Author's Preface
Merkra: They both died to close the portal?
Aisling: Aye. One in the hells, one on our realm.
Solana: That’s…just horrible.
Aisling: They were doing the right thing. Not letting Madra do it was the right call. He’d go on to lead the Forest Walkers as Archdruid for more than six hundred years.
Merkra: Six hundred? Six-zero-zero?
Aisling: That’s right. That staff he left with? That’s called the Firglas. Vilrut stole it along with numerous other artifacts from us during his holy war that brought him into power originally. It’s one of the few artifacts in the world that isn’t made from dragonheart crystals. It’s also the only one I know of that will make you live forever.
Merkra: I had no idea that was possible.
Aisling: Oh, yeah. Artifacts can do some truly wild shit.
Solana: So anybody that holds Firglas lives forever?
Aisling: Your pronunciation is beautiful. A lot of people really struggle with the “glas” part. Short answer is no. Firglas chooses who wields it. If someone it deems unworthy holds on for too long…It sort of sucks the life out of them.
Merkra: Fucking hardcore.
“Oof,” Atania huffed as she was flopped onto the bed on the second floor of Jinty McGinty’s tavern. Whatever this halfing had planned he’d better start talking before she lit the whole damn place up. “Fletcher, you’d better tell me what is going on.”
“I will, I will. I promise.” He held his hands up as Selene backed off to let him approach the bed. “You’re gonna be more upset first though.”
She bit down on her lip, closed her eyes, and took a long, centering breath before looking back up at him. “Why?”
“Because I have to go back.” Fletcher grinned, his head shrinking into his shoulders. “I promise when I get back I’ll explain everything, and in the meantime Selene is going to stay with you until we can get a healer to look at…” He waved a hand over her legs. “That situation.”
“You’re going back to the castle? Are you suicidal?” Atania snapped at him. She’d never attributed intelligence to Fletcher Lightfoot, but this was a new low.
“It’s…” He glanced over his shoulder at Selene who just shrugged. “It’s a long story. Plus, I need to check on someone and make sure they are alright. Not to mention if neither of us are there might look like something else is going on, ya know?”
“And what? You’re gonna swim across? You learn how to turn into a fish like your friends?” Atania rolled her eyes, ignoring his lewd comment.
“Madra is going to fly me over…actually.” Fletcher gave her a tight-lipped smile and rubbed the back of his neck.
“Of course he is…” Atania relaxed against the mattress and closed her eyes. Everything had happened so fast. She knew as soon as she was alone in this room it was all going to hit her. The longer she could hold that off, the better. “I need you to do something for me…if you’re going back.”
Fletcher nodded. “Anything. Well…anything I can. I’m genuinely not trying to die.”
Atania’s torso shook, a silent, sardonic laugh brewing in her gut. “I need you to make sure that Yasha is okay. She’s a little girl with…”
“Horns.” Fletcher nodded. “I’m familiar.”
“You know her?” her face scrunched up as she turned her head to look at the little man again.
He took in a sharp breath, obviously annoyed himself with the handcuffs of whatever was keeping him from speaking. “I do. Again…long story. I promise I’ll tell you everything.”
“Assuming we survive the night.” She turned her head and stared at the ceiling again.
There was no way to tell how much time had actually passed. She wanted nothing more than to relax. Even get a little sleep, but her body refused to relax. Attempts on her life had been made twice in as many days, and her body knew better than her mind it wasn’t over. It occurred to her in the excruciatingly slow moments, that Fletcher was correct. He’d played it off as a sexual joke, but if he didn’t go back and Penelope found them both missing…connections would be made.
She shook off the warm feeling that brought into her stomach by thinking about that sweet little girl. She’d promised nothing was going to hurt her. Now her legs didn’t work, and if she showed back up on that island, she was signing her own death warrant, or worse, she’d end up in that sadistic halfling’s dungeon.
“Good work, Atania.” She muttered to herself, rubbing her face. “Broken promises to a girl being raised by a maniac. I’m sure there won’t be any consequenc…”
“Ms. Atania?”
“Fuck!” a deep voice and a knock interrupted her verbal self-flagellation just outside the door.
“So sorry, ma’am. Fletch asked us to bring you up some food. May I come in?”
