Chapter 8

We kill it with fire

The next day we left after breakfast to go check out the khi'teen encampment, now that we had two reasons for doing so. Malachite was still acting a little strange, but had reappeared for dinner. He did a double take before sitting down with me, asking how my day went and if I had found the owner of the magical item. I told him I hadn't, but they were going to look into it. Hanz reported back they at least got the captain of the guard to listen, and the man seemed reasonable and believed the story about cultists. "In this town you never know what's going to happen next" he had said. I believed them. Snarly said he had fulfilled his promise to the khi'teen we met on the road, and was somewhat relieved we wouldn't be meeting him in the forest. At least, not to kill him.

Malachite was flying ahead, keeping a look out for the village and totally not avoiding me, but I had swapped the necklace out for my magical one. I probably didn't have to wear it while it was holding the magic for me, but I always had, so for the moment I just continued to do so. He had come back and was walking with us, having just reported back, when he froze and jumped in front of me.

"What's up?" I asked, trying to see over or around his wing.

"There's someone up ahead," he told us.

"A khi'teen?" Snarly asked.

"No, looks human."

"So let's thee if he needsh help! Hi there!" He rushed off.

"Howdy strangers," said the man as we got close. He was sitting on a rock and rubbing his knee. "Odd place to meet you but these are odd times. Don't mind me none, got no quarrel with you."

"Better check if anyone means us harm," Malachite whispered to me. "He could be with some kind of bandit group."

I didn't think so, he wasn't really dressed that way, not that I knew what bandit groups dressed like. He did have a sword, stubble, unkempt hair, and a fairly bad smell. Though that could still just be Snarly. "Good idea." I cast the spell, and I didn't sense anyone that would be considered an enemy anywhere around us. "Clear." I got down off of Athame and looked him over.

"What are you doing 'ere?" Snarly was asking him. "This forest belongs to khi'teen you know? You could get kilt!"

"That's why I'm passing through as quickly as I can, you know? But I stepped wrong, hurt my knee. I'm just hoping it ain't serious and I can be on my way soon. Don't want to spend the night out here."

Not exactly answering the question, but okay.

"Oh, oh, we've got a magic user," Snarly offered. "She can heal you right up!"

"Is that so?"

"Go on, Orchid, you can do 'hat, right?"

"Technically," I hedged, drawing the word out. "No. Not without him paying me. But I suppose in the middle of the woods here," I looked around, "we're pretty far from anywhere the guild would care about. As long as you don't go spreading it around I suppose one minor healing spell wouldn't go amiss."

"You have my solemn vow, I will never speak of this so help me God."

That seemed good enough for me, so I pulled mana from the area and cast my healing spell on his leg.

"Now that's a right sight better, miss," he told me, testing his weight on it. "I thank you kindly."

"I was happy to do it," I mostly didn't lie. "Just be sure you're back to the city by sundown, this isn't a place to be wandering around alone."

"I'll take that advice and be on my way. Good day to you."

"Byeeeee," Snarly called to him, waving.

When next Malachite landed he said he spotted something, but it would probably take us an hour to get there on foot. We discussed it, and I brought everyone into the astral plane right then and there so there would be no slip-ups. They could have patrols out for all I knew, and running into one out here would not be the best thing to happen.

"We'll see how the camp is laid out," I told them. "What their routine is. How many there are. That sort of thing. Then we'll make a plan."

"Exactly as I would have said," Hanz agreed. "Let us proceed."

We didn't see any patrols but the clearing the village was in couldn't be missed, even in the astral plane. I climbed down from my horse, which vanished, and we checked the place out. There were several "buildings" if you could call them that, one of which had a bunch of stuff in it including crates and various odds and ends. They were all labeled, it looked like stolen goods the merchant's guild would be glad to have back. Another had useful stuff like hoes, shovels, and the like. A third seemed to be their food storage locker and was ignored after I realized some of the meat was, well, human arms and legs and torsos and such.

"So they're not only stealing from people entering the area they're killing them and eating them too?" Malachite asked.

"Looks that way."

"Let's kill them."

"Not without a plan."

We counted, and there seemed to be twenty adults there, a handful of kids young enough to run around, and a handful of young too young to even do that. The adults were all armed, the kids running around and playing.

"Maybe bring two of them at a time into the astral?" I asked. "Wait until they go to sleep, be invisible and go back there. Then just touch two of them at a time and bring them here. Then, you know, murder them."

"Grisly work," Hanz told me. "But it would, if done properly, prevent an alarm being raised."

"But what about tha kids?" Snarly asked.

"They'll just grow up to be as bad as their parents," Malachite told him. "They'll have to be taken out too. Or they'll just grow up and the cycle will repeat."

"Thath not very nice."

"But it is necessary."

"Are you 'ure about that?"

"Yes."

"I thee."

