by Amber Morant
Azrael put the stone back into his pocket and placed his left hand against his ear. "Well if they're not going to tell me, then I'll just have to see them properly." He pressed a small button that was against his scalp. From it appeared a monocle that covered his eye. His vision turned a slight green as he scanned the multitude of scholars. He could hear a faint beep, a sign of each of their heartbeats and walked closer to the group to get a better vision of each of them. Many on closer inspection had calm or erratic heartbeats, but none that pinpointed a sign of treason. At least, not until he reached one scholar.
They still had the branding scar that was fresh on his cheek, a recent move in. The monocle began to beep even louder now. Azrael smiled. "Know what my scanner says, scholar?" The elf shook his head. "Says you got something to hide. So, if you don't tell me now, I'll just kill you on suspect of treason. So, you better confess."
"He's got nothing to hide!" Another scholar in the crowd shouted. This one also had a scar on his cheek, but it was sloppily done. No doubt the man had moved while they were branding him. "Get your paws away from him, he's just tired is all."
Azrael looked down at the scholar and smirked. The scanner was picking up just as strong a reaction. No, it was even stronger of a reaction from the scholar. “You really think you're innocent?" He pulled out a short gunblade and pulled the trigger. A black fire covered the blade but didn't burn the metal. "I guess I could kill you both. Better to kill one person committing a crime of treason by killing two than killing just one and not getting the right person." He pointed the gunblade at the aggressive elf. "Want to at least state your crimes before you die?"
"Azrael! Enough playing!" The queen's voice echoed inside of his mind. He cursed, forgetting that she could see through his visor as well if she wanted to. "Your job was to go home to collect my money, not kill every single one of my servants."
"Your Majesty, they were accused of being part of the rebellion."
"And Anjuu is taking care of eradicating it at the root. Don't bother cutting twigs who can't do anything when it's the root who will create more problems."
Azrael pulled the trigger again on his gunblade and the fires seeped away. "As you wish, Your Majesty. I will set out again in the morning. For now, there is too much chaos in the quarry to ignore it for the day."
"Do what you need and hurry up. I'm growing impatient with your people." He heard a soft pop and knew she was out of his monocle finally.
Azrael scowled and turned away from the two. "Don't let me see your faces again. Be glad the queen has spared your life today. I wouldn't have been so kind, even if you were simply twigs on the rebellion."
The scholars didn't respond, and he was thankful for that. He didn't need his anger to grow even more tonight after Kalio had just ordered him to halt his threat in front of ants. If there was a bar, he was just going to stop there and drink. His visor was off now, and he didn't plan on turning it back on for some time and listen to her lecturing him even more. For once he would be free from her for a week, the voice was just going to be another tether for a while.
Thankfully many of the overseers did enjoy the occasional drink, as in their living quarters was a small sports bar. Buffalo Dragons was what it was called, a rip-off most likely of another popular sports bar chain that he didn't know about amongst the people. He could smell how strongly the alcohol was running, even though it was still early morning. No one was working today, leaving no way but to drink to relieve stress. That was one thing he at least could agree with the overseers on.
Inside, most of the men were at high-top tables or booths, eyes staring at the multitude of screens across the walls. A few were playing some random trivia on the screens instead of the sports games. He scoffed at their entertainment. Until one of them could do races in the desert like his people, he wouldn't be impressed.
"What'll it be, Cat?" The bartender asked, leaning forward on the counter.
"Next time you call me a cat, you'll lose your tongue. Now get me a Three Wise Men, double it."
The bartender nodded, ignoring the threat. Most likely, working in the bar had hardened him to threats by drunks, so another person coming in wouldn't change his demeanor so long as they paid. He watched the screen above him as two teams kicked a small ball around the field. If he had grown up in a normal life, perhaps that would have been interesting to him. Still, hearing how excited everyone else was behind him made him enjoy the little bit he could understand of the game. The high energy was enough to make even the smallest fan roar with excitement as they kicked the ball through a net on one end of the field.
"That'll be fifty drakes," the bartender muttered, placing the large shot glass in front of Azrael.
"Fine by me. Can I get some food too? Maybe some fries or something?" The bartender didn't wait for Azrael to pull out the funds before leaving to tell the kitchen the food order. He pulled out a small wallet from his pocket, careful not to expose any weapons in case it started a fight with the other's inside the bar. Drunkenness was just another excuse for people to become overly aggressive. Azrael pulled a small card out of his wallet and placed it on the counter, ready for his tab to start piling up quickly.
He waited until his food was done before taking a drink. No use doing it on an empty stomach and ruining his day even more. Before the food even arrived, however, he heard someone slam the front door of the bar open and everyone grew silent. Azrael turned to see what the commotion was about and saw a man covered in dust and dirt, hiding the man’s dark drow skin underneath. The man walked quickly over toward Azrael, careful not to knock anyone over or get covered in even more food. As he walked passed a few people, Azrael could hear them address the man as chief. Most likely this was the man who had been in the quarry all day today that led the overseers. Though what he was doing in here looking like that was a mystery even on him.
