the cyclops at the encampment, until she had her arms around its wide neck with both daggers embedded above its collarbone. She and Nissa were brought eye level with each other as the creature straightened with the sorcerer pawn in its clutches. Fear was obvious on Nissa's face as she struggled to free herself.
"Hold on!" Ceileigh yelled to her. She pulled herself up further and swung one leg over the ogre's right shoulder. She yanked her right-hand dagger free and drove it through the creature's cheek. It howled in pain, flushing bright pink under its fur.
"It grows frenzied!" she heard Leandor shout.
The beast flung Nissa down and blindly reached back for Ceileigh, who swung to the left shoulder to avoid its grasp. As she drove her dagger into the that side of the neck, the shadowpin spell wore off and the ogre lurched forward onto all fours, throwing Ceileigh over its head.
As she bounced and rolled to a stop on the ground, the ogre charged on all fours. Elyze had been running to help her but she did an about face and started frantically shooting fireballs. Leandor ran to meet the beast with a battle cry, ramming his sword into its right shoulder before being knocked aside, his weapon stuck in the creature. The ogre was limping now but kept coming as Ceileigh pulled herself upright. Nissa stepped out in front of it and drove her staff as far into one eye as she could before jumping away. The beast gave a short, surprised roar, fell onto its right side and slid a ways before stopping inches from where Ceileigh stood.
"Well. That was something!" she declared breathlessly as she limped forward to pull her dagger from the beast's neck. She, Leandor and Nissa then shifted its top half as best they could so Leandor could retrieve his sword, while Elyze busily pushed healing spells into all of them.
Feeling energetic and a little excitable from Elyze's healing, Ceileigh jogged through the rest of the tunnel, which ended up looping back to the main upper area. Down the right-hand passage they found a sturdy wooden door and Ceileigh put her hand up against it.
"I feel air coming through these cracks , this must lead outside!" she said triumphantly. She turned the handle but it didn't budge. She took out the key they'd found and was pleased when it fit the lock perfectly. She opened the door to pitch blackness.
"Is it already night?" she asked in surprise, peering out into darkness.
"Monsters grow stronger at night," Nissa told her, looking around suspiciously.
"So I've heard," Ceileigh said a touch sadly, remembering similar words from her friend Pablos back home.
"I sense something nearby - a bird perhaps, or bigger," said Leandor, looking above the tree line at the starry sky. Sure enough, there came the quiet ripple of large wings and a few treetops bobbed as if something very big indeed had just landed in the forest.
"Why don't we head back inside?" Ceileigh suggested with a shiver.
Assuming we ever find our way out of here, I wonder just how much money we'll get out of it, Ceileigh mused as she munched on some dried rabbit meat and watched for a cross-tunnel. She had taken them down the rest of the final tunnel and was regretting it. It had split several times, doubled back and taken them through a series of crisscrossed hallways shored up with timber that led to what looked like several run-down merchant's booths. She'd imagined how pleased the Duke would be if this place became a bustling thoroughfare of commerce again. Now they were stuck in another unending tunnel that was so small they had to walk single file. At least I can be certain we left no corner unexplored, and no more monsters lurk here.
She blinked her eyes and rubbed them tiredly. They had been walking or fighting all day and night, and she felt it. Of course my pawns are as energetic as ever, she thought enviously, yawning. When she thought about it though, she herself definitely had more stamina than she used to.
"I see a bit of light around the next corner!" she called out suddenly, jogging forward. The tunnel emptied into the beginning of the last passage, then they were back in the first chamber with the entry door to their left. What light shone through the cracks told Ceileigh it was now dawn.
"Thank the Maker!" she yawned again, stretching both arms toward the door longingly. "I hope Alon hasn't given up on us by now!"
They found the merchant snoozing in his bedroll beside the door. He startled awake when Ceileigh's party banged through the door, shielding their eyes in the comparatively bright light.
"A-Arisen! You've returned!" Alon stuttered, sounding surprised as he rubbed his eyes and stood up.
"What happened to 'I know you'll prevail'?" Ceileigh joked.
"Forgive me," Alon replied, his brows knitting. "In truth you were gone so long I'd planned to return to Gran Soren if you weren't back by full light. Uh, for help, I mean."
Between bites of mushrooms and nuts, Ceileigh filled him in on the details of what they'd been through as they walked back to Gran Soren. Alon seemed preoccupied, even slightly worried as he listened. Ceileigh wondered why he had lost all his former enthusiasm for the mission, especially one that would benefit him personally.
When they arrived in Fountain Square, Alon handed her a purse from his belt. "Here is your payment," he said with a smile that looked forced. "You've done a great thing!"
Ceileigh was disappointed with the weight of the purse, having expected a much larger prize for so much work and danger. Still, it was more than they'd ever made before. After Alon left, Ceileigh released her hired pawns and she and Leandor went to their room, where she fell asleep as soon as she hit the bed.
Leandor got out of bed at noon, moving quietly so Ceileigh could stay asleep. She looked peaceful, sleeping on her side with the blanket pulled up to her chin. As usual she'd fallen asleep with her hair still braided and pinned. He felt something new as he looked at her, a pulling in his chest that he identified as tenderness. Thankfulness that she was safe and sound washed over him. She is a dear friend indeed, he thought.
A light scraping sound drew his gaze to the door, where he saw an envelope. He picked it up and turned to see Ceileigh blinking awake, so he sat on the edge of her bed and handed it to her.
"Leandor, this is from the Duke!" she practically screeched, tearing it open. "He knows what we did in the quarry! He congratulates and thanks us…he says a reward will be delivered to us today! This is great news, maybe we'll get an audience with him soon. Things are looking up!"
Throughout the day, Leandor listened to her musings about the Duke, the castle, and so on, smiling at her excited tone. When the reward came, Ceileigh could barely believe her eyes. She'd never seen so much coin at once. She immediately went downstairs and rented a bigger room with a real bathroom and a huge fireplace, then flopped down on her cushy new bed and simply enjoyed the luxury and warmth for a while. After shortened hunting and practice sessions, they met up with Madeleine at the alehouse and Ceileigh bought a round for everyone present.
Mercedes' mouth twisted into a wordless snarl as she looked up from Alon's lifeless body, wiping her bloody sword on her sleeve. She watched the waves rolling against the cliff where they'd met, letting their rhythm start to calm her. That idiot, she thought angrily. Blathering about fairness and mercy after he failed me. Hadn't she warned him of the consequences if that woman came back from the quarry? When she'd approached him with her plan he'd been eager enough to earn coin, but once the work began he'd done nothing but complain. First about her wounding his leg to make his story more believable, to the inherent dangers of the road, to having to pay Ceileigh out of his own pocket when she ended up living. She took a deep breath and set her shoulders. Clearly I need to take more drastic action. She rolled Alon's body off the cliff with her boot and headed toward the nearest city gate without a backward glance.