Still, she seemed to trust me with her weapon.
“Pandora says you’re an honorable fighter,” Layla said as she watched me work.
I shrugged. “I’m just here doing a job,” I said.
“But my other sisters have all said the same,” she went on. “More than just an honorable fighter, they all tell me you’re a selfless one, as well.”
I was resetting the bowstring at the top of the bow, as it had come loose. I smiled at Layla. “It just comes naturally to me, I guess,” I said. “Where I’m from, I never had much purpose. Everything there felt…frivolous, you could say.” I took a long look around at my surroundings then turned back to Layla. “I guess I just prefer living a life that has some stakes to it.”
Layla smirked as she considered that. She was running her forefinger and thumb together in a circular motion. As she did this, I noticed two small tree roots jutting up from the ground, moving in the exact same fashion.
“Pandora says you very nearly died fighting the Necromancer,” she said.
I nodded. “I came closer than I’d like to admit, yeah,” I said. “I never would have made it out alive if not for the Mananymphs.”
“They all fight by your side without hesitation,” Layla said as she made the roots dance.
“And I’m honored that they do,” I said. “Back in my battle with the Necromancer, Pandora, Sephara, and Bella all risked their lives to come and help me. Then, when the citadel came down on top of me, Ciara used her magic to protect me from afar.” I finished with her bow then handed it back to her.
ARMORER SKILL INCREASED +1
“Without them all, I wouldn’t have gotten through the battle,” I finished.
Layla accepted the bow, but by then, she’d gone quiet. She had this look on her face, like she was thinking about things that she wasn’t ready to say out loud.
“Layla, do you understand just how much you’re helping us?” I asked. “Seriously, if we hadn’t have found you, we’d have almost no chance at saving the rebellion.”
Layla set her bow aside then looked at me from over her shoulder. The sun hit her eyes and made them dazzle amber-golden. She smiled and, just now, I saw how smooth and soft her lips actually were.
For a span of maybe five heartbeats, neither of us spoke. I watched closely as she nibbled on her bottom lip. For that moment, our lips were close enough to kiss.
And then she laughed, blushing, and snatched her bow as she stood up. “You didn’t find me, Earthman,” she said with a grin. “I found you, stomping through my woods, louder than a boar. Or have you forgotten that quickly?”
She walked away smiling, with a cocky stride in her step. Even so, before she returned to Corvus’ cottage, she threw a parting glance my way, and I swore that there were few things in this realm that were half so beautiful as her amber-golden eyes.
*****
As badly as I wanted to move out, it was late-afternoon by the time we were finished preparing for the mission. The sunlight was fading fast, and I didn’t want to spend the first leg of our journey stumbling through the woods in the dark.
True, Layla knew the woods like the back of her hand. And, between me and Pandora, we’d have no shortage of life detection spells so that nothing could sneak up on us, but once more, I didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks if I didn’t have to.
It had been a long day and we were all exhausted by nightfall. Of course, Bella had been working harder and more intensely than any of us, but as I was getting ready for bed, she’d remained on the floor, focused hard on spreading her eagles across the realm.
She smiled when she saw me watching.
“Are the Imperial citizens revolting in the streets yet?” I asked with a smile.
“Not quite yet,” she said, yawning. “But we’re sowing the seeds, Champion.”
“It’s been a long day for you,” I said. “Why not turn in for the night?”
She waved me off. “I’m just now sending a half-dozen eagles to the various inns and taverns on the southbound road from the Imperial city,” she said, stifling a yawn halfway through.
I laughed. “You’re going to fall asleep sitting up,” I said, then took her into my arms.
She rested against me and squeezed my hands. “I’ll do no such thing, Champion, not while I have work to do.”
*****
We’d only been walking for a few hours before we ran into some Imperial Legion troops. They were hunkering down in an area just outside the illusions Corvus Gavrus had cast upon the woods, but they were no less lost.