The chief walked up to Azrael, anger in his eyes. Not anger directed toward Azrael himself, no. It was something that irritated the man though. "The rebels, we caught a few trying to escape. One got away though. We don't have enough men or dogs to go chasing after him, I need you to get him for us. A free scholar is a danger to the country and as dragon guardian, you're supposed to protect the country."
Most would have had their tongue cut out by ordering him, but Azrael knew if the queen heard about this it would lead to the exact same order. Besides, the cait shidhe had to remain a protector of the realm, and this was part of that task. Azrael let out a sigh and turned to look at his drink and freshly arrived fries. It should have been a quiet day after his threats from earlier. Now, there were men here who were dead, and he had to go after another one to kill them. "Who was the one that escaped?"
"New guy. The one who talked back to you earlier according to my men." The chief eyed the fries and the drink, hunger brewing in his eyes to consume it. "I'm sure he shouldn't be an issue for you. Reports from his arrival state his attunement to magic wasn't very strong to begin with."
"Whatever, just pay my tab then since you need me to do all of your dirty work. Be glad I was here, if the queen had learned about your failures, she wouldn't be so nice about this. Should have just killed the guy when I saw him."
He pocketed his card and grabbed the shot glass, downing the entire drink in one gulp. It was extremely warm going down but bitter. Nothing like the sweet wines and brandy back home. He would have to introduce that to the place when he came back. Perhaps make some extra money through imports if he was lucky. "You can eat the fries. I'll be back with the scholar before sunrise."
Six
Tosh had almost died. Stupid idiot. If he had kept his mouth shut, let the stupid cat kill his friend and escape, no one would have noticed him. He knew his friend had ratted him out as soon as he left. There was no denying that the guy didn't approve any more of the escape plan after almost dying from a gunblade. Tosh continued to mutter to himself, navigating the darkness of the cave. He hadn't been the first to enter it, as others had come with him a
fter the commotion earlier. Thankfully, the new cave entrance had multiple paths, so everyone went their own way, enhancing the chance that one would escape without being caught. Almost all of them found themselves going back out of the cave because a route was just a large route and so they were thus caught by the guards waiting outside.
The path continued to twist and turn until he started to hear loud music above him. He recognized it immediately as the tunes playing from Buffalo Dragon's bar. Most likely the dragon guardian was in there celebrating as well. He focused his energy on one of the spots in the earth. Now that he was farther from the quarry, he could feel some of his magic resurging through his body. It wasn't much there, but the small spark allowed him to move the earth away so he could see through the floorboards. The dirt and stone piled at his feet, something he reminded himself he needed to clean up or it would just be another trail leading to his location.
Tosh looked up through the small cracks of the floorboard and smiled. Just inside was the dragon guardian sitting and watching the televisions. He was too preoccupied to even think about all the damage he had caused inside of the quarry. A self-centered man who didn't care about the people of Narishma, but just the money and power to the crown. He was part of the catfolk that were now servants to the crown for god's sake. He should be just as rebellious as the rest of them, yet he was more like a house pet than the ferocious lion the books made them out to be.
It would be perfect for him. No one could see him through the floor boards. All he needed to do was find a way to have a plant vine grow and drop some poisonous pods into his drink when he wasn't looking. It would drain him of the bit of energy he had left, and that was if no one caught him. No, he decided against it. He needed to get out of the caves as quickly as possible. If someone did catch him, his escape would be for nothing and the assassination would just give them more of an excuse to kill him. He had to keep going.
Tosh focused on the rubble underneath him and moved it back into place. It was a lot harder than removing it, that was certain, and he could feel it draining his body. If he had been successful with the plant and moved the earth back, there would have been no way he could keep running. As it was, he already wasn't sure how far he could go. The scholar shook his head, there was no point questioning himself. He needed to get out. That was his only mission now.
As he continued onward, the sound of the music faded away. He was getting farther out of town now. Judging from how far he had travelled, it was likely he wasn’t underneath the town anymore at all. The cave path dipped down, and his speed increased to match the small downgrade. As he reached the bottom, he saw the cave was growing smaller in size. He couldn't tell how small it got with how dark it was and his eyes were unable to adjust anymore. It was going to be a slower speed from here on, but he couldn't hear anyone following him yet. Perhaps they just hadn't taken his path yet, but he couldn't stop. Not yet. Not when he was so far.
The ceiling of the path was now too low for Tosh to walk standing upright and bending over just caused pain to shoot through his body. He would have to crawl until the cave opened back up again. "Devata, please protect me. Don’t abandon me now," he prayed. He knew it went to deaf ears. The tree had yet to listen to a single prayer from any of the elves since the country was conquered years ago. For all anyone knew, the queen had burned the tree down when she came to Narishma. No one was able to get close enough as there was a wall now guarding the path to the island Devata resided on and a coast guard that was constantly on watch. The queen didn't want anyone near the god anymore and ruining her reign.
