“That would be good.” Aria preferred to know what they were running into before it tried to murder them, and she doubted bandits would be able to hide themselves from Jonathan’s Words.
“[Scry].”
As the Word rushed out, Aria was once again impressed by its power. Jonathan’s overall magical strength was nothing remarkable for a vampire noble. However, his affinity for certain Words was incredible. His [Scry] might not have the longest range she’d ever seen – although it was still highly impressive in that regard – but its level of detail was amazing. He wasn’t much of a fighter either, but he had been working hard to improve. He’d probably never be a great warrior, but with his good work ethic and the physical advantages he enjoyed thanks to his heritage, he should be able to become decent enough.
“It feels like something is blocking my [Scry],” Jonathan said. “I don’t think it’s an active Word or magic. It feels more like a passive effect.”
Aria frowned. Words could have both passive and active effects. Someone with Words like [Regenerate] would generally heal faster than a normal person even without invoking the Word itself. To passively block his [Scry], it would take someone with an incredibly strong affinity to Words like [Stealth] or [Unknowable].
“Should I use [Greater Scry]?” he asked. It was a more powerful version of [Scry] that he’d only recently learned. However, it was more costly and difficult to use. It was also much less likely to go unnoticed – at least until he’d mastered it.
“No,” Aria said after a brief moment of consideration. “If you use anything stronger, whoever you’re looking at will know they’re being watched. We’ll just have to improvise.” She raised her voice. “Miles, stay here. Eileen, have some shadow imps hang back too. Blue Scales and Eileen, you’re with me. Eric, I want you to loop around and keep your eyes open. If anything goes wrong, be ready to intervene.” She, Eileen, and Blue Scales would definitely draw attention if they revealed themselves, which should make it easier for Eric to launch an ambush if necessary.
“Perhaps we’ll meet a worthy opponent,” Blue Scales said.
Eric frowned. “Maybe… but it is worrying how little I can sense. I know I sensed something, but then it vanished. I can’t be sure, but it could be a skilled assassin or ranger.”
“Then we need to stay sharp.” Aria bit back a grimace. As a former paladin, skilled rangers and assassins were not exactly her ideal opponents. “It’s rare for bandits to be so skilled. If we’re lucky, it might just be another adventurer out on an unrelated mission.”
“Hmm…” Eric grinned. “When you put it that way, it’s probably a dragon. Your luck never has been the best.”
She would have scowled if it hadn’t been true. “Let’s get moving.”
She made her way over the next hill with Eileen and Blue Scales. Both of them were excellent at drawing attention, and with her defensive magic and enhancement to help them, they should be able to stand up to anything they were likely to encounter. In the meantime, Eric would be ready and waiting to strike.
The road itself was shoddy. It was badly overgrown in some places, and many of the stones that had been laid long ago were either cracked or missing. She was sure the Blood Emperor would have a few words to say about it later. The ancient vampire was rightly proud of his achievements, and it must have rankled him to see part of the road network he’d built in such disrepair. It didn’t take them long to see the person Eric had sensed, and Aria wasn’t sure whether to laugh or gawp.
There was a young woman with a grey cloak sitting on an old tree stump above the entrance to an enormous burrow. However, that wasn’t the strangest part. No, the strangest part was that she was dangling a fishing rod over the entrance. There was a raccoon hanging from the end of the fishing rod too – a raccoon in an elaborate blue and red robe, as well as a conical wizard’s hat of the same colours.
“Am I hallucinating?” Aria murmured. “Or is she going fishing on dry land using a raccoon as bait?”
“No, I’m seeing it too.” Blue Scales shook his head in disbelief. “This is not what I expected to encounter.”
To Aria’s amazement, the woman began to shake the fishing rod back and forth while chanting, “Here, badger, badger. Here, badger, badger.”
“…” Aria made a decision. Whoever this woman was, she had to know what was going on. It was simply too bizarre to ignore. She stepped out into the open and waved. “Hello there!”
The woman took one hand off her fishing rod to wave back. “Hello!” She smiled cheerfully. “It’s not a bad day to be on the road, is it?”
