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Dearest Readers, a flame no matter the source, still burns.
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THE HIDDEN SWORD
Book Two: Wandering Water | Chapter 54: Fire in the Ball (Part Two)
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One of these days, Irse swore, she ought to get herself one of those enchanted compass things just like the Red Wizard has.
Not only could it track the general direction of Edwin's companions, a useful feature indeed, but it also warned them of incoming enemies. For to their advantage, its crystals and the runes would blink red to herald the approach of any hostile creature and give them time to pause and prepare. Irse's lips crooked into a scheming grin. Might even be attuned to work on greedy lady vultures circling her former Teacher.
As if in harmony with her thoughts, the crystals upon the compass winked red.
"Ugh. Goblins again." Irse clicked her tongue as soon as they caught sight of them. A whole troop lined the edge of a high ridge looming in their path, clutching crudely hewn weapons in their clawed hands.
"No. Tasloi," Edwin added in a corrective tone.
They sure looked a slightly different kind of ugly from the garden-variety goblins she had sliced through in her journeyings so far. Feline eyes on flatter-heads, longer-limbed almost like the chimps she once saw leashed in a stall of exotic wares at the Open Market. Shrieking their battle cries, those with spears began to scrabble down the rocky incline while the rest stayed put and twirled their slings. Irse drew to a stance and shouted at the wizard to stay behind.
"You stand aside," Edwin snapped in proud warning before his voice dropped into a hurried murmur.
His chant completed, a ball of roaring fire materialized before him and coasted straight to the ridge. Though it exploded a good distance from them, both shielded their faces from the blasting heat. Any tasloi not instantly incinerated were writhing in the ground as the flames consumed them. Those at the slope had been flung by the shockwave, now lying face down and unmoving among the dirt and rocks.
Elf and wizard looked at each other, then at the magical compass in Edwin's hand where a single crystal glowed green to point the way forward. They shrugged, marched past the slain critters, and over the now collapsed and thusly less graded path up the ridge.
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"Of all the places to conduct their rebarbative experiments," Edwin griped, shaking his fist. "They had to select a wasteland swarming with all manner of noisome pests!"
Irse wrinkled her nose. Indeed, why couldn't anyone ever pick nice places for doing anything important? Always some dark dungeon or a creepy cave, or a haunted house. Never in a clean kitchen with a full cupboard, or a sparkling dining hall almost filled to the corner with tables buried under a mountain of pies. Wizards and their weird ways.
For right after the run-in with the tasloi, the pair had stumbled into more tasloi, more goblins, and even ettercaps – nasty gangly things ambling about like the hatechild of an ape and a bloated spider. Speaking of spiders…
"That one was the size of a pony," Irse murmured with awe, pausing to recall a recent encounter with a giant spider. Luckily, it was alone, immediately rendered unconscious by the Red Wizard's spell, and dead cold by the elf's tachi.
What would it be like to capture such a huge specimen, then sneak it into an outhouse where it could hang around in the rafters? In her elven ears, the ensuing screams of terror from unsuspecting users would rival the sweetest song ever sung. Irse sniggered wickedly.
Edwin eyed her with suspicion, doubtlessly mentally evaluating the accuracy of the dimensions described. "I was forewarned of gargantuan arachnids infesting these parts of the woods, yet so far we have only had a single sighting. A possibility of Denak and his lackeys having already disposed of most of them. (Is it too much to aspire for those fools to have been devoured by those things as well?)"
Irse frowned, worry and practicality stealing into her thoughts. Given their monstrous size, one would certainly hate to see how wide their webs could spread, how big a prey they could ensnare. After all, the memory of the bandit mage's webbing spell still clung stickily to her memory. And with only the two of them out here, a situation like that could get tacky a tad too fast. Hopefully, they were still far enough from wherever these things have made their lair.
"We'll have to tread lightly and watch where we're walking from here on," she said, casting wary glances around them.
"Yes, yes, of course, as if such nuisances pose a serious obstacle to my formidable power," Edwin muttered dismissively, preoccupied with rifling through his pouch of components. "Curses! How could I have used them all up already?" He motioned at her to put down the bags, tearing into one as soon as they were laid on the ground. "Hold this," he ordered, thrusting the disc into Irse's hands while he rummaged through the parcels and bottles stuffed inside.
"Hey," she murmured, bending down and poking him.
