“We are Karim of the White Tower,” my scribe mage began, “Weylin Fellas, and Eadric.”
“The Fellas child?” Merada blinked again. “I’ve heard of yer parents.” Weylin nodded at her with a neutral expression.
“We are at the Lord Challenger’s service, and between the three of us we represent all three academies. We have assisted the Challenger in destroying other Pits.”
“Well, that’s lovely,” Merada crooned, brightening. Her eyes kept darting over to me, as if she were impressed with me somehow. It was a nice change of pace from getting stabbed and threatened. Her eyes traveled to Val, the last person in line, taking in her young age, her blades and light leather armor. “And this is…” She trailed off, confused as to why there was a young girl-child traveling with us.”
“My sister,” I answered, and the woad-woman’s head cocked sideways as she processed our different ethnicities.
“She’s adopted,” Breena explained, as Val began to look uncomfortable. “And a nascent Challenger.”
“Wait, she is?” I asked, surprised.
“Wait, I am?” Val said at the same time.
“Guineve and I confirmed it,” Breena answered with a nod. “She’s advancing at close to Wes’ rate. Faster, in some ways.”
“Icons,” Merada breathed. “I just spent five minutes trying to kill off me own lucky day. Come on then, all of ye. Let’s go a-hunting.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: RECLAMATION
She led us through the thick woods, following the broken trail the Hordebeasts had left in their wake. After a moment, she gave me a small nod to indicate it was safe to talk, and then she began speaking.
“The good news is that they’re numerous enough to track easily,” Merada said as I marched next to her. “The bad news is, well, they’re numerous enough to track easily. Means they’re a lot harder to stop now.” She gave a small sigh as we walked swiftly over the trampled foliage.
“Sorry to hear,” I answered, and meant it. “I’ve hated every interaction I’ve had with these things.”
“Oh aye,” the Woad Princess nodded. “I remember. What you did before should’ve taken care of them for good. But we’ve had Pits pop up on their own every decade or so. None of us know why.”
“The Malus warlocks can make them,” I answered grimly. “I’m not sure how they learned.”
“Oh aye, we know,” Merada answered. “But the Pits have formed even without them. We can’t account for why.”
“That’s super disturbing,” I answered, because it was. Merada nodded in response, and we spent the next couple of minutes silently scanning our surroundings.
“Hey,” I asked awkwardly, after looking behind us to make sure we were out of earshot. “Breena checked on me earlier, but nobody checked to make sure you were okay. I figured I’d ask when we were alone. I uh, didn’t hurt you earlier, did I?”
She looked at my face for a moment, brown eyes sparkling and grinning even wider than she had before.
“Oh, I’m fine. Not nearly as sore as ye could’ve made me. Ye were a perfect gentleman.”
I sputtered, because even I couldn’t miss a double entendre that obvious.
“Apologies, Challenger,” she said, giggling at my reaction. “I’m genuinely touched by yer concern, and I’m really happy to see ye again.”
I like her, Teeth spoke up again. She’s a lot of fun. I don’t care if you’re tired of hearing about it. Is she part of this Stell? Because if she is, I think I’m really going to like Stell.
“It’s good to see you too, Merada,” I admitted, not arguing with my inner dragon for once. “I’m glad to find out you’re alright. You’re a lot of fun, when you’re not trying to kill me.”
“Why thank ye,” she said with another smile. “That’ll be the last of that, by the way. Promise.”
I thanked her in return, and then we went back to paying attention to our surroundings, like we should have done instead of sputtering and laughing at each other.
“My scouts just sent me a message,” the leather-clad woman said suddenly. “The path up ahead is clear all the way to just outside the Pit’s entrance. One of them is coming to offer a report in person. Figured ye should be here,” she finished with a mysterious smile.
I nodded, curious but realizing I’d find out what was going on soon enough. The next moment a small pink light zipped over to us, flapping gossamer wings.