“It’s a good day.” Aria paused. “Now, I don’t mean to be rude, but…”
“You want to know what I’m doing?” The woman laughed. “Well, I can’t blame you for being curious. I suppose it does look a bit weird.” She glanced down at the raccoon. “Roger, put out some of the chum.” At her words, the raccoon opened a container and splashed what looked like fish bait onto the ground below him. He made a few aggravated noises and shook his paws at the woman. “Relax, Roger. It won’t be more than a few moments.” She looked back at Aria. “Oh, right. Where were we?”
“I wanted to know what you were doing.”
“Ah, right. I’m going badger fishing.”
“…” Aria stared. “Badger fishing?”
“Yeah.”
“Badger fishing?” Aria still had trouble putting the words together. “Really?”
“It’s just like regular fishing except you’re trying to catch a badger. Oh, and it’s on dry land.”
“…”
“Anyway, this area doesn’t normally have a problem with giant badgers, but there are more of them around than usual. Apparently, some adventurers killed a whole bunch of them somewhere else, and a lot of the survivors came here.” The woman scratched the back of her head, and Aria twitched. That sounded a lot like she and her team were responsible for the migration. “There’s supposed to be a particularly large and angry one in this burrow. I’m using Roger – my friend the raccoon here – as bait to lure it out, so we can kill it. It’s a better idea than going into its burrow. That would just be dumb.”
“I see.” Aria didn’t. “And Roger is okay with that?” From the glare the raccoon was giving the other woman, he wasn’t okay with it at all.
“I won’t say he’s happy about it, but he does understand.” The woman chuckled. “It’s not like he can hold the fishing rod while I dangle off it.” The raccoon muttered angrily again. Aria would have loved to know what he said, but she didn’t speak raccoon. “Besides, it’s not like he’s in any danger. The moment either of us sense the badger, I’ll pull him back up, and we’ll kill it.” She pursed her lips. “And speaking of the badger… you might want to take a step back.”
“Oh.”
A monstrous bellow shook the air, and Aria stepped back. It was the badger. It charged out of the burrow like a king tide, more than two tonnes of angry, giant predator. At the last moment, the woman jerked the fishing rod up and back. Roger sailed through the air, and a sharp flick of her wrist detached the hook from his robes. He landed lightly on the woman’s shoulder and took a second to adjust his wizard’s hat.
“Let’s get to work, Roger.” The woman nodded at Aria. “Stay there. We’ll have this sorted out in a jiffy, and you and your friends can be on your way.”
The badger roared and took a step toward Aria – the others were right about giant badgers hating her – but magic gathering above and behind it caught its attention. The giant badger turned. Roger went one way, and the woman went another. Power rolled off the raccoon’s body, and Aria gaped as he unleashed a Word.
[Ash Bolt].
Words could be heard with the soul as much as the ear, and this one wasn’t spoken so much as shouted. For all his comical appearance, this raccoon was powerful. She’d seen plenty of fire-based Words over the years. [Fireball] was one of the most famous Words in the world, after all. [Ash Bolt] was less famous but arguably mo
re deadly. She’d only seen it half a dozen times before. Instead of hurling fire that exploded and burned things, it launched a bolt of molten ash. The ash could not only burn the target but would also cling to it. Anyone unlucky enough to inhale some of it would be lucky to live more than a few minutes as the burning material could easily sear the lungs. Once the ash cooled, it would harden, slowing down or outright immobilising its target.
The massive badger barely slowed as the Word caught it square in the face. There was a ripple of power as the badger’s innate abilities activated to let it shrug off what should have been a fatal blow. Still, it was temporarily blinded, unable to see through the glowing cloud of ash around its face. Leaping high over the badger’s back, Aria saw the woman ready a bow and take aim. Her eyes widened. Was this her plan?
One of the few ‘weak spots’ on a giant badger’s body was a gap between two of the vertebrae. It wasn’t large – it would take a thin dagger to penetrate – and it was still covered in a thick layer of muscle and tough, fibrous hide. However, it was still more vulnerable than almost any other point of the creature’s body although a normal arrow would never be able to pierce its hide, never mind penetrate through the gap between its vertebrae.