Her heart raced and fingers traced Ember’s soft leather grip. “Sure…” She hesitated. She’d never known Gregor to change his voice, but it would fit right in with his skill set. The door opened and the thin, scruffy, human McGinty brother stepped inside with what she could only describe as the most Fletcher sandwich she’d ever seen.
“I can bring you up something else if you’d like. This is just what Mr. Lightfoot suggested.”
She eyed the sandwich piled high with various meats and vegetables. Some sort of orange sauce oozed out the side and made her salivate. “This is fine, thank you.” She gestured to the side table.
“Is there anything else you need? It’s all on Mr. Lightfoot’s tab. So, whatever you want.” The middle-aged man nervously rubbed his hands over his apron.
“Thank you, Mr. McGinty. Did Fletcher tell you when he’d be back.”
“No Ma’am.” He shook his head. “I know he had a gig at the castle. Said to expect a guest, that usually means Leonie Mulbrook, but he didn’t specify. Normally when he plays at the castle he’s back after midnight, assuming he comes back at all.”
Atania nodded and closed her eyes a moment before rolling her torso to the side to reach out for the plate he’d sat down. The much larger man took a jerky step back at the movement then immediately moved forward again to assist her. “I’ve got it. Thank you, Mr. McGinty. That’s all I need for now.”
“Yes, ma’am.’ He bowed his head to her. “One of us will be up to check on you in a bit, if that’s okay.” The McGinty brother closed and locked the door again behind him.
“That’s fine.” Atania nodded as she got the plate onto the bed and picked up the ridiculously large sandwich. She picked at it at first, but eventually gave in and took a large bite. It was delicious. The sauce was spicy and sweet, the meat was fresh, and the vegetables gave it just enough crunch for a perfect balance. “Fucking Fletcher.” She finished off the sandwich and set the plate back on the bedside table.
A few minutes later, something tickled at her senses. At first, she couldn’t pin it down, but soon she isolated the sound to the door. It was almost as if a tiny mouse was scratching at the bottom, trying to squeeze its way beneath. Then a barely perceptible glint caught her eye when it reflected light in her direction.
A mirror.
The user on the other side of the door was maneuvering it in order to get a look into the room. Her eyes snapped closed. A few moments later, she heard the soft clicking of manipulating tumblers, and then the door slowly opened. Her eyes remained shut, trying to use her other senses to get any hint from the intruder that would indicate their motive.
It was suspiciously silent.
There was only one being she knew of that could be quiet enough to escape her senses. She rolled suddenly and with as much force as she could muster with her upper body. As she was falling to the floor, she opened her eyes and Ember vanished from its sheathe into her hand. It lit up in bright white flame and she drove it into the leather boot near her face. She felt the metal of the dagger dig into wood and let go, however her torso landed on the other foot which promptly pulled out from under her and stomped down on her back as a long scaled fingers reached down to grab Ember’s handle and try to yank it out of the floor.
She yelped in pain as another stomp came down on her back, almost certainly breaking a rib or two. Her hands planted on the ground and she shot flame down into the wooden floor. She’d let off enough flame to propel herself into the air like she’d done before, but not enough to catch the wooden floor on fire. There was a surprised yelp from the intruder, and then a sickening tearing sound as the other foot was freed from her dagger by force.
Gregor fell to the floor on his back, Atania landing beside him face down. She rolled to the side, avoiding the ghostly white blade that coalesced in his hand. Gregor had gotten onto his knees and was frantically chasing after her as she rolled across the room. When he finally caught up, he threw his legs around her torso and took the blade in both hands to drive it down. Her hands caught his and struggled to push them back. Moment by moment, with the aid of her weakened body and gravity, the blade inched closer to her throat.
Her hands lit up. Hot white flames crawled up his leather covered forearms, drawing cries of pain from the saurien even as he continued to push the dagger down. She could smell his scales burning. Flesh sizzled beneath them, but he did not stop. He was going to kill her, no matter what the cost. Her eyes closed as she struggled to push him back.
With a horrifying snapping sound, it suddenly stopped. The pressure was no longer coming from his hands driving down on her, but his body as it collapsed, only being held up by her life or death grip on his arms. She opened her eyes to see that his skull had been caved in, and it hung awkwardly on his now broken neck. She shoved the body off of her, letting it drop to the floor at her side.
