Chapter 2
We start our first job together
After getting Malachite up, a feat in and of itself some days, getting my new disguise in place, and getting something (for him) to eat we met up with the others at the east gate. Malachite was carrying the supplies he would need for the day, while I had a small pack with my book of magic and a few odds and ends. I didn't need the book to cast spells of course, but I hated to leave it lying around as it had taken a considerable time to put it together and I didn't really want to redo all that work. I was fairly sure the lock on the door would keep anyone out, but should we unexpectedly need to spend several days on the road tracking the thieves the innkeeper might need the rooms and simply toss our stuff out. So best to keep my valuables close to me.
"Good morningth," Snarly greeted us, waving as we came into view. "Letths get 'tarted shall we?"
"Bandits don't have to get up early," Malachite complained with a yawn. "Don't see why I have to."
"Wait, didn't you 'ook different yestday?"
It was true, I didn't look like a bunny girl today, but like an elf. "Wear the same face twice?" I scoffed. "Never."
"Huh?"
"I'll explain in a second. We have a long way to go so I suppose we should get started."
"The estimated time to our destination being represented in hours does mean they will be up and about when we arrive," Hanz agreed. "Another hour would not have made that much difference."
"See you in an hour," Malachite decided, turning back and starting to walk back to the inn. I grabbed his arm and he allowed himself to be spun around.
"Come on, Malachite, it's a great day for a walk. Just look at that sun, and those big puffy clouds up there."
"As if you'll walk."
"Walk, ride, whatever. I'll be right there besides you."
"Come on, 'lowpokes, letths get 'oing!" Snarly seemed eager to be off on his first "adventure" meaning he would probably be complaining and regretting it before the first hour had even passed. The others turned to walk past the gate but I stopped just at the edge of town. Will they notice and turn back, I wonder? They did, Hanz cocking his head to the side in confusion.
"Is there something else?" they inquired politely.
"Yes," I told them. "The fact of the matter is I've picked up a bit of a curse along the way. Or at least it acts like that. I spent too long in one place, studying magic, and it changed me physically. So I don't exactly look like everyone else around here despite the fact I'm mostly human. I hide that fact with magic around town to avoid getting stared at, or questioned as to what exactly I am. But outside of town I don't usually bother. The spell I've cast at the moment wouldn't let me anyway, it will be done disguising me once I step out of town, as I only asked for it to be around that long. I could cast the spell again, but like I say I don't typically bother. So, once I step past this gate my spell will break and you'll see me for who I truly am. Got that? I just wanted to warn you, it's still me."
"So leths see it!" Snarly agreed.
I sighed, braced myself, and stepped past the gate. My spell faded, leaving me in all my spiky glory.
"Interesting," Hanz mused, looking me over. "Those protrusions almost seem crystalline."
"They're something," I told them. "They break easily though, shattering almost like glass. Sort of terrified of high places because of it, actually."
"May I run a scan?" They raised a hand as Snarly walked around me.
How would running help? And what's a 'scan?' "Uh, sure?" I agreed. They nodded and set a hand on my arm. Not exactly what I pictured.
"Very interesting readings. I'm not sure what to make of them. Do they bother you at all?"
"They slow me down, I'm heavier than I would be. They seem to weaken me too, and like I said they're fairly fragile. If they do get damaged it takes awhile for them to 'grow' back, they seem to heal up the same way I would but quite slowly. But as long as I don't stay in one place for too long they seem to be under control, not getting any worse. I still have no idea how to get rid of them though."
"I think they're 'ery pretty!" Snarly decided. "You're shiny!"
"That I am," I agreed. "So, this is me. This is what I look like. Now you understand why I hide it though?"
"Indeed. Were we not friends I would be eager to dissect you, see if you had extra organs that produced this mineral like secretion from your skin. We are friends, are we not?"
"Of course we're friends!" I hasted to assure them. And it's magical, not physical. Right? None of my sisters have this affliction. Still, that might explain why I've never found a magical solution to the problem.
"Pity. Well, perhaps in the course of this investigation you will die, or lose a limb, allowing me to do a more detailed analysis of the phenomenon."