“Breena?” I asked in surprise as the flight flew closer, but the fairy’s figure was wrong. Her hair was also pink, but it was braided backwards in a ponytail, and while she didn’t look any younger than Breena, she felt less experienced. Her movements seemed less confident than Breena’s, as if she had less practice with them. She also seemed less energetic than my companion, but that wasn’t a fair comparison because everyone seemed less energetic than Breena. Still though, I felt like I should know her.
Apparently she felt the same way, because she stopped right in front of me.
“You,” she said in a hushed voice. “You’re back.” Her lips quivered for a moment. “They said you were gone for good. That you either left us or died.”
“I know you,” I said slowly. “But I don’t remember your name.”
“I know you don’t,” the little fairy said softly. “You jumped into a nightmare for me fifty years ago. Then you pulled me right out of it, when it should have been too late to help me. You saved my dignity and sanity, and now all the Horde hunt you for it. Traitor-prince,” she said in a whisper. “The other races don’t know, but the fair folk always understand every spoken tongue. You rejected a legacy, and worship. Because you decided I wasn’t too small to save.”
Click.
I remembered her now. The fairy I had saved from the first Horde Pit.
“You’re… Petal…” I tried to remember the second part of her name and failed, but she teared up and smiled at what little I could remember.
“Petal-bell,” she said happily. “I never even told you. And you still remember that much.”
I turned to look at Merada. “Is she our scout?”
“Aye,” the beautiful amazon said with a smile, and little Petal-bell began bobbing furiously.
“That’s right!” the little sprite shouted, eyes still shining fiercely with unshed tears. “I’m a warrior now!”
As I looked at her, I realized that her tiny fairy dress sparkled like mail, and that a tiny, thin rod was sticking out of her belt, clearly some kind of weapon.
“I learned I could be one, too!” she said proudly. “Like you and Aunt Breena!”
Breena was apparently every fairy’s aunt, at least in the Woadlands. Speaking of which, I thought with a grimace.
“Why don’t ye give a status report,” Merada asked calmly, “before yer Auntie finds out yer here and tackles ye?”
“Yes!” Petal-bell said as she straightened up in mid-air. “Yes! Right! We’re clear of Horde all the way to the entrance! There are two Miscreants out on lookout! No movement except three hours ago.” She turned to look at me. “Around then, they began shouting their chant about the traitor-prince. I guess we know why now. No further news, Woad Princess!”
“Excellent work, lass.” Merada smiled. “Return to yer post and wait further orders. If ye find out anything else, just tell me through whisper magic. After we’ve cleaned up around here, there’ll be time for ye and yer aunt to catch up.”
“We’re striking today?” Petal asked, blinking rapidly. “I mean of course we are!” she said, shooting a glance at me. “I’ll pass on your orders, Princess!”
And just like that, the little sprite flew off.
“Darling lass,” Merada said regretfully. “Can only hope she stays safe.” She looked back at me, her smug composure all gone. “This Pit has been here for a while. It’s…” She swallowed. “Been fed. A lot. Can you still…”
Her question trailed off, and I knew what she wanted to ask. Being placed into a Horde Pit was one of the most damaging things that could
be done to a person’s body, mind, and soul, and it was irreversible, because anyone who tried to pull a victim out of a Pit either failed or fell in themselves, no matter how strong their muscles or magic was. The only exception was when a Hordebeast chose to pull out a person, but that was always done only temporarily, and the damage was supposedly still permanent.
I had known none of that, though, when I jumped into one and pulled out Petal-bell. Merada was clearly hoping for another miracle.
I’d try my hardest to give her one.
“There were three Horde Pits back on Avalon,” I answered her. “They were each old enough to produce a Spawn, and they had been fed with the male captives from the Malus raids. I don’t know how long the people had been inside, but a handful of them had been reduced to a semi-corporeal state, and over a hundred had turned into these tiny balls, with no way to tell that they were still alive.”
