by RG Long
Ferrin had, thankfully, cut into her line of thought with an excellent offer.
“I can take him from you, ma’am. He isn’t all that heavy, and we won’t be climbing any more stairs.”
Rivius breathed out thankfully and took a step aside.
“Thank you, Master Ferrin,” she said, hoping that the relief in her voice and face would only be perceived as gratefulness at the lightened load and not the change in proximity to the smell.
She looked around at the city behind her as Maccus and Tratta worked to get the rope back into position. It was their only escape. When she, Olma, Ferrin, and Galp, as the creature was called, climbed out of the rock tunnel, they were surprised to see the pair from Meris standing to greet them.
“All the soldiers went scurrying away after some explosion, ya know? I wonder if that’s good news or bad,” Tratta fretted.
Rivius hadn’t taken any time to be thankful for their luck. She only pressed them forward and prayed that it would hold. And, up to this very moment, things seemed to have gone better than they could have hoped.
They made their way back to the stairs that led up to the wall without many difficulties. Tratta had aimed at one lone guard and dispatched him before she even knew there was danger. Other than that, their path back to the wall had been uneventful.
Now they needed to get down.
“I think I can carry you, Galp,” Ferrin said as he took the rope in one hand and offered his other to the Skrilx.
“What about the dwarf?” Maccus asked. Rivius turned to see Olma helping Gorplin up the final step. He was grimacing, but walking on his own two legs.
“Bah. The dwarf will be fine,” Gorplin muttered. Rivius had a distinct impression that Gorplin was much more hurt than his pride would allow him to say. “Just get yourselves over that wall and help the Skrilx.”
Skrilx.
Rivius had heard of such creatures, but never in her wildest dreams thought she would meet one, let alone carry one.
“I would greatly appreciate you trying very hard not to drop me, sir,” Galp said as Ferrin picked him up. “To die in a fall over this defensible position would be rather tragic considering I’m finally free of that dank dungeon.”
“You talk a lot, ya know?” Tratta said as she checked the rope and looked back down over towards the castle grounds.
“I’m glad you’ve finally met your match, Tratta,” Maccus fired back at her with a grin.
“Bloody chatterboxes,” Gorplin muttered.
Rivius saw Galp grimace as Ferrin put him over his shoulder. The face was one of pain, she was sure of it. How many sores lingered on the poor beast’s body? How weak could he be after such a long time underground?
“Don’t pity me yet, dear lady,” Galp said.
Miss Rivius shook herself, realizing that she had been staring.
“Let’s save any feelings whether ill or not for after we’ve managed to escape Meris, shall we?”
RIVIUS DUSTED OFF HER hands once they had climbed down the rope and made their way to the ground. She was relieved that it hadn’t taken as much effort coming down as it had going up. Though she didn’t think of herself as a particularly strong woman, she certainly hoped she could keep up with the group at large.
Maccus was the last one down from the wall. He and Tratta exchanged glances before nodding at each other and starting to walk along the edge of the defenses.
“Where did Gregory want us to meet?”
“The east side of Meris,” Maccus replied.
“That’ll be the trick,” Tratta offered up. “If we can make it all the way around the city without being noticed. Maybe we could head out a little further onto the plains before making our way back, ya think?”
“No,” Rivius said firmly.
Tratta and Maccus both gave her a puzzled look.
“Uh...” Maccus began.
Rivius didn’t give him a chance to question her.
“If we cut out for the plains they’ll likely spot us and maybe even send out troops to see who in their right mind would be out at night. Plus, hopefully, with all of their attention focused inward, we may be able to sneak close to the wall without being seen.”
The two were silent for a time, only looking at each other once before back at her.
“Sounds good to me, mam,” Ferrin said.
Miss Rivius inclined her head to him, but knew he would agree with her. He was still in her pay, after all.
“Perhaps, if I may,” Galp said from atop Ferrin’s shoulders. “Since I am a fugitive and will be recognized as the only Skrilx on the continent, perhaps it would be best if I were a bit less conspicuous?”
Tratta didn’t say anything as she moved, but quickly took her bag off her shoulders and threw a thin blanket over Ferrin’s shoulders, effectively hiding Galp from all onlookers.
“Thank you, miss,” Galp said from underneath the blanket. “Perhaps a bit crude and not quite what I had in mind, but it’ll do.”
“Bah,” Gorplin grunted. “If we’re done chatting let’s start walking. We don't want them to beat us there.”
“No, we do not,” Miss Rivius agreed. “Lead the way you two. You know the walls best.”
Tratta and Maccus wasted no time setting out. Miss Rivius followed swiftly behind, with Olma and Gorplin behind her and Ferrin taking up the rear. The terrain was rocky and hard to maneuver. It felt exactly like the last few weeks of their journey, except this time it was next to a giant wall that surrounded a city in chaos.
The shouts and cries of the people inside became louder as they made their way over rocks and dirt. Miss Rivius allowed herself one shudder to repel the cold but otherwise tried to ignore it.