"What is it now?" the mage retorted, eyes still in the bag. "Disturb me not. I must find the bag with the components, and soon before -"
"They blink white this time?" Irse asked, palming up the compass.
Both paused, staring at the telltale glow.
"Does 'white' also mean monsters?"
"Worse." Rather than paling with fear, Edwin's face twitched in disgust. "Wild magic."
The air crackled and lightning struck the ground before them, the spot suddenly enveloped by a murkily hued cloud. From within the purplish plumes, a woman's hand emerged to fan at the smoke which dissipated immediately. In its place now stood a half-elven girl in rough traveling garb and clutching an intricately carved wooden staff, blanched hair cropped close to her face. Edwin raised a hand, about to cast a spell but Irse motioned for him to stand down while the half-elf coughed and blinked around at her surroundings.
"Well, whaddya know! It worked this time," the other girl exclaimed with a whoop. "I thought I'd teleport me to some other place worse than the middle of the street with a bunch of -"
Finally noticing the pair gawking at her, the woman groaned.
"You," the half-elf spat accusingly at the Red Wizard.
"No, You," Edwin spat back.
"Old friends?" Irse pointed awkwardly, then tapered her eyes with a nettling grin. "Or old lovers?"
And for once, she regretted teasing a pair of enemies-at-first-sight.
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Neera, as the half-elf named herself, turned out to be a wild mage on the run from a squad of Red Wizards out to study and experiment on her rare skill to summon magic in its raw form. Fortunately, Edwin turned out to be uninvested in supporting his fellow Red Wizards' objectives, hence, uninterested in surrendering Neera to his cohorts.
But as someone ascribing to an academic approach to all things arcane, Edwin turned out to be uncompromisingly unapproving of wild magic, deriding its lack of discipline and uncontrollably destructive results. And as a self-proclaimed free-spirit railing against such strait-laced sentiments, Neera turned out to be unyieldingly defensive when it came to her abilities and didn't take kindly to the Red Wizard's unconcealed scorn.
And now, Irse turned out to be an unfortunate soul caught between the crossfire, the pinkies stuffed in both ears utterly insufficient to drown out the rattling insults being traded between the other two. One more hour of this bickering was something she wasn't looking forward to. However, it didn't seem right to simply abandon the other girl out here in the dangerous woods.
"I suppose you could join us until Edwin gets to his destination, though you might want to stay out of sight when we do. After that, we'll find our way back to the road and I can point you to the Friendly Arm where you'll be safe from anyone after you. "
As predicted, the Red Wizard and the wild mage violently balked at the suggestion.
"Are you in full possession of your faculties? Asking this volatile barrel of magical incendiary to travel with me?"
"You want me to trail after that egotistical snob? As if I didn't just teleport myself all the way from Beregost to escape from creeps like him!"
"Hold here a moment, you said you were in Beregost a while ago?" Seeing the half-elf nod, Irse felt her heart skip with hope. Perhaps, the blacksmith had joined a caravan, arrived at the town, and decided to stay there to wait or ask around for her. "Back there, or around those parts, maybe you've come across a Kozakuran man, about this tall, around thirty summers, exceptionally polite."
The query was met with a giggle. "Oooh, a true gentleman? Now that's kinda' rare for men not in shiny armor. Hmm I dunno. Is he handsome? Maybe I'd remember him more?" A sharp glare from the elf dispelled the playful grin on Neera's lips. "Just kidding! Gosh, loosen the leash, will you? No, I haven't bumped into anyone like him. But hey, I got an idea. Why don't you ditch the Red Windbag here and we'll look for your friend together? It'll be grand, if your sort of adventure is scooting away from weirdo wizards wanting your brain or crusty old pals you owe money to. You got a big sword, I got lots of magic, wild magic that is. Think of the possibilities!"
A beginning of a reply from Irse's mouth squeaked to nothing as Edwin seized her other arm and roughly pulled the elf to him. "You will not! Unless you wish for your man to be inadvertently polymorphed into a squirrel by her wild surges. Do not forget, we have an Implied Binding Agreement! No, you are coming with me."
A nearly-formed retort equally choked on her tongue as Neera forcefully counter-tugged at Irse's other arm. "No, you should come with me! Yeah, I might turn your guy into a squirrel by accident, but as long as he doesn't get eaten by a wolf then there's a chance we could turn him back into a human!"
"But-"
"Don't you dare abandon me for some irresponsible spell-slinging tart!"
