by Tony Johnson
“Shut up!” Ty laughed as he sat up and clobbered Steve with his pillow before laying back down and going to sleep.
Chapter 83
“Time to get up,” Ty hit Steve with his pillow, starting the morning the same way they ended the night. The Elf moved to the window and cast open the curtains, flooding the room with sunlight.
Wincing, Steve raised his forearm to shield his eyes.
“You’ve been asleep for a while,” Ty was kind enough to stand between the window and the bed, blocking the sunlight with his back. Already dressed for the day, the older of the two warriors said, “I’m about to head to Shana’s for breakfast. Grizz isn’t going. I found him down at the bar earlier, already drunk. There isn’t even a bartender down there. He just took a few bottles for himself and left coins on the counter.”
“I don’t know what we can do to help him if he doesn’t want to help himself,” Steve stretched and yawned.
“I tried talking to him. It didn’t do any good.”
“Have you seen Kari?”
“I went to her room, but she wasn’t there. I think she might’ve headed out to explore the city by herself or something.”
I hope I can find her on my way to Emma’s. “How'd you sleep?” Steve asked, thinking of the conversation last night.
“Better than you. You were mumbling in the night. You kept saying Silvanus and Malorek’s names.”
“I guess the two people who stress me out during the day are the same ones that stress me out at night,” Steve said, trying to recall his nightmare.
“If Silas comes to Casanovia he’ll be one less worry soon enough,” Ty encouraged his brother.
“I hope I’m healed up by the time he gets here so I can ensure it. And it wouldn’t hurt to get my element so I can hold my own against him.”
“I’m sure it’ll happen soon. As Mayor Hughley said, it’ll probably be eight to ten days before they arrive. With the fast rate in which things have been happening, I’m sure you’ll get yours before then.”
“We’ll see,” Steve replied. “For now, I’m gonna head to the latrine, get dressed, then go to Emma’s and get started on the crib. I’ll see you later.”
“Sorry Shana, no one else could make it,” Ty apologized on behalf of his friends as he entered the Latimer’s house. The breakfast smelled delicious and was warm compared to the crisp bite of the cold, morning breeze.
“That’s okay,” Shana tried mustering up an apathetic response, but Ty sensed a twinge of disappointment that she didn’t get to meet his companions. Taking his jacket, Shana hung it up on the wall of the entryway next to light blue and dark blue cloaks that belonged to her and her mother.
“Hey buddy,” Ty playfully wrestled with Copper, who ran up to meet him.
“I hope you’re hungry because we made a lot,” Shana explained as she led Ty into their kitchen where a bountiful spread was about ready to be served. “Ty, this is my mom. Mom, this is my friend, Ty.”
“How do you do, Ms. Latimer?” Ty extended his hand to the woman in the yellow sweater with green eyes that matched her daughter’s. Ty was surprised at the age of Shana’s mother. Shana is only nineteen, but Ms. Latimer seems to be in her upper fifties. She must’ve given birth to Shana when she was near forty, Ty realized.
“I’m doing fine,” the rosy-cheeked Ms. Latimer was as cheerful as Ty imagined she would be. “I’ll admit I was a little alarmed when I woke up and saw a direfox sleeping on the floor at the foot of my bed, but Shana came running in and explained everything after she heard my screams.”
“Sorry about that,” Ty grimaced and cut a sharp look to Copper, who only stared back, panting as usual and looking happy.
“It’s okay, it’s not like I can get any more gray hair,” Ms. Latimer laughed to herself, to which Ty realized she was completely gray. With his attention focused on her hair, Ty noticed something else peculiar. She has a large bald spot on the side of her head. I wonder what happened. It looks as if she sustained a pretty significant injury.
“Besides, Copper is harmless,” Ms. Latimer made it clear she had overcome her initial trepidation. She tossed the direfox one of her freshly-baked biscuits. “Other than that brief incident, this morning is going well. It’s hard not to be happy when my daughter so excitedly explained that you were coming over.”
“Mom!” Shana shook her head, signaling that she was revealing too much information.