The path split into two. One seemed to open wider while the other was shrinking still. Tosh began to turn toward the opened path but stopped. Inside of the smaller path were faint white lights illuminating the walls. Bugs? No, the walls were too hard and compacted for anything to live down here properly. Each of them resembled a small light that filled the other active caves in the quarry. He wondered if it was a trap, but something inside of him beckoned him toward it. He cursed his desire to new knowledge, but if he didn't have it then his title as scholar would be pointless.
As he got closer to each light, it faded away. There were no signs of any insect or lamp where the light had been. It wasn't even warm to the touch, yet he knew there had been a light there. He continued to follow the path, determined to see where it would lead him now. Perhaps Devata was listening finally. As he pushed ahead, he tried to recall all he knew about the tree. Books stated the roots of the tree pushed out into all Narishma, but no one ever found any of these roots outside of the island. If the roots were the actual lights he was following now, it would mean he could get to Devata and save his people. He just had to believe the lights were his god and not a trap sent forth by the cave dwelling drow.
The cave walls began to fan out now until he could finally stand and stretch his muscles after being so cramped. "I'll give those lights credit. They got me here. Now let's hope it's not a trap still." There were no sounds from anyone chasing him still which he was thankful for. If it was truly Devata sending a saving grace his way, then he would be the biggest evangelical in Narishma after this.
The paths continued to twist and turn with no sign of them getting smaller again. The burn on his face started to hurt and Tosh had to stop for a minute. He wanted to scream from the searing pain coursing through his body. With the impending doom of being caught, all Tosh let escape was a loud hiss and grunt. The pain would continue long past today, but he needed to push past it for now. If he could find a higher qualified scholar, they could get the scar removed for him, along with the pain, but for now, it was a reminder of the torment his colleagues in the quarry were going through still.
Tosh continued down the path, following the lights every time there was a spit in the path even if it looked more dangerous than the other side. Soon he started to hear water flowing above him and the ground and walls began to grow damp. He slowed his pace so he didn’t slip.
"That’s definitely a river…but not sure which one…”
When one of the lights ahead of him detached from the wall and shook violently to remove mud off it, Tosh froze in place. "Stupid dirt, doesn't know how to keep its grime to itself," the light grumbled.
"What the hell is that?" Tosh yelled looking for something to grab.
The light froze in place and slowly faded until Tosh could see a few inches tall humanoid form. It didn't seem to have a solid form, instead, it was still made of light. There were no wings attached to it either to explain its ability to hover. Within an instant, it flew directly into Tosh's face. His vision blurred as he tried to focus on the small creature.
"Interesting. So, you can see us? It has been a long time since a scholar has had a close enough connection to the sprite realm that they could see us. I know Devata told us to guide you with our light, but I thought it was just coincidence and a bit of hubris on that damn tree's part that you were capable of following thus far."
Another light detached from the wall and formed into a humanoid as well and flitted up to Tosh. "You're right, but he does seem dumb. scholars are trained to understand our existence, but he seems perplexed...maybe he is just an idiot?"
Tosh shook his head, getting rid of the shock. "I'm not an idiot! I most certainly am a scholar, but we were told sprites didn't exist. Just that you all were a way for us to focus our skills on elemental manipulation."
The first sprite laughed. "Don't exist? We have existed for longer than you ever have, child. But this does explain why no scholars have actually sought us out." The two sprites huddled close together and began to whisper. Occasionally, they would turn to look at Tosh then return to their discussion. Finally, the two of them turned around, arms crossed and nodding their head as if they were still agreeing on what had just been discussed. "We will continue to travel with you. If what you say is true, we want to see it for ourselves. Without a purpose, the others will simply become lazy. So, you will give us purpose again."
The other s
poke up then. "In exchange, we'll help you grow your skills and get away from that pesky guardian above us right now."
"You've got yourself a deal. If you can keep me safe, then I have no problem helping your people."
A loud roar filled the cave. Tosh knew it was coming from above ground, but they were so close to the surface that it wouldn't be hard for the cave to reverberate. The dragon guardian had caught up to them since his escape. There was no way that a wild dragon coincidentally found itself above them. He was thankful he had made the deal with the sprites now so that he could escape.
Seven
Anjuu laid in bed, unable to sleep. The roars of excitement echoed through the entire place. Sometimes drunks would come upstairs, confusing her room for their own in their drunken stupor. Luckily for them, none of them tried to open her door. They would have been instantly skewered and she would be left with cleaning up the mess.
She had planned to look for the rebels in the morning, but with all the noise, she figured it was better to just go out now. She turned the light on in her room and pulled a small bag out from under the bed that she had stuffed under earlier. Inside was a bundle of fabric rolled tightly into a ball.
Against the edge of the bag were small vials and needles. Today would just be reconnaissance; there wouldn't be a need for most of her poisons or weapons today. A simple par of warping knives would suit her fine tonight. Unlike the blades that she carried that only held one purpose, these could fold into themselves to create either a small cross bow or hooks for helping climb where her grappling hook would do her no good.