"I'm a tart? At least I'm a trade-up from you, prissy prat!"
"Wastrel!"
"Blowhard!"
Eyes up, Irse furrowed her brows and sighed. At both ends they bickered and tugged as she were a rag doll between two stubborn children. Two unbearably loudly squabbling children. Fed up, Irse yelled and tore herself from their grasp, flailing her fists and lashing out with a swift boot at both Red Wizard and wild mage, the other two edging back with palms up.
"Enough, you butter-brains! You idiots better start getting along before you two end up fireball-ing or turning one another into a frog like in some stupid magic duel!"
A sudden and undeniable excitement glinted in both mage's eyes. A familiar sinking feeling settled itself in the elf's stomach.
"A contest to determine who is the more gifted conjurer? (As if I am ever in need of one to demonstrate my incomparable talents.)"
"A chance to finally to shut him up and prove that wild magic beats boring tome chewing anytime!"
Irse groaned, head throbbing with the familiar urge to smack her own mouth. Did not Okami always admonish her – A heedless thought flies faster than an arrow, and the tongue is ever swifter than the sword?
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Despite possessing the same level of magical knowledge as a wheel of cheese, Irse insisted on serving as the arbitrator of this spontaneously drawn-up match. Now if only she could come up with something that vaguely resembles a proper set rules before the two ended up swinging fists instead of spells.
"Are you sure you want to pitch murder magic at each other? Why not instead see who can summon a full-course meal out of nothing? A dessert smorgasbord? A cake the size of a house?"
"No," the Red Wizard and the wild mage said in droll unison.
Irse's eyes drooped along with her shoulders, fingers held up in a pinch. "Not even… a cookie?"
"I prefer a competition to determine which one of us is capable of more sophisticated and precise spellcasting."
"You mean whose spell makes the other yawn harder? C'mon, a little imagination, please! Let's make it a surprise - ask me for something bigger and flashier and louder. Why do you think it's called Wild Magic in the first place?"
And then the conversation degenerated once more into another round of name-calling. Irse turned her back on them if perhaps doing so might aid in drowning out Edwin's pedantic barbs and Neera's rustic ripostes. Every now and then she peered over her shoulder, relieved to find the wizards still too disgusted with the other to venture close enough to begin wringing each other's neck.
Think, she commanded herself. Her non-existent aptitude for Weave-wrangling wouldn't do for telling whose magic was more advanced or glitzier. As spells weren't solid in the same way as blades, neither could one apply the same test as a blacksmith might employ in determining whose output proved superior in design and keenness.
But if this were a duel between swordsmen wanting to decide who's quicker with battojutsu?
A grin slowly spread on Irse's face.
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"Let me reiterate your terms verbatim (If only to assure myself that my ears are still functional after enduring that mongrel's gibbering)," Edwin said with a skeptical sneer. "Whoever casts magic faster on their opponent, wins?"
"Don't forget, non-fatal magic," Irse added firmly. "Or I'll knot your fingers together like a string of bloody sausages."
"I get it. It's like who's the Faster Caster, right," Neera echoed giddily, rubbing her palms. "Well, I like the sound of that one 'cause nothing's quicker than raw magic on a whim."
Edwin's jaw stiffened, a protest evidently forming behind his eyes. Irse wagged her head at him. If that's how wild magic works, then the Red Wizard would just have to pick something from his repertoire that doesn't require ten scrolls worth of chants and a cartload of eye of newt to complete.
If Okami were here, he would have come up with more refined guidelines befitting a duel meant to finally settle the score between competing combat styles. But Irse wasn't in the mood to cough up additional rules. Best not to give space for Edwin to dispute the tiniest criteria and for Neera to grouse about the squareness of formalities. And besides, midday meal's just a few hours away, no need to be drawing it out much longer than necessary.
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"Remind me to keep my faultless mouth shut next time (I shouldn't have suggested casting protections first. Now there's only a reduced probability of 'accidentally' burning this blithering nuisance to ash)," Edwin muttered while impatiently straightening his sleeves.
Both surrounded by faintly glowing defensive auras, the duelists stood with hands hovering at their sides, feet and shoulders squared for balance, a good distance apart, enough to ensure that only magical projectiles instead of kicks would be flying between them. One palm raised, Irse gave each of them a final once-over to check that no one was slyly touching their component pouches.
"Ready?"
"I was delivered from the womb equipped and prepared."