Layla growled when she heard them up ahead, drew her bow, and was about to climb up into the trees to start sniping them when I stopped her.
“Hold on,” I said. “I want to get a closer look first.”
We crept closer, because I wanted to see if I could get an accurate count. We were up on a gently rolling hill, and we found the Imperials camped out in the small valley just below us. From my vantage point, I counted around fifty of them.
“We have to take care of them,” Layla said. “I don’t want them coming up behind us and taking us unaware.”
“Oh, I agree,” I said, as the beginnings of a plan were starting to work through my mind.
Yeah, this was not an insignificant number of hostiles…but I wondered just how hostile they would remain.
I took Pandora’s looking glass and studied their numbers. At the moment, they were divvying up portions from a scrawny deer that they’d managed to hunt, but the meager offerings weren’t nearly enough.
These men were hardly in fighting shape. Most looked dour or hopeless that they would ever make it out of the woods. Some looked like they hadn’t slept for a day or two.
Then I heard a familiar voice. He came stumbling out of the trees in poorly-fitting knight’s armor, with a bottle of liquor clenched in one fist.
“Oh, motherfucker,” I said. I handed the looking glass to Pandora. “Tell me if you don’t recognize that asshole.”
Pandora grunted in spite when she saw who I was talking about. He was that asshole guard captain we’d seen as we were making our way north from Silverton. He’d been ordering his men to shake down travelers headed north, collecting a ‘toll’ for using the road.
“Oh yes, I remember that one,” Pandora said. She set the looking glass down. “What should we do, Earthman?”
“I can take a position in the trees directly overhead,” Layla said. “Just say the word, and I’ll drop a quarter of them before they realize I’ve fired a single arrow.”
A sound plan, yeah, but I thought I had a better idea.
“These Imperial Legion troops aren’t exactly dedicated to the Emperor’s cause,” I said, as I took a look through the looking glass again. “Yeah, sure, if they’re in a goddamn huge army with a bunch of ranking knights scowling at them, I’m certain they’d be willing to die for their side. But now? While they’re lost, scared, and starving?” I grinned. “No way.”
Pandora cocked an eyebrow. “You want to try to turn them for the rebellion? Earthman, that’s quite a risk.”
“I don’t have to turn them into full-blown rebels,” I said. “I only have to show them that they’re not fighting for a worthy cause. I only have to show them that the Emperor and their officers don’t give a flying shit about any of them.”
“I don’t like this idea at all,” Layla said.
“And that’s okay,” I countered. “Because I still want you to take a position up in the trees.” I turned to Pandora. “And you get as close to them as you can while still staying out of sight.”
“And you?” Pandora asked.
I shrugged and smiled. “I’m going to walk up and say hello,” I said. “See if I can win some hearts and minds, or at least, weaken some resolves. If it looks like things are going south, you two can support me from afar.”
At that, Layla nodded then darted up into the trees, moving as silently as someone cloaked in a silence spell. Pandora paused, grabbed me, and gav
e me a long, passionate kiss on the lips.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” she said, then took off, hiding among the bushes.
Alright, no more wasting time. I cast a few illusion spells on myself – invisibility, muffle sound, and silence – then pushed through the trees, down into the valley, where the Imperial troops were camping out.
Up close, I saw that their morale was even lower than I thought. As their drunken captain went shambling around in his mismatched knight’s armor, they grumbled amongst themselves.
“You heard that the captain stole that armor off a dead knight?” one whispered.
“Aye, Captain Pernicus is going around now saying that he’s a full-blown knight,” another answered.
“We’re gonna starve to death in these woods if we wait for him to find our way out of here,” said a third.
I heard similar comments all around their camp. With my movements muffled and my body invisible, I had free reign to eavesdrop. Aside from the drunken Captain Pernicus – who, indeed, kept berating his men to call him ‘Sir’ Pernicus – the only other member of this ragtag band who seemed truly loyal to the Emperor was a grizzled old war mage.