"Uh, sure, in that case you're welcome to it."
"Splendid, I look forward to it. Shall we go? If you are slowed by the condition I must revise my initial estimate of our travel time and perhaps more supplies are in order? Should we procure some kind of tent? I understand organics prefer shelter at night..."
"As to that..." I smiled and raised my hands. Feeling out magical energies in the area there were plenty to gather up, so I grabbed hold of them (to avoid failing at this spell and looking the fool, I didn't really need any extra mana for this normally) and began casting. At the end I touched the necklace I wore and channeled the magical energies into it. Then I made a throwing motion and a horse (with horn of course) seemingly made of crystal suddenly sprang into existence, pawing at the ground as if to say "I'm ready to go." The necklace was a maintaining focus, so I didn't have to think about keeping her around, and I could cast other magic without being dragged down while this spell was going. It had cost me a fair amount, but it was worth it given how often Malachite and I were on the road.
"Ooooooo!" Snarly exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "Magic sparkly pocket horse! I knew I 'iked you. What's 'is name?"
"Athame," I told him, jumping onto her back. "Shall we go?"
"Magic is truly a wonder," Hanz decided. "It seems my initial estimate remains unchanged. Let us be off."
We headed down the east road, away from the town, and every so often I asked my magic if we were in sight of the place where the attack had happened. I always got a no back and we walked for more than an hour. Malachite did some scouting from the air, dropping down to tell us something was in the road ahead of us. We hadn't met anyone on the road otherwise, just seeing the usual amount of trees, small animals and birds, and of course the (hopefully dormant) volcano in the distance. We didn't have long to go before we saw what he had seen, a horse and wagon stopped in the middle of the path. They brightened at our approach and I cast a quick spell to determine if anyone meant me harm in the nearby area. It seemed no one did, so I relaxed a little. After all this could easily be the prelude to an ambush from the treeline, but no, it seemed they were legit or out if range of my spell.
"Hi there!" Snarly called to them as we got closer. "Do you need any 'elp?"
Now that we were closer I could see it was a wagon loaded with trade goods, and two dark elves jumped down from the seat. Both males, in simple traveling clothes with cloaks, nothing fancy about them. They had their hands on their weapons and were looking around nervously. Sure, they have the opposite problem as us. There's four of us, two of them, and if we wished to rob them… I mean we've got a draig, me on this clearly magical mount, and a remnant. They're right to be cautious.
"We don't mean you any 'arm, travelers," Snarly went on. "We just want to 'elp if we can!"
"We do?" Malachite asked.
"Shush, you," I teased.
"There is always the possibility of a reward," Hanz stated.
"We should help," he decided. "It's just the decent thing to do. What seems to be the problem? Broken wheel?"
The two relaxed, taking their hands off their swords. "Someone," said the elf on the right, "didn't pack our water barrel. Now our horse is exhausted and refuses to move."
"Yes, quite," said the other elf. "Someone, who usually has checklists coming out the..." He glanced at Snarly who was looking up at him. "...wazoo, neglected in this case to check everything off the list. Hence we are mere leagues from our destination at last and unable to proceed further or return home. But I too will name no names as to whose fault all this is."
"Even though the guilty party is quite obvious," said the other. The two glared at each other.
Married couple?
"What's a wazoo?" Snarly asked.
"It's like a kazoo," Hanz told him. "Only tighter."
"Oh okay!" He shot me a curious look but I just shrugged. "Do you 'ave any water making magic?"
"Sorry, I don't," I admitted. "Even before I left home I didn't eat or drink so I never bothered to learn spells like that. Then after I didn't have the money, so Malachite has had to fend for himself a lot."
"So there's nothing we can do to 'elp?"
"Hummm," I considered. I was fairly certain I was a powerful enough magic user to simply float both the horse and the cart the rest of the way into town but that would take awhile. Not to mention that would no doubt spook the horse, floating around like a bird was not something horses were used to doing. He or she could hurt themselves in their panic. That wasn't ideal. And I would have to charge for the spell, just because I'm out in the wilderness doesn't mean the guild wouldn't learn of it. Can these two afford it? I could offer my magical horse companion in their place, perhaps without the burden of the cart the real horse would follow along? But if they didn't, we were back to the same problem. These two wouldn't want to lose their horse, they were expensive! "Nothing immediately comes to mind I'm afraid."