Maccus and Tratta were swift, and she needed to keep up. Both Olma and Gorplin stayed right behind her as well. She had feared that one of them might fall behind, but they were proving to be much more resilient than she had once thought. Dwarves were another race she wasn’t as familiar with. Then again, when had Ladis ever had a large population of elves?
Men and their religion had always ruled the continent. This she knew quite well. She was an oddity among the country, and she knew it. She fought for every sale, every contract, and every scrap of clothing that she sold. In Juttis, she was a powerful woman who was taking over the city’s business and trade one jacket at a time.
But now she was out in the country. Traveling to find more goods, according to the word she had given the man who was to run her shop in her absence. How long such a story would hold with the prince, she didn’t know. Who was she when she wasn’t running the largest fabrication store in the country? Was she still a powerful woman? Or was she hiding behind her work?
Something about this Holve Bravestead had made her curious. Could she be someone even more influential? Well, she was taking a lot of risks and going through several dangers to find out.
“Just around this buttress, I’m thinkin’ we’re gonna start seein’ trouble,” Maccus said as he stooped in front of one of the large stone outcroppings that helped to fortify the wall.
Rivius could hear the shouting grow louder as they all came to a stop behind Maccus. She looked up to see if any guards were moving along the wall. She couldn’t see them, but perhaps she could hear them running back and forth.
No heavy footfalls seemed to make their way down to her ears, and she counted that a blessing. What made her nervous, though, was the intensity of the shouting and the smell of smoke in the air.
If the city were on fire, there would be much graver concerns to face.
“We’re getting close to the place Gregory said to meet, ya know,” Tratta said, looking out to the plains. “I just can’t tell if there’s something out there or not.”
Miss Rivius scanned the horizon. There didn’t seem to be anything out there that she could see. Perhaps a twinkle or two, but those must be stars coming into focus in the night sky. Surely no one would like a torch in such dire times.
She was squinting her eyes t
o see what might have been a spot that glowed differently than the others when her feet shook underneath her, and a loud crash assaulted her ears.
“What’s that!?” Tratta yelled, all sense of stealth obviously gone from her mind.
“Quiet!” Maccus said through his teeth. “Don’t want the whole of the city knowin’ we’re out here!”
As it turned out, it didn’t matter. A chunk of the wall just past where they had been walking blew outward in a fantastic crash and explosion of blue light. Stones and dust flew in all directions as the screams from within the city rose up into a crescendo and then went quiet.
“This way!” yelled a voice Rivius thought she recognized.
And then, out from the debris and dust clouds, Ealrin came running along as quickly as he could with another man Rivius didn’t recognize leaning heavily on him. Gregory was walking backward, shooting arrows at a rapid pace as he navigated the fallen wall.
“Holve!?” Maccus shouted.
The figures didn’t turn or slow their speed. Ealrin did look their way and wave with the other hand that they were to follow them. Rivius took three steps in that direction before her attention was diverted back to the breach.
The last figure to come out from the hole in the wall was glowing blue, wrapped in a circle of light and flame, Blume was shooting blast after magical blast back into the city.
Miss Rivius was reminded of the terrible scene that had unfolded within the walls of her own home when the Prince of Juttis had unleashed such unholy fury as she saw before her now. She did her very best not to cower or take cover as each blast issued from the girl’s hands and went soaring back into the city. Explosions resonated from within the city walls as Rivius saw Blume screaming at the targets of her wrath.
She almost felt bad for them.
“Time to go!” Ferrin was shouting at her. “We need to go, Miss Rivius! Now!”
Rivius suddenly realized she had been rooted to the spot, instead of making good on their moment to escape the city. Tratta and Maccus had already followed the group running from the breach in the wall. Blume was beginning to turn as well, though Ealrin and the man he was supporting were waiting for her. Gregory still had his bow and arrows out, but it seemed laughable that he could do any more damage than she had already done.
So much for a quiet and stealthy getaway.
If the entire city didn’t follow them out, it’d be a miracle.
16: Campfire
Ealrin was short on breath. The run through the city was more than he was ready for. A part of him had thought they would be able to get through the city by sneaking from house to house and using the chaos of the place to mask their leaving.
Once they hit the marketplace, however, he realized that it was going to be impossible to sneak through Meris. The collective city had lost its mind and was killing anything that moved: be it friend, foe, neighbor or family. The only ones safe from such violence seemed to be the very prophets and temple guards who Ealrin had hated since being arrested by them.
They moved through the city like wolves as they rounded up people and put them to the sword at random. Shouts and screams filled the air as people lost their loved ones right in front of their eyes. From what he could make out from the jumbled words of the people running wild in the streets, the temple guards were rounding up anyone they suspected of demon worship.
Meris had, apparently, been a recent target of a demon attack and the people had gone crazy in trying to repel such a terrible fate.
The temple guards were the ones who had sought to keep control of the city. In order to do so, they killed anyone who was brought to them with an accusation of demon worship or magic or witchcraft.
Pandemonium reigned.