[Pierce].
The woman’s Word swirled around her arrow as she loosed the projectile. It lanced through the badger’s hide, lodged in its spine, and then exploded. It must have used a rune-covered arrowhead or some other form of magic. The badger gave a deep, startled grunt before it dropped to its knees, its head all but severed. With a wet thump, it toppled onto its side. The badger twitched twice and then lay still as the woman landed gracefully nearby. The raccoon hopped back onto the woman’s shoulder and gesticulated at the dead animal.
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll check if it’s really dead.” The woman reached into the quiver on her back and pulled out the fishing rod. Aria’s eyes widened. The quiver must be enchanted to be bigger on the inside than the outside, which made it a very valuable piece of equipment indeed. The woman prodded the badger a few times and then nodded in satisfaction before putting the fishing rod away. “See? Problem solved. We’ve got one dead badger.”
Aria gave a low whistle of approval. That had been a very, very difficult shot to make. She could not have made it although her skills with a bow were admittedly mediocre. Even so, she’d seen enough archers in action to know how tough it must have been to hit such a small target while it was moving and while airborne too. Even an elf would have struggled to make the shot look so easy. And any archer who could use [Pierce] on that level would be an absolute menace, to say nothing of the raccoon’s obvious power. What an unusual duo. “So… I guess you’ve finished your mission.”
“It was more of a side quest,” the woman admitted as she scratched the back of her head and grinned. Her eyes were a deep burgundy. “You see, Roger and I are supposed to be going on a proper quest, but we haven’t been able to find a suitable group to tag along with yet.”
The raccoon grumbled and gestured. It looked like a form of sign language, but it wasn’t one Aria could understand.
“Relax.” The woman scratched Roger behind the ears. “We’ll work something out.”
Aria was fairly certain the raccoon was from the Raccoon Empire. As far as she knew, they were the only raccoons that could use magic. The Raccoon Empire was an ancient nation, arguably the oldest in the world since it could trace its foundation back to the era when leviathans and krakens had nearly drowned the world. Unlike their lesser kin elsewhere, the empire’s raccoons were long-lived, highly intelligent, and capable of using powerful magic. The founder of the empire, Roger the Relentless, had supposedly wielded magic strong enough to impress even the dragons of the ancient days. Still, it was hard to separate fact from fiction. The raccoons of the empire were a secretive bunch, and her order had seldom had dealings with them.
“I should introduce myself and my friends,” Aria said.
“Sure.” The woman grinned. “You already know that Roger is the raccoon. I go by Susannah.”
“I’m Aria. As for my friends…” Blue Scales and Eileen stepped out into the open. “The merman is Blue Scales, and the bear is Eileen.”
“I sensed one other guy,” Susannah murmured. “Although if he’s not one of yours…” She turned and readied an arrow.
Eric stepped out into the open. “Hey, easy there. I was keeping an eye on things. That’s all. I’m with them.”
“You’re a sneaky fellow. I wouldn’t have noticed you if I hadn’t sensed you earlier.” The hood of Susannah’s grey cloak had fallen back to reveal long, black hair. “Not too many people can sneak up on me, you know.”
Roger eyed the four of them closely and made a series of noises that must be speech based on how Susannah reacted. The woman nodded thoughtfully. “You’re right. We should ask them.” She turned back to Aria. “I don’t suppose you’re heading to Ash Harbour at the behest of a certain important vampire, are you?”
Aria’s brows furrowed. “Oh?”
“The thing is, Roger and I are monster hunters, for the most part. Now, if you’re going to visit an ancient kingdom that is likely full of monsters, you need people like us. Of course, two people wouldn’t last long on their own, especially a ranger and a war wizard. People like us need groups for missions like that, but there aren’t many people willing to take a chance on a raccoon, and I’m not leaving Roger behind.”