“For only knowing each other for one night, I’ve heard a lot about you and your friends. Shana told me all about your journey and what happened in Celestial and the other cities.”
“I hope it was okay I told her,” Shana cringed and looked to Ty.
“Yeah,” Ty waved it off. “It’s not a big deal. Tonight there will be an address in which the commander and mayor will update everyone on what’s been going on.”
“Mayor Hughley came by while we were cooking breakfast this morning,” Shana said. “He wants the other aides and I to start going around and spreading the word about the meeting tonight.”
“Do you need my help?” Ty asked.
“Sure, if you come along, I can give you a tour of the city as we walk around.”
“That would be helpful. It’ll be good to get a layout of the city before the battle.”
Over the next hour, Ty sat at the dining table of the Latimer residence and ate with them while Copper roamed around underneath, hoping any one of the three would accidentally drop their food, even though Ms. Latimer had given him his own plate at the start of breakfast.
Talking to Shana’s mom is just as easy as it was talking to Shana last night, Ty thought, as he listened to her talk about how she grew up in Celestial. I feel comfortable in their home, and I like that I’m able to joke back and forth with both of them.
“You’ve both slaved over this meal all morning,” Ty mentioned once they finished eating. “Why don’t you let me clean up the dishes so both of you can sit and relax?”
“I like him,” Ty overheard Ms. Latimer telling her daughter in the other room as he washed the dishes in the kitchen. In response, Shana whispered something to her mother, but Ty couldn’t make it out, only hearing the giggling between the two women that came afterwards.
While the mother and daughter sat and chatted, they were confused by Copper’s incessant whining as he went back and forth between them and Ty. Minutes later, the sounds of horns throughout the city interrupted their conversation.
What was that? Shana said to herself. “Did you hear that, mom?”
“I didn’t hear anything,” Ms. Latimer said. Shana assumed her mom hadn’t heard the noise because the same injury that had left her scarred and unable to grow hair on part of the side of her head had also left her partially deaf. It was Copper who confirmed she wasn’t hearing things when he got up to run to the front window. One look outside caused him to growl.
“Ty! Come here!” Shana called out from where she and her mom sat in the room adjacent to the kitchen. “Something’s going on!”
Jogging into the room, the Elf headed straight for the window Copper was looking out of. Shana moved to join them, but before either of them got there, an explosion shook the foundations of the house, causing everything to rattle and sway.
“What is happening!?” Ms. Latimer stood, petrified.
Trying to get a better view, Ty opened the front door and looked up to the skies. Shana and Copper stood on either side of him. “No, no, no,” he said, dismayed at the sight. Next to him Copper’s growling had turned into aggressive, vicious barking.
Shana closed her eyes and bent down to soothe the direfox who surprised her by how angry he sounded for such a friendly monster. “Tell me that wasn’t what I think it is,” she kept her eyes closed, pretending she didn’t see what she saw in the skies.
Ty shook his head, unable to take his eyes off the Casanovian sky, peppered by dozens and dozens of enemy flying monsters.
“Get to cov
er,” he told the Latimers. “We’re under attack.”
Chapter 84
“Do you have a cellar? Do you have a cellar?” Ty repeated more loudly since Shana’s was too shocked to answer.
“Yes,” Ms. Latimer answered in reply.
Taking Shana’s bicep, Ty led her and Ms. Latimer outside, around the house, to the entrance of the cellar.
“Stay here and hunker down,” he suggested.
“No,” Shana replied, instantaneously refocusing her mindset and changing it to one refusing to hide. “I want to be with you. Maybe I’ll get my element. I want to help.”
“You don’t have an element and until you do, you’re just another civilian. I don’t want you to get hurt. Stay here,” Ty sternly commanded her, closing the cellar doors once they were far enough down the stairs.
“Let’s go, Copper,” he hopped onto the direfox. Although shorter than a horse, Copper was faster and more muscle-bound than a steed. “As fast as you can now,” Ty encouraged the monster while sitting mounted on the unsaddled beast. We’ve got to get to the stables we saw last night as Hughley took us to the tavern. I can get an aerial monster there and help in the battle.