"I jump out of bed in the same clothes I fell in."
Irse rolled her eyes, then whipped her hand down. "Cast!"
Without averting gaze from their hated foe, the mages scrambled to pull out items from their bags, hands blurring into gestures, voices muddled into hasty chants.
"Done!" Neera cheered in a sing-song tone just as a smidgen of blue sand evaporated in her outstretched palm.
Startled but complying, Edwin halted and grumbled, stomping in frustration even as the other girl gloated and pranced. A breath passed and everyone froze, puzzled at the stillness in the air.
"What happened to your spell?" Irse asked the half-elf who could only shrug in equal befuddlement.
Suddenly a tingling sensation washed over her, followed by rapid twitches in the arms, legs, torso. Irse grasped at her sides. "I feel strange, something's happening." She glared at Neera. "Did you target me instead of Edwin?"
"N-no! Of course I was aiming at him. It was supposed to be a Color Spray, something that'll only blind?" Neera replied, wringing her hands, pointedly ignoring Edwin's overly loud scoffing.
"A pity your magic failed miserably. (Blindness would have spared me the affliction of continually beholding your repulsive homeliness.)"
"I heard that. You think you're so clever, whispering your insults." Neera pulled at both of her own ears. "Hello, half-elven hearing?"
Irse waved at them. "Wait, why don't we try to-"
"How about I do the realms a huge favor by casting Silence on you?"
"It would please me greatly to see you pathetically attempt a spell above your decumbent level (And it'd please me even more when you succeed in disintegrating yourself instead.)"
"We should have another-"
"You know what you sound like to my delicate half-elf ears? You sound like this - blah blah blah Red Wizard this clack clack Red Wizard that yackety yack."
"Hah, so now the untrained chimp reverts to its original vernacular."
"By Tethrin, not another round of this," Irse muttered, burying her face in her hands.
Back and forth their jibes flew, like a ball bouncing off walls. On and on they went at it, seeking to out-dig each other in the depth of their put-downs. Eventually, the sun will set and rise and set again, the seasons will change, and the realms will fade into oblivion, but the Red Wizard and the Wild Mage will certainly endure, their uncompromising tiff raging on for eternity.
But one thing certainly wasn't everlasting. Patience wearing thin as she suppressed the urge to crack the Kogitsune's ironwood scabbard across their bottoms, Irse tore at her hair and bent down to pick up a stone, absently lifting it in the air.
"Enough! I've had it with you two muttonheads. You have better start hurling spells instead of slurs or so help me I will pound both your noggins like garlic in a mortar!"
Edwin and Neera froze, startled, not by the rebuke, but at the sight of the angry elf. Puzzled by their odd stares, Irse frowned, eyes slowly sliding up to what she was holding above her head with both hands - a chunk of rock, large enough to be something she would not have been able to lift without aid. Jarred by the unexpected display of strength, Irse nervously dropped the boulder to the side, becoming aware of an invigorating sensation humming through her body, mostly in her core and limbs.
"Neera," she drawled the name through gritted teeth. "What exactly did you do to me?"
"Er, nothing permanently crippling, I hope?"
"Isn't it obvious? Instead of a Color Spray aimed at myself, you ended up casting Strength on her," Edwin answered, stroking his goatee. A triumphant gleam twinkled in his eye, and he leveled an accusing finger at the half-elf. "Ah-ha! Erroneously Ensorcelled the Referee! A violation of the rule to direct the spell at your opponent! Disqualified!"
"It was an accident, I swear! I only used a little bit of a wild surge back there to speed it up," Neera pleaded with Irse. "And hey, you got to admit, you're not yet dead and not polymorphed into a squirrel. And how much better is it that you're stronger now? Maybe that counts for a point, right?"
"How dare you attempt to influence the arbiter of this duel! (Bribery should only be permissible if it benefits the superior contestant, which is me!)"
And once more, the conversation disintegrated into another round of slur-hurling. Yet Irse paid them no heed, grinning greedily at her knuckles, unabashedly amazed at the effect. A spell of Strength, was it? Why, think of how much easier it would be to hammer and bend things, carry things, slice through things…
Still ignoring the bickering wizards, Irse glanced around excitedly. A test, perhaps? Lifting Edwin's big brown heavy sacks should be too easy. She eyed a fallen length of timber, not a hollow trunk but solid and weighty.