"Maybe we can come back here tomorrow, the goods seems safe enough. Bring a wagon into the astral, and load it up that way?" I suggested. "These huts aren't guarded. Two or three trips back and forth and we'd have it all. No reason to kill them at all."

"Apart from Jekserah paying us to make an example of the place. Just stealing their stuff isn't going to do it. They'll just keep doing what they're doing."

"But there's babies!"

"Baby khi'teen."

We went back and forth on the issue, tossing out suggestions but it came back to simply killing them all, kids or not. It was getting to be sunset, the forest was getting dark, so we would have to make a decision soon. I wasn't sure I could go through with it, but suddenly Hanz motioned us to be quiet. "Something is happening," they told us. "They're gathering."

We watched as the fire at the center of the village was stoked, meat was brought out from the "larder" and everyone gathered around the central fire for the evening meal.

"We won't get a better chance," Malachite excitedly told us. "Let's sneak behind that building, and you can detonate that fire and kill them all in one shot!"

"What?" Snarly and I both said.

"Think about it. Do you want to use a plan that has us murdering groups of them, again and again basically while they sleep? Or use one spell and have it be over? They're dead either way. This way is far less risk to us, almost guaranteed to take them out in one shot, and we can just haul the stuff away afterwords. Jekserah wanted an example? What's a better example than their fire exploding?"

I rubbed my head. Philosophical quandaries such as this one made me wish I had taken up drinking. On the one hand they were murderers and thieves. There was no denying that, they were cooking up human parts to eat them, for goodness sake. If they were not stopped they would continue their campaign of murder and theft. We were here, and I had the power. Oh yes, I had the power to kill them all with a single spell. But is that what that power was for? Besides weren't the kids innocent? The babies? Why did they have to die? But then on the other hand if they were truly innocent they would enter Heaven, far sooner than I ever would. If ever, after this. Can I weigh saving the lives of those killed by them in the future if I do something right now against the lives in front of me if I don't? Which is really the better path?

"Well?"

I stared at Malachite. And what of his soul? Snarly's? If I can save them from having to dispatch kids and babies tonight, and I don't, what does that make me? A monster of even greater proportions? I don't think there's any easy answer here. But are their souls just as imperiled for not stopping me doing this?"Very well. Let's get into position."

We dropped out of the astral out of sight of everyone, and I gathered mana. There was no way they could get away, even speaking the full incantation, which I did. The fire lit up with a magical circle as always, and they seemed confused for a second about what was happening. The next second the spell completed; fire created a dome eight meters across, Malachite jumping in front of us all and extending his wings to make sure we didn't get caught in it. As the blaze subsided we looked to be sure there weren't any survivors.

There were not.

"Let's get everything back to town," I told everyone sadly. "We can collect our bounty for this 'work' tomorrow."

"It had to be done," Malachite told me. "And did you see that fireball? Spectacular!"

"There's always a choice."

"Moving to more practical matters for the moment," Hanz broke in, "exactly how are we going to move the goods to the town? We have no cart at the moment."

I sighed. "There's a spell you haven't seen me use yet. Athame has it as well, the ability to get bigger. She would be the size of a real unicorn if she didn't have it, this grade of spell produces a medium sized companion. As it happens she can still get much, much bigger. I'll have her use it, and use it on Malachite and perhaps you as well. If we can find some rope we can lash the stuff onto her back and you two can carry the rest. It's not like she's going to be weighed down, she's made of magic. She can carry the stuff just fine."

"I can tie 'nots pretty good," Snarly told us. "I'll look for thome ropeth."

It took us some time to get everything loaded onto Athame and wouldn't you know it, as soon as the work was done, the men showed up. Dropping out of the sky were several draig, dressed in the town's colors so they were apparently guards. Oh, now they show up. Seems like you could have gotten here at any time, gentleman. Maybe done your jobs, protected the town from these murders and thieves? Naturally they started demanding to know what had happened here, apparently they had seen the fireball all the way in town? That's a long way, do they have watchers in the air at night or something? I'll have to keep an eye out when we get back. Not that it matters one way or the other…

Hanz went over and explained the situation to them, as I really wasn't in any mood to do so. They accepted this, the evidence was right there after all, and suggested they talk to the captain of the guard in the morning to report what we had done.

Oh, no, that's fine. We don't need any credit or anything, thank you very much. Or are we being invited to turn ourselves in for murder?

They flew off again, not offering to help carry anything because why would they do that?