Merada’s breath quickened.
“So far, they’ve all regained their bodies and can recognize their family members. Beyond that, I have no idea if they can make a full recovery, but Guineve and the other healers are doing all they can for them. At least half of them are performing some kind of work on Avalon.”
“Yer tellin me the truth?” Merada asked, biting her lip.
“As far as I know it.” I nodded confidently. “Let me deal with the Pit, before you let anyone else try to destroy it.”
“Whatever ye need,” she whispered, fiercely. “Save me people again, and I’ll grant any request ye wish. I mean it.”
“You do know that was already my job, right?” I clarified, feeling inexplicably guilty at her offer.
How about you shut up this time? Teeth hissed.
But she seemed to like my answer, because she was already grinning again. This time her smile was absolutely mesmerizing.
“Oh, aye, I know what kind of man the real Wes Malcolm is, even if I didn’t know the looks of him,” she said in a low voice. “But maybe he needs a reason to find out what I want, eh?”
Nevermind! Teeth hissed. Keep talking! Keep talking!
“Maybe I do,” I said without thinking, surprising myself by flirting back. She was so happy to see me, it was hard not to get swept up in it. It also was a bit of a whiplash after the fight we just had. But now that I thought about it, she seemed like she had been kind of flirty when she was trying to kill me too.
Stop reading into it, I told myself, then I cleared my throat. “Anyway, let’s talk strategy. None of the Horde Pits were underground on Avalon, so I’m a bit out of my depth here. What can you tell me about this one?”
Merada frowned.
“It’s probably the oldest still around,” she answered, still grimacing. “We’ve never been able to get much further than this. Anyone who goes in hasn’t come out.”
“Really?” I asked, surprised. “From what I’ve seen, they don’t have a force strong enough to handle a determined assault from your people.”
“Aye, they don’t,” the wild brunette agreed. “But what with all the other Trials and Pits and evil Earthborn all bothering about, we hadn’t had time to launch a determined assault on anything. We’ve all been trying to put out a dozen fires at once. And now they’ve grown to this size, where they can overwhelm a nearby village without even trying.”
“But they’re one army short, now that my people showed up,” I noted, as we crept a little closer to the entrance, trying to strategize.
“Aye, and thank ye for that,” Merada muttered. “Won’t be true tomorrow, though. By then they’ll have one army extra.”
“So we take care of it today,” I answered firmly, trying to think.
Early Horde Pits aren’t exactly difficult to wipe out. I handled my first one alone, with only one Rise to my name, armed with nothing but a cracked club, beginner-level magic, and Breena for backup. If Merada was right though, then this Horde Pit grew so fast not by secrecy or raiding, but by luring people in and turning them into prey. It was a giant trap. Or a typical dungeon crawl from one of my sister’s games.
“How are your people at finding traps?” I asked after another moment.
“In a forest? Fantastic,” Merada said, nodding in comprehension. “Finding them in stonework or old ruins? Not so much. What of yer people?”
“We’ve sort of been building a resume for them,” I replied with a wince, clutching my hand and remembering the archaeological death survey that the Shelter had been at first. “Let my team take the lead after we deal with the guard.”
“Can ye get them without being seen?” Merada asked. “If they raise an alarm right at the start it will be trouble.”
“I’d have to see things for myself,” I hedged. “But I plan on keeping as many of us invisible, for as long as possible. That reminds me,” I said before I could forget again. “Battle with me, sister.”
I wasn’t expecting it to work. It hadn’t worked with any of the Gaelguard, or with Guineve. In fact, it hadn’t worked with anyone for a while, except for Val. But Merada’s eyes snapped wide open with awareness, and I felt the link form with her, giving me a permanent sense of her combat presence, and several aspects of her personality…
She was an expert with the spear and the bow. Far better than I was with either weapon.
She was fit, flexible, and healthy. Not as strong as I was, but a hair faster and just as tough.