I can’t believe this, Ty thought as he rode. All around the city, enemy dragons, phoenixes, and gryphons, swooped down, unleashing their attacks on the city. People who’d been out and about frantically ran, seeking cover. Horns continued to blare, even louder now that Ty was outside and could hear them better. Warriors on top of the watchtower the Elf and direfox rode past used miniature-like catapults to shoot weighted nets at enemy monsters. One of the fired entrapments connected with its intended target, wrapping up a gryphon and sending it crashing into the side of a building.
Coming to the stable where friendly aerial monsters were being saddled and mounted before taking to the skies, Ty dismounted Copper and approached the man in charge.
Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me, Ty thought as he saw who it was. It’s the same man Shana and I got in a fight with in the tavern. Captain Nereus. He must be in charge of directing Casanovia’s aerial warriors while the Aerial Commander is in Celestial for the Tournaments.
“I’m an aerial warrior from the capital,” Ty explained, coming up to the captain with light-brown skin without wasting a moment’s notice. “Is there a mount I can ride?”
Looking Ty up and down, Nereus instantly recognized the Elf as the one who gave him the bruised jaw he currently sported. “No way. You’re not even armored,” he waved Ty away.
“That should be the least of your concerns. Have you seen the amount of destruction already? You need these monsters in the sky immediately,” Ty gestured to the winged allies who were pulling and biting their chains, raring to be freed so they could help fight. Even as he spoke, an enemy monster sent a tornado ripping through the far end of the stables, causing everything that wasn’t tied down to fly everywhere.
“My men are coming in every couple of minutes. We don’t need help from an outsider,” Nereus talked fast, quickly making it clear why he wasn’t giving Ty a monster to ride. “We protect our own here.”
Great, a warrior who takes so much pride in his city, his romanticization of it ends up hurting the very thing he loves.
“Your pride is costing people lives,” Ty ignored Nereus’ order and began pushing past the captain, heading for the nearest ride.
“Let’s not go through this again,” the captain put his hand on Ty’s chest, preventing him from proceeding while setting the precedent that he would physically stop him if need be.
Ty was about to call the captain’s bluff and continue pushing past him, knowing what was best for the city, but he stopped, seeing two squires watching the altercation. What kind of example would I be sending to these kids in creating more drama and chaos when there’s so much already? I may disagree with Nereus, but I have to respect his position.
Throwing his hands up and backing away, Ty apologized, but didn’t leave without voicing his option, “Just a word of advice,” he spoke condescendingly to the captain, “don’t send a rider up as soon as they are ready to go. The monsters are outside just waiting to pick them off. You have to attack in waves.
Come on, Copper, we’ll find another way to help out.”
Ty left the stable and looked up as he once again rode his four-legged friend. Friendly monsters were engaged in battle above the arena which housed Casanovia’s main barracks and stables. The warriors were doing all they could, but were unable to hold off the enemy as monsters broke free, flew down to the barracks, and unleashed their elemental attacks, trying to cause as much damage and death as possible.
“It seems like they’re converging on warriors and warrior-owned buildings,” he spoke aloud even though he knew Copper couldn’t hear. They must be trying to take out as many men as possible before Silas comes through with his army.
“Hurry,” Ty dug his fingers deeper into Copper’s fur to hold on. “Let’s head to the tavern.” I need to get to my armor and swords. Let’s see what more I can do with my element. From there we can find another stable where the captain there may be more welcoming to a foreigner.
Ty dismounted Copper once he arrived at Applewood Inn and ran up the steps to his room with the direfox eagerly following behind.
“Kari!” he stopped in her doorway, seeing the Halfling quickly tightening the belts of her silver plate of armor.
“Ty! I think they’re focusing their attack on the warriors!”
“I thought so too,” Ty was now confident that his assumption was correct now that Kari had reached the same conclusion. “We have to help them. Have you seen Grizz or Steve?”