“You okay?” The upside-down, tattooed, shaved head of the Titanblood woman suddenly invaded her vision.
“Uhuh…” she breathed out, her hands clutching at a leather strap on her chest as she tried to catch her breath. “I don’t think this place is so safe.”
“Agreed.” Selene reached down and scooped her up as if she was nothing more than a child and placed her in the bed again. “Your safety is compromised, so I am overriding Fletcher’s decision to keep you here for him to explain things. You okay with that?”
“Yeah…” She looked down, swallowing hard at a lump in her throat. “Oooh fuck. Penelope is not going to be pleased we killed her lapdog.”
Hurried footsteps sounded off the stairs and within moments the gray-skinned McGinty brother was huffing in the doorway. His eyes flicked from her on the bed, to Selene resting her gore covered hammer against the wall, and finally to the corpse on the floor. He hung his head, shaking is slowly. “Gods dammit Selene. You couldn’t have taken him outside?”
“Don’t get your panties in a bunch.” Selene waved him off as she dug in a hip pouch no bigger than a fist for what seemed like far too long before producing a vial of clear, smoky liquid that should not have fit to begin with. “Get my bag for me? Unless you want me to leave the mess for you?”
Conrad Mcginty grumbled but closed the door and headed downstairs.
“You…do a lot of killing in taverns?” Atania smiled awkwardly.
“More than you’d think.” Selene shrugged and grimaced before gesturing to the body. “This is gonna get gross. Might wanna turn over or something.”
Atania watched the woman drag Gregor’s corpse to the center of the room, a streak of deep purple blood trailing after him. “I think I’ll be alright. I’ve seen some…” She was cut short as the woman grabbed his shoulder in one hand and both ankles in the other and then brought them together in a direction a body was certainly not supposed to fold. “Oookay…” Her stomach lurched at the horrifc sound of cracking spine, and she spun her shoulders the opposite direction.
At some point amongst the snapping of bones, the door cracked open again, and the sound of a shriek was huffed behind a hand. “Kaedra’s Grace, Selene what the hell?”
“Just shut up and give me the bag, McGinty.”
It crossed Atania’s mind that despite Conrad McGinty’s obvious displeasure about this happening in his establishment, he did not seem surprised by the act. Had she been sitting in a den of rebels night after night, bored out of her mind watching Nulls get pissed off cheap beer, and never even noticed? If the McGinty’s were in on it…who else? Surely she wasn’t that blind.
The sound of squelching meat and grunts tugged at some morbidly curious string in her mind. She turned her head just slightly. Enough to see the massive woman had folded Gregor in on himself numerous times and was now forcing a saurien cube into what must have been another enchanted bag. Once the body disappeared into the bag, Atania rolled back onto her back to watch as Selene uncorked the vial she took out earlier and emptied it onto the floor.
“That was…”
“Horrifying, I know.” She got down on her knees, pulling out a scrub brush from the same hip pouch to scrub at the leftover gore.
“Impressive.” Atania finished.
Selene stopped and looked up at her, confused at first, but eventually a little smile cross her lips and a deep berry color flushed her gray cheeks. “Thank you.”
“No, thank you…I uhh… appreciate the save. Not a lot of people left to watch my back.”
Selene didn’t look up from the scrubbing. “Fletcher is a good man, and a hell of a friend to have. Deviltouched or not, if you’re a friend of Fletcher, you’re a friend of mine.” She looked up at her with a grimace. “Besides, who attacks a cripple.”
“I’m not a…”Atania glanced down at her legs and sighed. “Fuck…”
Whatever solvent she’d poured on the floor was the peak of cleaning efficiency. It cleared the blood and gore as if it’d never been there in a single pass, and with a little elbow grease even took out the handprint scorch marks she’d left in the wood. Selene took a moment to clean off her hammer and hook it onto her bag before looking back to her.
“Probably get out of here before more assassins show up, huh?”
Atania shrugged, her eyes still locked on where the corpse had been less than ten minutes ago. “It will probably be a while, honestly. He was the best of them…as far as assassins go. They’ll eventually come looking, though.”
Selene shrugged and stepped over to her. “You wanna get those legs fixed?”
“That would be ideal…yes.”