"If it's just water the poor beast needs I could fly and get some," Malachite offered. "The river isn't that far away from the air. And I'm pretty fast," he bragged.
"You wouldn't mind?" asked the first elf.
"If you have some wineskins or something I can carry some water in, I'm happy to do it."
"Let's see what we have!" The two started tearing the contents of their cart apart.
"Meanwhile, you all go on ahead. I'll catch up, just don't leave the road. No sense you all waiting for me when I can move a lot faster than you."
"That is the logical course of action," decided Hanz. "We will not leave the road until you catch up to us." They made a funny V with their hand. "Elves, I wish you peace and long life." He stepped around the wagon and started off.
"Byeeeeee," Snarly said with a wave. "Good luck with your 'orse!" He scampered after Hanz.
"Hey, you trust these two?" Malachite asked me quietly. "I hate to leave you with basically strangers."
"They don't mean me harm, the spell I did earlier would have shown that. Go on, and thanks for doing this."
"Well, it's what you would do isn't it?" He looked away shyly and took to the sky.
I suppose it is at that. I mentally willed my magical construct forward while the two elves shouted after Malachite about forgetting to take the skins. I shook my head as he either heard them or realized it himself and circled back.
"So 'ow did you two meet?" Snarly asked me as I trotted up to the others.
"Yes, it seems an unlikely paring," Hanz agreed.
"It wasn't long after I… left home," I started. Was thrown out for just wanting to study magic and not 'performing my duties properly.'"I realized that while my magic could keep me safe in most situations, having a large, brutish looking bodyguard such as Malachite there could be useful. He caught my eye at the inn I was staying at after a game of Gressh'dronnar because I heard his name was Malachite. In my… family," clan, "girls are given 'soft' names like flowers, while men are given 'hard' names like rocks or minerals. Well, he was celebrating a little too hard and got into a fight with a rival player. Everybody was thrown in the local jail to sleep it off, but apparently this wasn't Malachite's first run in with the city guard. They were talking about bringing him up on charges. So, knowing that having a bodyguard around that knew how to fight might mean I didn't have to use magic to defend myself I went to go see him that night. The town wasn't big enough to warrant any protections against my spells so it was embarrassingly easy to get into his cell. I offered him a way out- come travel with me and see if the two of us could stay out of trouble rather than him getting into it all the time. As I figured he often did, judging by his behavior that night. Or rot in jail and I would find someone else to be my bodyguard. Despite being a young and inexperienced lad he realized what a great offer that was, and he's been with me ever since. That was maybe two or three years ago at this point?" I sighed dramatically. "I despair of ever curing him of some of his bad habits but I've at least made some strides. He's proven a loyal companion many times in our travels after that. I trust him with my life."
"It never 'erts to 'elp!" Snarly told me, the phrase sounding like something they said all the time.
"I believe I could find numerous counter examples of that phrase," Hanz decided. "Would you like me to begin listing them? Example one; jumping into a body of water to try and save a drowning person only to wind up drowning yourself."
"La la la la la la la la la la," Snarly sang loudly, covering his ears. "I can't hear you."
"Example two; You run into a burning building-"
"La la la la la," he sang louder.
"Curious."
We didn't have long to wait at what my magic told me was the site of the attack as Malachite joined us again from the air not long after we arrived. He and I both stayed out of the way as the other two looked and sniffed around, with the pair finally announcing they believed those responsible had come from, and left to the north. I pretended to be shocked, simply shocked at this revelation and they led the way away from the road. We eventually found ourselves heading north of where the town would be, doubling back the way we came and even crossing the river at a narrow point. So we wound up almost directly north of the town when the pair announced they had found an overgrown entrance into some kind of cave or crypt that went deep into the earth.
"This is where they went, all 'ight," Snarly told us.