Despite his class, the war mage wore heavy Imperial armor. His beard was long and black, with gray strands showing his age. He had a scar across his face and the one-handed iron war axe on his hip looked like it had seen a hundred battles.
I’d definitely keep an eye on that one. If any of these men were likely to attack, I was sure he’d be chief among them.
Up on a small hill, ‘Sir’ Pernicus was swilling from a big liquor bottle and berating some of his men. I decided now was as good a time as any to reveal myself.
SNEAK SKILL INCREASED +1
The notification filtered through my eyes as I walked up to the drunken captain.
“Hey douchebag,” I said, loud enough to get his attention.
I lifted my illusion spells and stood before the drunken captain and his men. I held my hands up to show that I didn’t mean them any harm.
At least not yet.
“You guys look like you’ve been going through some shit,” I said as many of them scrambled to unsheathe their swords. “I thought maybe we’d be able to talk about it.”
Chapter Four
The moment of truth was here.
Yeah, all the legionnaires instantly jumped to their feet and brandished their swords. ‘Sir’ Pernicus did the same, or attempted to, but he fumbled his sword and seemed more concerned that he dropped his liquor bottle.
“Shit!” he said, half slurring as the whiskey leaked into the soil.
Across the clearing, I saw the war mage, still sitting against a tree. He was glaring at me but, so far, hadn’t moved a muscle.
“Take it easy, guys,” I said. “If I came here for a fight, it would have started already.”
I heard the legionnaires whispering amongst themselves. From their muffled chatter, I realized that they knew who they were facing.
“Is that him?”
“Surely it isn’t…”
“No, that’s the enchanted gauntlet the high elf woman told us about…!”
I held up the Soulguard, high over my head, so the legionnaires could all see it. “Alright, so it seems like you fellas might have heard of me,” I said, and then came a collective gasp from the small army of legionnaires.
Captain Pernicus was back on his feet now, at least for the moment. He stumbled sideways as he drew his sword, just drunk enough to fool himself into thinking he could take me on.
“Charge, men! CHARGE!” the drunk shouted.
Of course, his men did no such thing. He swung his sword sloppily. I easily blocked the blow with the Soulguard, catching his blade in my armored palm. I quickly cast a fortify strength spell then easily snapped his blade in two.
His men gasped.
Only the war mage remained unconcerned, still glaring at me from afar.
I hit Captain Pernicus with a mostly-harmless TK blast, just enough to put him on his ass, then turned to his men once more. “Like I said, I didn’t come here for a fight. Instead, I’ve come here to tell all of you the true nature of your Emperor.”
Silence fell over the nervous men. Now, the war mage had risen. He crossed his arms. “Keep quiet, all of you,” the war mage said. “I want to hear what the rebel has to say.”
Though he was a war mage and clearly not an officer, the other troops obviously respected the older mage. They did exactly as he commanded and continued to ignore the protestations of their captain, who was so drunk that he couldn’t even get back up to his hands and knees.
“Cowards, all of you!” the drunk captain shouted.
“Alright, I’m tired of your mouth, pal,” I said, then quickly hit him with an hour-long silence spell.
Now, as loud as he tried to scream, not so much as a whisper came out.
The war mage let out a dry chuckle. “So you’re the Champion we’ve heard so much about, eh?” he asked with a gravelly voice.
“I am,” I answered.
His wrinkled, yet intense gaze narrowed on me. I noticed that he was flexing his hands through his heavy armor.
“Well then, if you’re the Champion of these rebels then I guess you won’t mind proving it,” the war mage said. “After all, Therena told us there’s a crazy old illusion mystic in these woods. I’m wondering if you’re just some illusion yourself.”
The other troops muttered in agreement, though none of them had the guts to inch any closer toward me.
None except the war mage.
“A quick duel would go a long way to convincing me,” the war mage said. He drew the war axe from his hip then sparked a rotating ball of ice with his free hand.