Their group took all of this in within moments as they entered the marketplace. Ealrin was supporting Holve while Gregory walked ahead of them and Jurrin and Blume stood behind. Temple guards were running back and forth with swords and maces and bringing them down on any who were thrown at their feet. Stores were up in flames. Bodies lay in the street in all places.
The temple of Ladis guards were bringers of death and ruin, and it was too much for Ealrin.
It proved too much for Blume also.
As soon as she saw the extent of the destruction she had screamed and sent blast after blast of magical energy in every way she could muster. Far beyond trying to convince her to stop, Ealrin and the rest had merely walked behind her as she sent groups of guards screaming from the destruction they had caused.
At one point, they had made their way to the wall, and Blume sent a blast at what looked like the last group of assembled guards. They were trying to defend themselves, but against Blume and her magic, they didn’t stand a chance.
The blast that shattered the wall took the guards with it. It also provided them with a way of escape. As the group fled through the opening, Blume continued to reign down destruction on the city of Meris.
Thanking the suns as they ran, Ealrin saw that Blume was leaving the city with them. Whether she wanted to be rid of the city as much as they did or whether she was just backing up without thinking, he didn't know.
But now they were on the plains outside of Meris, and Blume’s magic was beginning to wane. Ealrin knew she would need to eat soon. There was only so much magic she could perform without requiring to rest and recover. They had meager supplies. There wasn’t much they could offer her.
He hoped the other group had managed to find food along the way somewhere or they would have a very weak Speaker on their hands and the wrath of a city attacked once again by supernatural forces.
That was not a scenario Ealrin wanted to endure.
At last, the magical glow around Blume faded, and the area around them began to darken. It had been a blessing to have her lighting their path. On the other side of the coin, they had certainly been visible for anyone who cared to follow them.
“Gregory!” Ealrin called. “Help Holve!”
He let go of him sooner than he knew the older man was ready for. Holve had been coughing and gasping for the last few stretches since leaving the city. The last few weeks had not done him any favors.
But they couldn’t leave Blume.
Ealrin ran and scooped her up in his arms just as she was about to fall over into the dust. She was light. Too light. That alone scared Ealrin enough to look around the scenery. They needed to find a place to hide and rest.
They needed somewhere where they could camp.
The city of Meris was still too close for them to stop safely. Ealrin knew this. But in their current state, they certainly couldn’t keep going all night and into the next day.
“Tratta!” he called. “Is there a place we can stop for the night? Somewhere safe?”
In the darkness, Ealrin was fairly certain she had turned her head and nodded..
“There’s an abandoned farm up ahead with a village that’s been deserted for a month. We may deal with some other bandits who have taken up shelter there though, ya know?”
“We’ll risk it,” Ealrin called back, feeling the stitch in his side and knowing that he couldn’t carry Blume all night, even as much as he wanted to.
Their group was tired, and they needed to rest.
Or risk burning themselves out before they even properly escaped.
THE FARM WASN’T AS far as Ealrin would have hoped from the city. If any guards were sent out after them, they would certainly look here first. But he couldn’t go another step and had the feeling that he wasn’t the only one in the group who felt that way.
Even Gorplin was heaving with great breaths when they came to the first structure of the abandoned village. It was a barn, just like Tratta had said. Gregory, the only one in their group who seemed not to be sucking wind, insisted that he go inside and check for other occupants before they entered.
Ealrin wanted to care and offer to go with him, but he knew he couldn’t. At this point, he would be more of a hindrance than a help. He lay Blume down on the s
oftest looking patch of dirt he could before sitting next to her, trying to breathe regularly again. They stood at the stone wall that must have at one time been a farmer’s way of keeping wild animals away from his livestock.
Olma and Jurrin both fell at the base of the wall and tried to catch their breath. Holve collapsed in a heap but had the dignity to at least get to a sitting position. Gorplin refused to sit, which made Ealrin smile despite himself.
At least he was still the same belligerent dwarf.
Gregory came back only after a few moments.
“All clear,” he said. “But we’ll need to check the surrounding village before we rest easy.”
“I doubt we’ll rest easy regardless,” Holve said, still breathing hard. “We’re too close to Meris.”
“Agreed,” Miss Rivius said. “But we have few options. Let’s go.”
Once everyone had stopped moving, it seemed like it was more challenging to get up again and walk the last few paces than it was to run the length from Meris to here. Ealrin helped Holve to his feet and then picked up Blume again.
It was torture to hold her while standing upright, but he knew that she couldn’t walk on her own. She had been utterly exhausted. He just hoped it wasn’t as bad as the last time she had overexerted herself in such a way. She had been in a state of unconsciousness for months.
That was not something they could afford at this point.
They passed through the barn doors one at a time, only having it cracked open slightly. Once they were all in, Gregory closed the door behind them.
“Think we can risk a fire?” Maccus asked as he let his pack hit the ground. “I think there’s some fire cloths in here we could use. That and maybe some oil.”
“Make it small,” Gregory said.
“And make sure the smoke is gone by dawn,” Holve said. “We don’t want to alert anyone to our presence.”
