Draith
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Chapter 81 - Strange Woman
🕑 Added 2025-04-20 14:00:21 +0000 UTCOur ascent would've been hard to miss. Not only were the crystal tubes lighting up the night sky, the thrust provided by the Forgehearts was like constant thunder.
Whoever had closed the Waygates would have to be sleeping to miss us coming.
Which is why I wasn't surprised to see a small collection of robed figures atop the peak.
Still, they didn't seem to be prepared for our method of arrival. I felt waves of something pass over me, a distinctly uncomfortable feeling that set my teeth on edge. It caused my air shield enchantment to flicker for a second, and then it passed.
Some sort of spell disruption effect.
After several of these pulses failed to knock us out of the sky, an argument seemed to develop.
They didn't get a chance to finish, because I dropped Neta atop them as Calbern dropped from his glider. I watched it soar into the distance even as I slowed my glider and circled the peak. It would be a hassle to recover his glider, but I hoped it wouldn’t take too much damage when it crashed.
Between Calbern and the rope-cat guardian, not a single one of the waiting figures was still standing by the time I landed, each of my steps uneven as I struggled to adjust the thrust. Was glad that the shields atop the mountain kept out the wind at least.
Calbern was already flipping the figures over, taking their weapons and securing the hands of the ones he'd knocked unconscious.
Neta hadn't been so gentle.
"Do you recognize them?" I asked as I unstrapped the glider, avoiding looking in the rope-cat's direction as she 'worked'.
"Some, master Perth. Though none I’ve spent time with. The rest must have been recent arrivals," Calbern said, pulling out a familiar Spellkey. "It appears they were prepared."
I took the Spellkey, pushing enough mana into it to copy the trigger. That was the bare minimum. We could retreat, go get Inertia and bring everyone inside the mountain. But that would take time. And we'd be charging blindly through a Waygate. Most people were left disoriented by the experience.
And if they were going to defend anything with force, it’d be the central Waygate chamber.
So, instead, I cast Hush.
Calbern and I descended the stairs in silence. When we reached the entrance where Keeper resided, there was yelling.
I recognized Kallum's voice. "-don't care. You said it's supposed to trade knowledge. Why is it ignoring me?"
A rough cough came, then another voice spoke, rough and uneven. "Jump into a chasm, roperot."
"Ah. The elixir's effects have worn off, have they?" Kallum asked, his tone suddenly more level. Calbern nodded as he stopped at the opening, holding up three fingers.
So there was someone in there other than Kallum and whoever he'd been feeding the elixir to. And no sign of Bevel.
I stopped right behind him, my fingers clenching. Then I held my arm out, nodding to him.
Calbern understood, lining me up. The last time we'd done this, I'd… overreacted. Been unbalanced by it. This time, when I unleashed a Lightning Bolt into an enclosed space, I fully expected to kill whoever I struck.
Which was why I was shocked when someone survived. In addition to Tanis, who was sitting to the side, blinking his eyes, there was a man in a once white robe pushing to his feet. Kallum, if I wasn't mistaken.
I didn't wait for him to stand, hitting him with another blast of Lightning. This time it tore straight through him. Maybe I should've kept him alive, questioned him.
But that wasn't something I could afford. He was Pegasus souled. I’d seen his grimoire. What he considered reasonable to share was already terrifying. Without taking him by surprise, we never would’ve stood a chance. Even keeping his goons above alive had been a risk.
With Kallum dealt with, I kneeled down next to Tanis. His arms were bound with thick enchanted metal. I hoped I hadn't destroyed the key. It would take me a long time to decipher the Spellkey for such a complex lock.
"Hey, boss," Tanis coughed out, his voice nearly unrecognizable after whatever Kallum had done to him. "Knew you'd show up. Afraid I told him some stuff."
"We really need to stop meeting like this," I replied, patting his shoulder as I channeled a Minor Heal into him.