My magic gave me a yes answer when I asked it, just to be sure, so I nodded. This was indeed the place, these were indeed bandits that had been terrorizing the countryside, and it hadn't even taken half a day to find it. Not bad. Does make me wonder, if a rag tag bunch of people like us can track them down why exactly the city guard can't. I mean that is their job, right? Are they being paid to look the other way? We really have no authority here, and those below could rightly claim we attacked them and they were simply defending themselves. But they have to be stopped. I guess they made their choice, now it's up to the Allfather to judge their souls.
"Curious there is no guard posted," Hanz remarked, looking around. "Perhaps they did not wish to call attention to this spot and the guard waits below?"
"It would have to be underground," Malachite complained, pulling his wings closer.
"Shall I scout the area?" Hanz offered. "I can effectively become invisible if you wish to know the layout of the place before we descend."
"Thanks for the offer," I told them. "But we're not peasants that have to physically go down the hole to see what's down there." I climbed off Athame and touched the pendant, willing the magic to disperse again, and the horse vanished in a swirl of magic. I want to see the bottom of these stairs, I thought to myself, casting a divination spell to do just that. It took about a minute of concentration but as the spell went off I closed my eyes, and "opened" them again to be looking at the area as though I had gone down there. Sight beyond sight, I do love doing magic. Six individuals lounged there, basically just leaning against the walls or sitting there looking bored. Oil lamps were scattered about, so there was plenty of light, but no tables or chairs were in evidence. Right, how would they get them way out here? Two of them were playing a dice game of some kind in the corner, one was watching, the others were just there. A door at the back of the room was closed. I relayed all this and ended the spell. While I had been doing that Malachite had gathered up my pack and his own, and set them high in a tree so we could get them back when we came out of here. Didn't need it distracting us while we were down there.
"The odds are against us," Hanz remarked. "Of course, perhaps your magic can compensate for our lack of numbers?"
In a few ways. Could probably go astral, this stairway down probably exists there if it's been here long enough. So we could attack from there, the doorway is pretty close to where they are though, could we all fit and not get in each other's way during the attack? I do have something just as good we'll just do it this way."If you can go invisible without help, I can put a spell on the three of us to do the same," I told them. Though getting three beings or four isn't that much of a difference. But I'm curious how effective theirs is."We can sneak down there, get into position, and attack from surprise. That should cut their numbers in half at one stroke."
"Are you going to be okay with that, kid?" Malachite asked Snarly.
"We 'ave to get Lady Jekserah's property back don't we?" he asked. "They're bad men, they deserve what they get." He drew a pair of knives. "Let me at 'em."
"Are they?" I asked. "We should give them the chance to surrender, at the very least."
"Just ask your magic if they'll surrender if we offer it," Malachite suggested.
"Good idea!" I spent a moment casting the spell, but got a "no" answer to "Will the bandits down those stairs surrender to us if we offer it to them?"
"See, that's settled. Don't chicken out on us after we get down there, Snarls."
"I won't! You'll thee."
"If we are all invisible what is our sign to act?" Hanz asked. "Perhaps a silent count?"
"I would say once we cross into the room you've got a slow count of ten to get into position, it's not that big, and then just attack. Anyone that does will become visible so every eye will go there-"
"How about I just attack first?" Malachite suggested. "A draig appearing out of nowhere and ripping someone's throat out will put the fear of the Allfather into them. When they're distracted by that everyone else can strike."
"An excellent suggestion," Hanz decided. "Sadly I will have to refrain from using my primary weapon in such a confined space. It is quite bright, and blinding one of our party would be a severe handicap. Nonetheless know I will do my part. For further clarification, I will take whoever is in the rightmost position in the room. Snarly, you take the leftmost bandit. This leaves Malachite and Orchid the center of the room for the big entrance."
Magic is flashy, it will draw the eye and cause more confusion. Once everyone is visible I can go last, the spell will break on me naturally and I won't be dragged down by it casting another."Very well," I said with a nod. "Single file, Hanz you're in the lead. Put your hand on the person in front of you so we don't get separated and we'll head down there." We got into position and I cast my invisibility spell. After we vanished I felt Malachite's hand on my back, and he grumbled "don't pull my tail" making me stifle a grin. Hanz vanished as well, and we started down the stairs into the darkness. May the Allfather have mercy on their souls.