“We should go talk to the boss then.” Selene looked her body up and down like it was a calculation she didn’t know how to solve. “You wanna hang on my back of ride on my back, or be carried like a baby?”
“Hold on, who is your boss?” Atania pushed herself up into a seated position and scooted toward the head of the bed. “And where are we going?”
Selene raised one eyebrow at her and shook her head. “I am not allowed to answer those questions.”
“Well…” If she was being honest with herself, the answers to the questions didn’t matter. The thought of being carried like a helpless child through Raven’s Crest for the second time was humiliating, and she wasn’t sure she was ready for it. “Maybe we should just wait for Fletcher?”
The big woman sat on the edge of the bed near her legs and looked across the room at the door. “Even if there are no more soldiers coming to kill you, the longer wait the more of a chance we’ll get spotted and followed. So…we can wait if you want.” Selene shrugged. “But our healer isn’t coming up here. You’re going to have to go to them. If there’s a chance we’re followed…It might be awhile.”
Aisling: I did not see that coming. Selene just bashed the man’s dome in?
Merkra: Yeah, I figured Atania would kill him if he didn’t get to her first.
Solana: It was…quite graphic.
Merkra: I’m sorry, baby. You alright? Need something to settle your stomach?
Solana: No, I will be alright. We are about to finish, anyway. Aisling, is has been an absolute pleasure having you on.
Aisling: The pleasure’s been all mine.
Merkra: Any parting words before we finish out the story for this week?
Aisling: Ooooh, can I do the sign off?!
Merkra: If you wanna hang out until we’re done.
Aisling: *squeel *
The walk from Jinty McGinty’s was a long one, especially hiding under a cloak clinging the the back of a woman with possibly the most impressive physique she’d ever seen. Once they’d left the city, Atania peppered her with more and more questions. No matter how she worded them, they were returned unanswered.
They’d walked along the beach for what felt like miles before Selene pulled off the cloak and laid it on the rocky ground before reaching back and lifting her up and over her head, setting her gently on the cloak. She took a moment to look around. It was the dead of night and the beach was completely empty, but after a thorough search, she opened the bag containing the crumpled saurien corpse. With one stretching step, she twisted her shoulder and hucked the ball of lizardman easily thirty feet into the strait’s current.
Without a word, she was lifted back up and slid her arms around the woman’s neck. They set off again at a steady pace for several more miles until they approached a divot in a hill outside the city where the old sewage drains had been sealed centuries ago.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me.” Atania muttered.
“Nope.” Selene answered before reaching out and knocking on the solid metal in a curious pattern. She didn’t see the door move, but there was a sound of sliding metal followed by another voice.
“Selene? Bringing in strays again, I s…” the wavering voice of the elderly gentleman cut off and a balding head suddenly shot through what looked like solid metal. “Is that a fucking Deviltouched?”
Selene didn’t speak, and Atania couldn’t see her face, but whatever expression she’d given the man was enough to make him slink back through the steel wall. Then she stepped through it like it wasn’t even there. The sensation didn’t last long, but for a few brief seconds she’d almost rather be cooked by dragon fire again. The air turned gelatinous. Her lungs struggled to pull in air. Everything had odd proportions. Then, just when being stuck in this nightmare crossed her mind, they were out.
“What…was that?” Atania huffed out, gasping for air.
Selene shrugged, turning her head as if to look through her at the barrier as they walked. “Magic.”
Magic? That was the explanation? Obviously it was fucking magic, but how? Did they have artifacts down here? Some rogue Aether vein the king wasn’t aware of? Or more Deviltouched? That thought alone gave her pause to remain silent the remainder of the walk. She’d already seen people like her that weren’t stuck in this cycle, but Saralynne Dawnflare had done her the honor of being from across the globe. It may as well have been another world. If there were Deviltouched down here…just living beneath the city she’d been patrolling most of her life…
It wasn’t long before her enhanced senses caught familiar sounds. Ahead of them, two guards waited at a door that held back what she imagined to be a raucous pub. These two were armed and armored, but unlike the old man, gave Selene no issues. They opened the door and Atania’s eyes went wide.
This was not a pub.