We made it back to town and again Hanz offered to guard our load of goods, making me resolve to tell the others about my idea in the morning. But it was too late tonight. Malachite and Snarly both went to bed, but I had something I had to do first. I got directions from a passing guard and headed to the Church of the Eternal Repose, dedicated to the angel of death, Azrael. The place seemed fairly large from the outside, but looked run down and almost on hard times inside. Only a few candles were burning, and I was the only one there that late. Which is odd, isn't this really the time of the angel of death? I suppose no one is told their time and it can come day or night. But it seems appropriate. Perhaps I'll make an offering of most of the money I get from that "job" as it doesn't seem right to profit from such an action. I took a seat near the front and looked up at the depiction of the angel. Azrael, I prayed, I wish to pray for the souls of the innocent I took tonight, and for my own…

That night I dropped into bed, returning from the church feeling no better about what I had done. But strangely, the next day, I did. I vaguely recalled that the angel Azrael themselves had come to my dreams, and explained that as long as I did not revel in such destruction and death, that I remained humble and understood the weight of the lives I took, my own soul would be judged fairly. That while I should not simply seek out those that I felt had done wrong, if I saw injustice with my own eyes I was obligated to act. They also said I had indeed saved lives; his subordinates, the Psychopomp, would reap the souls of the living not as early as they expected because of me. Meanwhile the innocent of the village would indeed see paradise. It didn't excuse what I did, but having the angel of death themselves give you the "thumbs up" did make it a little easier to bear. I knew it hadn't been just a dream, I had spoken to the angel quite rationally, now that I thought about it. How extraordinary. Little old me actually got the attention of an actual angel! I went down to breakfast not with a spring in my step, but at least a lighter heart.

"Good morning," I said to everyone as they joined me around the table. "I hope that those of us that sleep had a good night? Hanz, any problems?"

"No one came near the goods. I also took the liberty of sending a messenger at first light to Jekserah so hopefully she will be along soon to take possession of them."

"Good. There's actually something I wanted to discuss with you all, a plan to make our lives a little easier. This storing things in the stable and whatnot made me think of it. Staying at this inn is all well and good, but it is costing us. We've got some money now, and it seems we're a team. We have a mission, to find the source of this Gloom we've been hearing about and take out bandits and cultists in the surrounding area. That seems to be our source of income as well, so as long as jobs keep coming our way we'll continue to make money. So I think we'll be together for at least a few months. Why not rent a house in town, doesn't have to be fancy but a place to put things we recover so Hanz doesn't have to just stand around all night. Our own place, so we have a real address for mail or messages. What do you think?"

"You woulth really want me to 'tay with youth?"

"Of course, Snarly." As long as you get a room somewhat far from mine, or start bathing regularly. I mean let's be reasonable here!

"Wow, thaths great. I'm in!"

"Live with me if you want to come," Hanz said in a deep voice. We looked over at them questioningly. "On adventures," they clarified. We all agreed this was logical. "It is logical, and if our finances do support such a purchase I would not be against it," they decided.

"Live in a place with a bedroom we can use to- I mean sure, whatever," Malachite added.

"Very well. We can look into available properties when we get a chance. We still have plenty to do in the local area in the meantime but if you see something walking around town let me know."Not that I have any idea how to buy property, but someone must be able to help with that around here. There would be a sign of who to contact, right? How would it be sold otherwise?"Now, let's get the mage's stuff delivered to them so Jekserah doesn't take it by accident."

"I'll go with you," Malachite told me.

"Sure." I can ditch you later… Hehehe.

I floated the crate behind us, in my guise as a nymph today, and entered the store. The apprentice once again ran to get Solara, who exclaimed over the return of her goods.

"I must admit I had given them up for lost and placed another order," she told us. "But no matter, please extend my thanks to that dwarf when you see them next. If they stop in I'll see they're rewarded."

I held up a hand. "We didn't do this for any reward-" I started to say, but Malachite talked over me.

"Oh, you can give us the reward, I'll make sure to distribute it to our company," he told her. "We all risked out lives equally to see those thieves paid for what they did!"

Did we? Were you in any particular danger when I was magically blowing up their fire?

"Very well," agreed, looking between the two of us. I was fuming a bit but stayed quiet. She got out a pouch and counted out some silver. Then paused, her fingers clutching a few more coins. "Incidentally, I see more items here than I ordered. I must assume you'll be making a stop at the… charming little shop across the street to return his goods as well?"

"It's the right thing to do," I insisted.

"The thing is, I'm sure he's already placed another order as well. And it would save you a bit of work not having to go over there and deal with that man. Oh, no, I doubt he would be grateful at all, the old phony. No, no, tell you what. I'll double what I've given you if you just leave his goods with me."

"Really, we can't-"

"Just double?" Malachite asked shrewdly. "You are trying to bribe us into doing something my partner here clearly doesn't approve of. Typically buying someone's silence is worth a little bit extra don't you think?"

"I suppose that's true," she said icily. "I will add two more silver on top of that. For your silence."

"We really can't accept-"

"Done!" said Malachite, holding his hand out.

"And next time, bring the dwarf," she said as she counted the coins out. "I'm sure he would understand much better than a nymph about how the world works."

"What? But!" I clenched my teeth together. We're the same person, you dope. I would have hoped a wizard would see past the mundane but it appears not.

"You're probably right. Come along." He nodded to Solara and headed out of the shop.

"Enjoy your extra goods," I managed, and ran after him.

Oh, he's going to get it!