She was powerful for her age, but much younger than any other of Stell’s Satellites. It was a bit of a sore spot for her.
She loved being outdoors.
She loved being playful, something all of Stell’s Satellites had in common so far, though each in a different way.
And finally, I felt a warm affection come through the mindlink at me, like Breena gave, only more… reckless.
“Hmm,” she said, soundly pleased. “So that’s what I’m working with. Well then, ready, mister Big Strong Challenger?”
I nodded, giving her a cocky grin of my own.
Nothing more was said after that. We crept the rest of the way forward without incident, the fairies using their magic to whisper silent messages to Merada, and her using the mindlink to relay those messages to me. The fairies directed us to a concealed spot where we could watch the entrance to the Horde cave without being easily spotted ourselves. The entrance was just as Petal described, a massive cavern at the edge of the forest big enough for large groups of human-sized creatures to easily exit. Despite that, the wide entrance was only guarded by two Miscreants, mid-level Horde that worked best in larger groups. A single Woadfolk with only a handful of Rises could fight his or her way past them in under a minute, and a small sprite could probably sneak right past them. That confirmed it for me. This whole setup was a lure for small, brave groups of Woadfolk to investigate and be trapped by.
And it had probably worked over, and over, and over again. That just meant it was my job to get those people out.
Petal and the other sprite-folk had quietly welcomed Breena into their team, and we finalized our plan. My team of mindlinked people would lead the way, with the Gaelguard right behind us and the elven warriors from the village taking up the rear. The fairies would spread out between the rest of the Gaelguard and elves, providing healing and other support magic, and also helping us rely on silent communication.
Then I drew my white-hilted dagger and scribed the words ‘silence,’ ‘hidden,’ and ‘stealth’ into the air, using the script to reinforce the shroud. At the same time, Karim, the dozen or so fairies, and even Val acted to cast their own veiling magic, enhancing the shroud’s effect and easing the drain on my mana for covering so many people.
I still wouldn’t be able to hold it for long. In fact, I would probably have to drop the shroud in about fifteen to twenty minutes.
But that was more than enough to get in through the front door. It didn’t even break when we killed the two Miscreants by covering their mouths, dragging them with us and slowly strangling them. As I suspected, no other Horde was anywhere near our vici
nity. Just long tunnels of flickering Horde-oil torches, with oddly worked stone, showing traces of the same oil. Here and there the oil would depict scenes that were likely the Horde performing all kinds of perverted torture to their victims, but unlike the scenes in my fist Horde Pit they seemed incomplete, halted, as if something had interrupted them.
Val and Eadric took point. Eadric because he was familiar with stonework traps, and Val because her magic helped her both stay hidden and notice other hidden things as well. They ran a quiet chatter through the mindlink, with Val pointing out out-of-place objects and Eadric identifying what they were, and how to disarm them. They identified drop-traps in the floor, nearly invisible traps of sticky rope that hung from the ceiling, designed to catch fairies. Our speed picked up when we realized most of the traps were actually triggered by the absence of Horde oil. From that point, we just used the remains of the two dead guards by waving a dripping, severed arm or leg in front of us and striking the ground where we were going to walk.
I should have realized that sooner, I thought to Merada and Breena. They had to have a way to move their raiding parties easily down the halls without disarming every single trap.
Not really, Breena thought back. This stuff is so gross, most people don’t like to think about it at all.
I decided to accept the excuse for myself. Karim kept checking for magical mechanisms but so far all of the traps depended upon the proper use of Horde secretions. So, yay for gross enemies.
Things got complicated when we came to the first crossway in the tunnels. At this point, most of the Horde traps consisted of making noise, like releasing loud rock falls or making the floor bricks squeak loudly. This was probably the spot where the Horde normally surrounded and overwhelmed the invaders. But they hadn’t detected us, and so any tunnel we went down risked opening up our flanks to monsters coming at us from the other tunnels.
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