"Wheeeee," Irse squealed with delight as she casually hoisted the log over her shoulder and flung the great beam as it were a lightweight javelin. It sailed many paces away, its loud crash succeeding in silencing the squabbling. "This is incredible! How long is it going to last? Hey, Edwin, I bet I can bounce you on my knee like nothing!"
Edwin stared at the elf, blinking. "We… might… be able to come to some sort of arrangement," he said, then seemingly caught himself and cleared his throat. "But none of such trivialities for now, pleasant as they are. What is required this instant is for you to declare this contest over and me as the victor."
"No way, I beat you fair and square," Neera heckled, but paused, sobered. "Well, if the spell not hitting you counts at all."
Knuckles on her waist and wagging her head, Irse pondered this predicament. By the rules, Neera did complete her spell before Edwin, yet failed to target him. Only one decision may stand to be equitable.
"I declare the last bout null and void," she pronounced. "Ready yourselves for another round." Hopefully, the last one and not stretching all the way until supper.
Edwin protested but abruptly ceased with his objections when Irse raised a threatening brow and cracked her knuckles. Once more they took their positions and readied to draw from their pouches. Once more, Irse gave the signal, followed by the combatants' frantic gestures and chanting.
"Done again," Neera cheered. She waved away the sparkles from her disintegrated components and stuck out her tongue at the Red Wizard who screeched and angrily flung his own items to the ground. But her excitement quickly died down when it immediately became clear that nothing had manifested from her casting. "Blast it! I'm pretty sure I tried an Acid Arrow this time if only to melt that smug look off his weasel face."
Oddly, Edwin ignored the jibe and glanced around, unnerved by some traces of unexplainable power. "You did not resort to your wild magic again, did you?"
"Ah hahaha. Maybe?" Neera sheepishly turned to the elf. "Or did I just dispel your strength?"
With ease Irse picked up the same boulder from earlier. "Still strong as an orc after three breakfasts."
"Then what disaster have you brought upon us now, you irresponsible cretin?"
"Sheesh. Relax, will you? It's not like I just summoned a humongous demon bunny from the Abyss that's gonna eat us up and pop us out into giant crap pellets."
No sooner had the words left her mouth then the world fell eerily silent. Upon the ground between the wizards, blood-red fire ignited and rapidly traced a burning circle. The flaming ring completed, the grass within reformed into a pool of boiling tar and plumes of dark foul smoke rose from the edges. Everyone edged back, Irse readying to draw the Kogitsune. From the fiery circle emerged an enormous ball of white fur speckled with patches of brown. It raised itself upright, elongated ears unfurling and reaching past the height of the trees, its colossal bulk dwarfing them, whiskers the length of a grown man twitching around a great rosy nose.
Yawning, the giant rabbit commenced pawing and grooming itself.
"Tymora! An extra-planar bunny," Neera clucked, squealing in delight. "Who said wild magic can't whip up something cute and fluffy too?"
Broad-eyed with awe, Irse could only gawk. Imoen would've loved to see this, would've wasted no time scrambling up its back to make a cozy bed for herself or pulling at its poufy cottontail. Tilting her head, Irse narrowed her eyes in an appraising gaze. More than the comfiest mattress in the realms, the creature's massive size would make for a most splendid war mount. Irse imagined herself astride this giant bunny and charging into battle, all that cuddliness saddled and steel-clad with a wondrous armor the elf had forged herself, leaping like lightning over enemy fortifications to land in their midst where she with the Kogitsune and her magnificently fluffy charger with its razor teeth and heavy paws would mercilessly lay to waste their foes.
But Edwin's sudden and tight grip on her arm startled Irse from her dreaming fancy. He had sidestepped quietly towards her, even as Neera cooed and circled the great rabbit still crouching upon the grass, dark glass-like eyes the size of saucers blankly gazing ahead as if waiting for something.
"That gigantic bunny... its magical aura has an infernal impression. Judging from the way it had been gated into our plane, it might be even be a tanar'ri from the Abyss. I suggest we leave while it is docile."
Irse furrowed her brow and whispered back, "Are you sure? Where's the horns and bat wings? Looks harmless to me."
"Yes, I am sure for I'm well-versed with summoned creatures. And have you not heard of the aphorism – Countenances are illusory?" he hissed, voice pitched in near panic.