Aria bit her lip. She’d encountered situations like this before. Groups were generally wary of adding new members at short notice since it could badly disrupt how the team functioned. That was especially true when it involved unusual people like Roger. As a war wizard, he must be extremely powerful. However, raccoons were far less durable than humans. Any group he joined would have to adjust its tactics to protect him, so he could use his magic to full effect.
“And if we are working for a certain important vampire?” Aria asked.
The woman took out a familiar parchment – Jonathan had one just like it – and held it up. “That’s proof we’re working for the same guy. Now, you can probably guess where I’m going with this…”
“You want to join us.”
“Right.” Susannah put on what Aria assumed was her most charming and winning smile, an expression Roger did his best to mimic. Given the dark bands of fur around his eyes, it made him look somewhat nefarious.
“Hmm…” It was an interesting offer. Unfamiliarity aside, numbers mattered in places like Mordrath. At her side, Eileen made a thoughtful sound. The shape-shifter was a good judge of character, and she had summons that could sense hostile intent. Aria could sense one of them circling the area. Eileen nodded ever so slightly. She must not have sensed any lies or hostile intent. “Mind telling us more about yourselves then?”
“As I said, my name is Susannah.” The woman sketched them a rough bow, her movements elegant despite the raccoon perched on her shoulder. “Stealthy ranger, awesome archer, and expert with daggers.” She grinned. “If you need anything hit with an arrow, I guarantee I can do it. Want me to put an arrow through a drake’s eye? Sure. The only thing I’ll ask is if you’d prefer the right eye or the left eye. Want me to put an arrow through the visor of a charging knight? No problem.” The raccoon nudged her. “Oh, and he’s Roger.” The raccoon rolled his eyes and nudged her again. “He’s named after Roger the Relentless – yes, that Roger the Relentless. In fact, he’s a distant descendant. He’s a war wizard. You’d be hard-pressed to find one smaller than him, but there aren’t many better than him either.” She grinned and lifted Roger over her head like a trophy. “In fact, I prefer to think of him as travel-sized. I mean, how many war wizards can you carry around like this?”
Aria imagined trying to lift one of the wizened men who made up the majority of war wizards over her head like a trophy and had to bite back a smile. “It would be nice to have more ranged support for this mission…”
It was something she and the others had discussed in the past. Although b
oth Eileen and Blue Scales could muster powerful ranged attacks, the group didn’t have any truly dedicated ranged attackers. A skilled ranger like Susannah could easily fill that role. Likewise, a war wizard would give the group someone who could use area-of-effect magical attacks to deal with crowds and inflict massive property damage if necessary. Blue Scales could, if necessary, fill the same role as a war wizard, but he was a warrior first and foremost, and his preference for water-based magic meant there would be times when he would be stronger and times when he would be weaker. Indeed, against foes like the draco-hydra, ash-based attacks would have been nice to have since they hindered regeneration.
“So… can we tag along? I promise we’ll do our bit, and it’s not like we can afford to betray you or anything. You’ve got us outnumbered, and picking fights with your allies in Mordrath is a fantastic way to end up dead.”
Roger gave Aria another winning smile. Once again, though, it only accentuated the mischievous nature raccoons were known for.
“I’m not agreeing to anything yet, but come along. We can talk about it.”
* * *
“Well, I can’t say I expected to run into a group like this, not that I’m complaining.”
Jonathan peered at Susannah. The dark-haired woman and Roger had come as a surprise, but both Eileen and Miles agreed they weren’t a threat, and he’d learned to trust their judgement. Eric had also muttered something about Susannah smelling vaguely familiar before agreeing with their assessment. The pair was being honest about wanting to join them for the mission. In his opinion, they’d definitely come in handy. Sure, he wasn’t the most experienced adventurer, but even he could see the benefits of having a skilled ranger and a war wizard on their side.
“I will admit that a group with a werewolf, a vampire, a shape-shifter, a former paladin, a butler, and a merman is unusual.” Susannah reached for another helping of stew and gave Blue Scales a cheerful thumb’s up for his culinary efforts. “Oh, I’m not criticising. My best friend is a raccoon who likes blowing things up. No offence.”
Attempted Adventuring (The Attempted Vampirism Series Book 2) Page 7