A good sign, I thought. The Legion mage was also cognizant of setting the forest ablaze with fire or lightning magic.
I nodded then drew my own axe, holding it in my right hand while I brought up the Soulguard to a defensive position. “Take your shot,” I answered.
The other legionnaires watched in silence as the war mage inched closer. He nodded to my enchanted gauntlet. “I’d been under the impression that the Champion is supposed to wield a gauntlet called the Soulguard,” the war mage said as he took my measure. “That don’t look much like any enchanted glove to me.”
“Looks can be deceiving,” I shot back.
The war mage grunted then hurled the ice ball at me. I blocked the magical blast with the Soulguard and the magic instantly absorbed into the gauntlet. I hurled the energy right back at him, though I was careful to give him some wiggle room; outright killing the war mage wouldn’t win me much favor with his buddies.
The war mage ducked under my retaliatory blast, pivoted toward me, then tried knocking me back with a TK blast. I dodged it, then quickly raised my axe to parry his next strike, and the blades of our axes came together with a spark.
EVASION SKILL INCREASED +1
BLOCK SKILL INCREASED +1
Now, I spun up a nasty ball of ice myself. Instead of launching it directly at the mage, I shot it toward the ground, instantly freezing the soil beneath his heavy boots.
The war mage grunted as he tried to keep himself from falling, but just then, he looked behind me. His face twisted in anger. “No, lad, NO!” the war mage shouted.
I spun around, realizing that one of his legionnaire buddies was trying to get the drop on me.
The legionnaire was a pimply-faced kid who hardly looked older than Robbin or Piper, the duke’s young squires. The kid slashed at me with his iron longsword, but I merely batted it aside with the Soulguard. I parried his blow with enough force to knock him on his ass.
The rest of the legionnaires gasped, as they no doubt expected me to finish the kid off with my axe. They were quite surprised when I offered the young legionnaire my hand.
“C’mon buddy,” I said. “No hard feelings.”
The kid’s face softened somewhat, then he swallowed hard. He showed a lot of courage, allowing me to he
lp him up. For all he knew, I could have been merely toying with him before deciding to land a killing blow.
I let the kid return to his fellow Legion troops. The war mage nodded to me respectfully once more, then slid his axe back onto his hip.
“Aye, I’ve seen more than enough,” he said. “Though most of our officers refuse to entertain any rumors that might be construed as pro-rebellion, among the legionnaires we have heard whispers that the Champion is a merciful warrior.”
I slipped my own axe back on my hip. “Indeed I am,” I answered.
An older trooper pushed his way to the fore, scowling at me. “This man is a traitorous rebel!” the older trooper shouted. “He’s in league with those that seek to undermine our glorious Empire!”
“Hey, I’m not here to argue politics, buddy,” I answered. “But before you go calling your Empire glorious, you might want to take a moment for a reality check.” Now, I had all their attention once more. I waved at the forest around them. “Therena, plus your Emperor, both knew that they’d be sending you into a dangerous forest that was being manipulated by an old mystic. They both knew you guys would have almost no chance of finding me and my friends. They knew you’d all likely die. But they sent you anyway.”
The older trooper kept scowling, but I noticed his blind faith was being chipped away. “W-W-We’re soldiers of the Empire!” he shouted, though his voice wasn’t quite so confident now. “We’d gladly ride into certain death for our nation.”
I made sure not to look at the trooper too harshly. “My friend, your Emperor was in league with the Necromancer,” I said.
A quiet gasp shot through the crowd. The war mage remained silent, though he had this look on his face like I’d just justified some suspicions on his part.
I continued.
“Just the other day, when I fought the Necromancer in our final battle, he admitted to me that the Emperor had forged an allegiance with the Dark King,” I went on. “The Emperor was willing to sacrifice every man, woman, and child in Homehold and Silverton, just to weaken the rebellion.”
Monstergirl Quest Book Three Page 3