Delicately, Edwin palmed up the compass. Blood-red, its light beamed in undeniable warning. Irse swallowed a dry lump in her throat and nodded gravely. Were Okami here with them, doubtless he would've bidden her stand behind him instead of approaching an animal with a dubious nature regardless of its disarmingly cuddly form. Cautiously and with tense silence they retrieved their things. Packs hoisted on their shoulders, Irse and Edwin traded wordless instructions, pointing at the general direction where they might flee, and when to signal at Neera to likewise run.
"Oops! Sorry, big buddy! I didn't mean to pull too hard. That didn't hurt at all, did it?"
Alerted, they slowly turned their heads. Before the giant bunny the half-elf stood sheepishly clutching a single plucked whisker. With bated breath and dread, they stared as the rabbit drew itself to its full height, eyes lighting up with golden flames. Jagged spikes burst from its skin, staining its once immaculate fur with ichor. Stubby paws extended into sinewy limbs ending in talons dripping with a foul and sizzling substance. The giant bunny stretched its jaw, incisors lengthening into rusty tusks, and threw back its head to issue a bellow so fiendish, it echoed like the roaring of a pride of lions. Then the hellish rabbit clawed at a tree, the trunk bursting into splinters.
Irse pushed at Edwin to goad him to run. As he scrambled off, she looked back and screamed at Neera, "What are you doing? Get away from there!"
But the half-elf stubbornly held her spot, swinging the whisker as it were a wand in her hand. "I can banish it. If a wild surge brought it here, another should send it away." Even as she spoke, magic crackled in the air, tendrils of electricity swirling around her. "Bad Bunny, I send you back to wherever you came from!" the wild mage cried and pointed at the creature which continued to rage and tear down at another tree.
Lightning flashed and struck the ground between her and the bunny. And Neera was gone.
"Did she just-," Irse muttered, blinking. "Teleport away?"
"Who cares where she sent herself (To one of the hells, I hope)? Worry about us ending up in its stomach instead!" Edwin shouted back.
Startled by the lightning, the great rabbit ceased in its rampage, casting its sights at the wizard and elf. Not stalling for another breath, they turned and ran. Strangely, rather than hopping as its non-Abyssal counterparts would have done, the demon bunny rose on its hind legs and marched, its fur-streaked veiny limbs dragging against the ground.
They glanced over their shoulders to see the monster lumbering after them, tearing and clawing at the trees in its path. Shrieking in unholy terror, they set their eyes ahead once more and pushed on. Just as before, Irse let Edwin run ahead lest the wizard fall behind and get eaten by the demon bunny. Because then she won't get paid, not even a copper.
Fortunately with her magically heightened strength, the bundles were nothing more than featherweights on her shoulders, and Irse found it easy to maintain pace. However, evidently unsuited to such sudden exertions, Edwin began to lag until he tripped and fell on the ground.
"Don't let me die (I'm much too perfect to perish)," he wailed.
Irse did the only thing she could. Unthinking, she shifted both sacks on one shoulder, bent down to hook an arm under Edwin's waist and hoisted him on the other shoulder like a crimson sack of potatoes. Clutching the bundles and her pack in one hand and his flailing legs in the other, Irse ran for dearest life, her chest thumping a prayer to Tethrin that Neera's strengthening spell might hold a little longer.
Louder now she could hear the creature's heavy trudges gaining upon them and the crash of trees being felled like mere branches by its infernal power.
"Faster! Faster!" Edwin screeched, pounding at Irse's back.
"Not helping," she muttered. "Do something. Use your magic to slow it down! Anything."
"I cannot! Not in this position-"
"JUST FIREBALL THE DAMNED BUNNY EDWIN!"
The wizard griped under his breath, but as he did so, Irse felt him wriggling on her shoulder, clearly reaching for his component pouch. Immediately he hurried with a chant, and she felt the familiar heat and wind-rush of a flying flaming sphere. Not far behind, she heard it explode, followed by inhuman howls of pain.
"Intriguing. A demon that isn't impervious to fire," Edwin murmured in casual observation, then tapped the back of her head. "It has slowed somewhat, but you might wish to move faster because it isn't stopping."
Irse rolled her eyes but pressed on. Up ahead she sighted a ravine cutting across their path, and an idea flashed in her mind. This could be their best chance to escape the hellish hare. Shouting at the wizard to hang on to her, the elf bent and doubled her pace.
"What are you doing-" Edwin stammered, twisting himself slightly to catch a glimpse of the way ahead. Seeing the chasm, he shrieked, "Are you mad?"