"You're telling me, boss," Tanis said, pushing to his feet despite the still enchanted restraints. "Bad for the teeth."
I didn't have a response for that, so I turned to the body I didn't recognize. They didn't have any easy identification on them, though they did have a storage ring. After retrieving another from Kallum's dead body, I looked at each of them. Only tier one’s but it signified a lot of wealth backing the takeover. Well, attempted takeover.
"Vox, this is less than ideal," a voice said from the doorway, getting me to turn. A woman stood there, dressed all in black. She had a wide brimmed hat, leather gloves and a suit-like ensemble. She walked forward with the sort of grace I’d only seen in Calbern, ignoring my raised hand and Calbern's wary glance as she walked over to Kallum. She kicked him over, prodding his body with the toe of her black leather boots. "That is one dead Shaper."
"Careful, master Perth," Calbern said as he stepped between us. "She is a Vox Knight."
"Oh, you know what I am? Guess you're not the rubes we were told you were. That'd explain this," she said, stepping away from the body after giving it a soft kick.
I didn't feel the need to clarify I'd never heard of the Vox Knights. The name had me questioning what exactly they did, and if they were somehow related to the Knights Exemplar, but the emphasis Calbern put on it implied I might be able to get more out of him later.
"Well, it seems my contract is over. If you know what I am, you know that means I'm no threat to you," she said, her gaze shifting towards Keeper, whose own eyes remained empty.
Calbern offered a hesitant nod, though he didn't allow her to move any closer.
"And what was your contract, exactly?" I asked, wondering if the cuffs binding Tanis might work on her. When she’d kicked Kallum’s body, she’d knocked a key free, one that looked like it might match his cuffs.
She smiled, her hand moving to the handle of a weapon I didn't recognize. Some sort of jointed staff with a blade on one end. "It was to prevent anyone from getting past the portal room until this one could finish his work. I'd say he's pretty finished. If you don't mind, I'll be taking the body."
Before I could respond, she kicked him again, making him disappear. Instead of the normal effect when things were placed in storage items, there was a distortion in the air, a sort of warping at the edges of Kallum's body, and then he was gone.
"We can't just let you leave," I said, despite doubting I could keep her there.
"Boy, you couldn't stop me if you wanted to," she said with a cold smile. Calbern tensing slightly was all the warning I got before she disappeared.
"Wow, boss. You sure are good with the ladies," Tanis said, nudging my shoulder with his own.
"I… Thank you, Tanis," I said with a sigh as I went over to the key and grabbed it from the floor. "Do you know what they wanted from Keeper?"
"Oh sure, boss. They were asking Keeper all sorts of questions," Tanis said, nodding seriously as I waved for him to turn around so I could remove his bindings. "Not sure what they'd do with a bundle of ice, but it sure sounded important."
I blinked at the large man as he stepped away, flexing his arms, giving each of his biceps a kiss. I rubbed at the bridge of my nose before turning to Calbern. "Let's see if we can't find Bevel."
He nodded, and we continued our search of the tower. Thankfully, it seemed they hadn't had time to break into the workshop or the labs. The ladder in the shaft bypassing the workshop had been cut loose, and I ended up carving new steps using the staff, which proved rather awkward in the tight space.
I found Dethi in the central chamber, the young sentry's eyes staring off into nothing. It looked like he'd been dead before we even made it back from the attack on Sarpit. I kneeled down next to him, closing his eyes, trying not to think too much about how I’d failed him. There’d be time for that later.
Was thankful Bevel was nowhere to be seen.
I was hoping she'd been out in Mistvale or the refugee valley exploring.
Using the Spellkey we'd taken from the guards, we checked Mistvale first. There were a couple of confused sentries, but no sign anyone had come through the Waygate. Nor had they seen Bevel.
When we emerged into the refugee camp, everything was in chaos.
Egerta was kneeling just past the Waygate, clutching at her stomach while barely holding her golden sword. Several buildings were on fire, many having collapsed. The hanging road was half-torn away. Something had shattered the pier.