The relatively small tunnel opened into a massive marketplace. The smells of spices and meats still lingered in the air over the stagnant water scent that permeated the area, even though most of the stalls had long closed. A particularly rowdy section in the far back corner was the source of the noise. She could hear a rhythmic drumming beneath the hollering and revelry, but Selene moved in the opposite direction. They moved through the market square and finally through another door that led into another tunnel. When the door closed behind them, the sound cut off almost entirely.
Did these people live down here? They must have. This many people coming and going from the city into the old sewers? Someone would have seen something right? Selene pushed the door open to a much smaller chamber with a table and chairs in the center and a single light over it. Her nerves spiked. She’d seen rooms like this before. Seen what Penelope had done to people in rooms like this.
They were alone at first, but as she was lifted up and laid down on the long wooden table the door opposite where they entered was pushed open and she craned her neck to watch three more people file in.
“Atania!” A short, balding human with an enormous mustache and a shirt that barely fit him walked to her side. “It’s great to finally meet you. I’m Melrhos.” He shoved a thick cigar between his teeth and offered a chubby hand for her to shake.
“Melrhos…” She couldn’t hold back the airy laugh as her head slapped back down against the wood and she stared up at the light swinging above her. “That son of a bitch.” She was going to kill Fletcher. Of course she’d known. She’d known since a butt naked man turned into a wolf in front of her face. Knowing it and having the leader of the rebellion holding out his hand to her were two vastly different things.
“Yeah, Fletch thought you might react that way. From what I’m told he was pretty apprehensive about bringing you down.” Melrhos withdrew his hand and awkwardly hoisted himself up onto the chair at her side. “He seems to like you a lot.”
“Oh yeah, just enough to bring me to the head of the rebellion.” She finally glanced down her body to a thin elven woman who was examining her legs. “So, what is this? You’ll only help with my legs if I help you?” She asked.
Melrhos looked taken aback, pulling the thick cigar from beneath the even thicker mustache and clutching the collar of his shirt. “Never, that’s not how we do business.” He gestured to the elf again and Atania took a closer look at her as he spoke. “This is Freya, she’ll have you up and walking in no time.”
The woman smiled at her, auburn eyes with tiny white pupils staring back at her. “Do I have your consent to touch you, Ms. Atania?” She asked.
Atania’s eyes narrowed, glancing back and forth between Melrhos and this Deviltouched woman who by all accounts should not have existed outside the castle. “Why?”
“She needs to be able to assess the damage.” Melrhos shrugged.
“Why are you helping me if you’re not trying to exploit me?” Atania growled at the plump little man.
Melrhos’ hands went up in surrender even as he chuckled. “Easy there. Fletch is my friend. That’s what friends do for each other.” Melrhos gnawed at the cigar between his teeth as he bobbed his head back and forth. “Now, if you wanted to be our friend too, I certainly wouldn’t be opposed. I’m not simple enough to think you’d just trust us like that.”
“So what?” Atania glanced back over at Freya and gave her a consenting nod before looking back to him. “She just fixes me up and you let me loose?”
Melrhos shrugged at her. “Sure, if that’s what you want.” Scratching at his bald head, he grimaced. “Seems like you’re low on friends, though. The way I see it, if you had any other choice somebody on the Isle would be healing you up right now.”
Atania winced as a tightening sensation blossomed in her hips. The elf…Freya’s bright auburn eyes glowed vaguely as her hands hovered over her midsection. The fact there was any sensation was no small miracle. Closing her eyes, she took a moment to let the gravity of the situation sink in.
“It will be a few minutes before complete feeling comes back.” Freya moved to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder. “But you will be fine. Would you like something to drink?”
Atania opened her eyes again, looking up at the woman and then down her body. Her entire lower half tingled, like blood was being forced back through her veins after being deprived of it for too long. “Thank you.” She said quietly.
“Water? Or something stronger?”
“Stronger would be great.” With the ability to use her legs came a calm she hadn’t felt since she collapsed. At least she’d be able to run if things got too dire. That was if she could push through the intense fatigue that suddenly hit her.
“Sooo…” Melrhos wobbled a bit on his chair. “Now that that’s taken care of, we should have a discussion.”
Solana: That is all we have for this week. We hope you enjoyed. Remember to check the description for all our sources. We will talk to you next week.
Aisling: Until then, my beautiful people; be curious, be safe, and keep digging.
Merkra: Gah, she’s so cool. Please, let’s adopt her?
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