And the wizard's words melted into a high-trilled scream as her legs made their final spring and launched from the edge of the ridge. Through the air they arched over the narrow gorge, and for a moment, terror gave way to exhilaration in that brief weightlessness, the wind rushing against her face and the world falling below to nothing beneath her toes.
Solidly she landed on the other side. Propelled by the momentum, they rolled forward and toppled in the grass. Immediately the two scrambled for the edge in time to watch the giant bunny arrive at the edge of the cliff, its fur still in flames.
"You do know that rabbits can jump?" Edwin sneered.
"Why don't you teleport yourself behind it and give it a push?" Irse retorted.
By Tethrin's mercy, the monstrous rabbit remained blinded and hampered by the magical fire raging all over its frame. Gracelessly it stumbled around until it fell over the edge to land at the bottom where the same fiery circle glimmered and encircled it. Just as before, the ground within the flaming border transformed into boiling oil, and the giant bunny sank into the tarn, and the infernal gate finally disappeared in a flicker of flame and a wisp of smoke.
Still alive and not a pair of chewed up flesh carrots! Each heaving relieved sighs, they collapsed on the grass. Edwin whooped and wagged a defiant fist at the sky. Clutching at her chest, Irse blinked and laughed. No one at home, whether in Candlekeep or Dearg, would ever believe this. Imoen might, but then the kid would only grumble over how Irse should've tamed the giant demon bunny and brought it back for a present.
"Hah! Did you see that? I, Odesseiron, most brilliant and magnificent, single-handedly defeated none other than a tanar'ri with my excellent and impressive magic!"
Groaning, Irse rose to her feet to gather the scattered bundles. "Am I getting paid extra? I don't recall mediating a hazardous magical duel and lugging you around to escape from demon bunnies being inked in the contract."
"On top of the promised monetary compensation, you may content yourself with a significant share of the rations from the supplies. (And who shall accuse me of being ungenerous?)"
Eyes darting to the side, Irse shrugged. "Works for me."
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Another hour had passed in their trek when Edwin called for a halt to rest his tired feet. "Are you certain the feckless half-wit's Strength spell has worn off? (She could - how do the unlearned refer to such manner - ah yes, carry me around 'piggyback' all the way to my destination.)"
Irse made a face as she lowered the packs. The effects had worn off soon after the Abyssal Bunny's banishment. Unfortunately, while her magical strength abated, the very real hunger in her belly grew. Perhaps now might also be a good time for an early midday meal.
Edwin knelt by one of the bags, muttering something about the trouble of having to constantly take inventory of his components because of needless interruptions. Just then, the compass in his hand beamed red. The pair glanced down at the warning glow, and sighed in relief. Likely another middling monster this time. They turned to look ahead, sighting half a dozen men stepping into the dell, all wearing matching dark leathers. Something almost familiar about their garb, Irse surmised with narrowed eyes.
"A lucky day it be for us," the lead man hollered, gesturing at the pair. "We go a-hunting for game and look what we find in the woods."
The others laughed leeringly among themselves but were abruptly silenced as Irse blasted a loud whistle through her fingers.
"Wait," she said, arms waving, ignoring the men's baffled expressions. "I must ask - have you seen a Kozakuran man around these parts?"
"Why, one of yours?" the troop leader taunted, flicking up his brow at a scowling Edwin who slowly got on his feet. "No, we ain't seen him. But if we do, we'll be sure to tell him what we did to his elf wench and her wispy red friend."
He stepped further back and motioned to his men who drew their weapons and advanced. Irse unsheathed the Kogitsune. Just as she moved between them and the wizard, an otherworldly heat surged from the tips of her toes to the top of her head.
Magic again. She glanced over her shoulder, just as a dark twig disintegrated into silvery motes in the mage's hand, a look of cold satisfaction on his face.
"Go," Edwin said.
And with that, Irse launched off her feet in explosive force, clearing the distance and reaching the bandits in a blink. She darted in between them, a hummingbird flitting from flower to flower, but about to draw something worse than nectar.
No need to dodge their strikes, for so startled had they been, so swiftly she had bounded upon them, there was no counterattack to evade at all. In the time it took for their swords to jerk up, the first had already been slashed from shoulder to navel, the second hacked deep at the side all the way through his spine, the third stabbed through the belly, the fourth allowed a flicker more of his life when the elf spun from the prior strike and the downswing caught him at the side of his neck, the fifth having never loosed an arrow for the adamantine blade already cleared clean through his bow, arms, and chest.