I went to Egerta, but she waved me off. "Is just a flesh wound. Be better by morning."
The amount of blood seemed to beg otherwise, but there were other injured. And I also needed to do something about the fires. At least those were simple enough to deal with. With the amount of snow on the ground, a few applications of Gust from the top of the ridge doused the worst of it.
Several of the refugees had already been throwing buckets of snow on the flames, and my effort allowed them to turn the tide.
With that done, I moved to help any injured I could find. In my recent studies, I'd come across the concept of triage. To prioritize people who I could help but would die if not seen immediately. The concept alone wasn’t enough to make those sorts of calls. All I could do was help where I could.
Cries of suffering came from all over. A little girl who'd lost her leg. All I could do for her was stem the bleeding, despite her mother's desperate pleas. A man who tried to punch me when I told him I couldn't help his already dead wife. Another man who simply stared out into the darkness when I was unable to pop his shoulder back in.
I continued moving between them, reminded time and again how badly I'd failed.
To make it worse, Xoth joined my efforts. And where I’d failed, he walked with purpose, his magic offering succor. The man’s dead wife stirred. The girl’s arm was set in a thick vinelike wrapping. He hadn’t even used a spell to fix the man’s shoulder, simply grabbed him and shoved.
Shaking off my self recrimination, I shifted my focus, attempting to figure out what had happened. No one knew. One second everything had been fine, the next there'd been shouts and explosions throwing people everywhere.
At least, none of the refugees I talked to knew what happened. Eventually Calbern returned with answers. Of a sort.
"Shaper Kallum's ship is gone, as are the lengths of wood he'd received for his home, master Perth," Calbern said. "And several of the refugees who were down by the docks reported seeing elves in grey robes running aboard shortly before we arrived."
"Guess he was planning on leaving," I said as I looked around. I spotted Xelinda in her armor, kneeled in the mud as she helped a man to his feet. Tarnibus's shiny scales caught my eye as they limped up the hill towards Egerta. Who I'd simply walked past.
"Check with Egerta. Find out if anyone knows anything. I still need to…" I trailed off, looking over the broken valley. "Did you see Bevel?"
"I did not," Calbern replied, his face stiff.
"What do you think the odds are she's on that ship?" I asked, turning back towards the broken pier.
"I fear you may-"
"Oi! Your rugrat's keeping watch over mine," Egerta said as she came limping up to us, using her golden sword as a walking cane. "Spotted the trouble with your fancy door and came to get me. Smart kid. Too bad about that Vox bottomfeeder getting away though."
"Is that who did… this," I asked, waving at her limping form.
"Nah. Fight just got the blood pumping a bit much. Little one decided now's a good time to take a peek at the world is all. Wanted to see what all the excitement was about, be my guess."
I blanched as the meaning of her words registered. "Should you be… uh, out here in your… condition?"
"Giving birth ain't no condition, boy," Egerta said, stepping forward and slapping me on the shoulder, leaving a bloody streak. "It's a depths damned miracle is what it is." She winced. "Though one that always has its little oopsies no matter how tough I get. ‘Scuse me."
Without another word Egerta speed hobbled past us towards her lean-to at the head of the valley.
"What a strange woman," Calbern said.
I could only nod as I watched her limp away at a deceptively fast rate.
And then I remembered Bevel was in said lean-to.
"Uh. Don't suppose you can collect Bevel before she gets in the way of… that?" I asked, clearing my throat. "Also… do the Tethered have any… uh, people who're experienced with childbirth who might help?"
Before Calbern could respond a piercing wail split the air, a set of mighty lungs taking their very first gulp of air and deciding that life out here wasn't to their liking.
"Nevermind," I said.
After a few seconds of shifting about, Egerta's hobbled pace evened out and she continued up the hill.
"What a strange woman," Calbern repeated.
Comments
Stephen Pearson
Thanks for the chapter! :-)