From where he stood, the leader watched, evidently astonished at seeing his men fall almost instantaneously. Done with them, Irse paused, eyeing him. Recognition flashed on the man's face as he unsheathed his sword.
"You," he spat. "You're that elf. The one with the bounty on the head."
He charged, raising his sword just as a blur gusted through him. Freezing in his tracks, the bandit leader gawked at his bowels suddenly littering the ground in front of him. Standing behind the man, Irse flicked the blood off the Kogitsune, having sheathed the tachi before he even hit the dirt.
Willing herself to keep still, Irse glanced down at her hand then at the bodies. It wasn't as if the world slowed down for her, rather she had become the wind itself, steps never seemingly touching the earth in their prodigious speed, the blade striking as it were a lightning but dark and cold instead. Just what manner of magic did the wizard cast on her?
Nonchalantly, Edwin crouched again by one of the packs. From the bag he took out a small parcel which he unwrapped to reveal some herbs bundled with twine, and several odds and ends such as small stones, vials of colored liquid, flecks of glass, tiny pouches of powder.
"HeyEdwinEdwinEdwin," Irse buzzed as she dashed back and swooped down, grabbed the mage by the shoulders, pulled him up and vigorously rattled him.
"C-Careful, you fool," he jabbered, the components spilling from his hands like leaves from a wind-shaken tree.
Just as sudden, she let him go and the wizard tottered from the abrupt release. "Sorrybutdidyoudomagictohelpmemovereallyfast?"
"Isn't it obvious? Yes, I did (Yet it functioned better than I expected. Tripled, nay, might have even quadrupled the projected movement speed. Is it attributable to physiological peculiarities of elves or perhaps to something else?)," Edwin said as this time he hurriedly gathered the components from the ground and stuffed the items in his belt pouch.
Irse trembled, giddy at the possibilities. With the aid of this wondrous magic, imagine how much grub could be eaten within the painfully limited hours of the day. And wouldn't Okami be always pleased if she could blaze through her tasks in half the time?
"WellcanyoumakeitpermanentmaybenotallthetimebutonlywhenIwantpleasepleaseplease?"
Edwin eyed her dryly. "Nnnnnnnooooooo," he drawled slowly and deliberately.
"Spoilsportbutallrightlet'smoveoutanywayandcovermoregroundbeforesupper!"
She hefted the packs on the shoulder and scurried away in the same breath. A good distance later from the battle site, only then did she realize the wizard had been left behind. Irse waited for him, rapidly tapping a foot though Edwin seemed to be purposely ignoring her impatience as he strolled in an intentionally languid pace. And then as sudden as the breeze dying down, the lightness in her limbs drained from head to toe, replaced by an oppressive heaviness.
"What-," Irse mumbled, knees giving way to weakness until she plopped down on her haunches.
"A consequence of Haste, but fatigue isn't the worst of them," the wizard said as he finally caught up to her. "The spell's true price is aging its recipient by one year. (Which is why I would never cast it upon myself unless absolutely unavoidable. Resembling a desiccated prune does not become you, Odesseiron.)"
"Older by a year? Really?" Irse felt at her forehead and cupped her cheeks. No wrinkles yet. "I can't tell at all. Or maybe I never will," the elf replied with a preening grin.
Edwin glowered. "Show-off."
She sputtered a weary chuckle as the wizard mopingly shuffled away and irritably pulled the compass out of his pocket.
"Perform, you imbecilic device! Lead us into another time-wasting and troublesome ambush or another infestive wild mage and I will catapult you into the bottom of the deepest ocean! (And then I'll be stranded in this malodorous swamp of a country along with a garrulous fox-eared imp!)" Edwin threatened the compass, shaking the thing as if it had a neck to wring.
For now, an hour of rest might be best if they wished to fully resume their trek and cover more ground before nightfall. Irse leaned back against the bundles, sighing but quirking a lip as the Red Wizard paced back and forth, grouching while the golden adornments in his hands jangled in agreement, glistering against the endless greenery of the Sharp Teeth.
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Confessional Scribblings:
"JUST FIREBALL THE DAMNED BUNNY EDWIN!" Why yes, I violated my personal rule of NO CAPSLOCK OF RAGE EVARRR. But one must concur, Edwin was being a fussy wuss and the situation just begged for it. XD
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