“Grizz is passed out on his bed from drinking. He swore at me when I tried to wake him. And Steve,” Kari looked somewhat perturbed, “I saw him in the market with some woman an hour ago. I don’t know where he is now.”
“Did you talk to him?”
“No, I didn’t want to,” she replied, curtly.
“I’m sure he’ll be here any second to get his armor.”
Ty’s estimation proved right when Steve rushed up the stairs and into their room, not two minutes later. Kari was helping Ty into his armor to speed up the process after she, he, and Copper had altogether failed in a second attempt to get the inebriated Dwarf to fight with them.
“Did you see any monsters on the ground?” Steve asked his two friends as he immediately headed for his armor, not wasting a second.
“No, it’s just an aerial attack,” Ty answered, moving to help put the red armor on Steve now that his own was securely fastened.
“How are you, Kari?” Steve turned to the Halfling, who answered, “Fine,” in a quick, passive-aggressive tone. Her attitude wasn’t lost on Steve.
She’s not happy I haven’t spent time with her yet. But it’s not for lack of trying. “Have you seen Commander Lockland or Mayor Hughley?” Steve directed his question to Ty.
“Not yet. I’m assuming they were in the mess hall discussing the strategies we were going to meet with them about later today.” Ty shook his head, worried for their safety. “The monsters are heavily targeting their location in the arena district where we were last night. Nereus, the captain in charge, doesn’t seem to know what he’s doing.”
“Then that’s where we need to go,” Steve decided, tying his blue sash around his waist. With his red armor on, the warrior reached down to his side, double-checking that Brightflame was in its sheath, which it was. Like Kari’s insistence on always carrying her bow everywhere she went, Steve was the same with his custom-created sword. He would only take off his belt and sheath it at night to sleep, but that didn’t mean he obsessively checked throughout the day, making sure it was still in its proper place.
“Ty! Copper!” a voice could be heard calling out as the heroes descended to the first floor of the tavern.
“Shana, I told you to stay home,” Ty was dismayed she had come through the dangerous streets to find him.
&n
bsp; “I know, but I can’t sit around while my city is attacked. I’ll do whatever I can to help,” she said, cringing at a series of impacts in the far distance.
Relenting, Ty hurriedly removed his armor and put it on Shana, who, being a female Human, was roughly his same size as him. “Kari, this is Shana. Shana, this is Kari,” he quickly introduced the two to each other.
“Nice to meet you,” Shana greeted her verbally since she was standing still, allowing Ty to tighten the armor’s straps and buckles to make it a snug fit.
“I’m going ahead,” Kari rudely excused herself before finishing the salutation.
“Wait,” Steve called out. “Let’s go together! It’ll be safer!”
“I’ll be better off on my own,” Kari shouted back.
Feeling guilty, and that it was his fault she was in a ‘leave-me-alone’ type of mood, Steve apologized to Shana. “Sorry, Kari’s normally the nicest person around.”
Unbothered by the interaction, Shana was more focused on the battle at hand. “Do I get a weapon?”
“Why don’t you focus on sticking behind Steve, Copper, and I,” Ty suggested.
Outside, once again, the skies continued to hold the ominous sight of flying monsters everywhere. Various shades of red, blue, green, yellow, and brown were visible in the clear blue sky. Kari was out of sight, already somewhere on the path to the arena district. It was now up to the three companions and direfox she left behind to make their way there.
Ahead of the heroes, despite having a direct line of sight, a dark gray plume of smoke rose from that section of the city.
It’s got to be hundreds of feet high! Shana stared, fearing the destruction from which the smoke emitted from.
That’s the barracks, Ty knew. The monsters must’ve destroyed it. Around the plume, what remained of the Casanovian monsters were being ganged up on and killed. It’s just like Celestial, he had a flashback to Nightstrike mowing down all the warriors atop their mounts.
As they entered the plaza of the inner city’s southwest watchtower, a red-and-yellow-feathered phoenix circling the tower was shot with one of the weighted nets Ty had seen utilized earlier. The enemy monster crashed to the plaza’s sand floor right in front of the heroes, where one of its wingbones snapped in half upon impact. The pained phoenix rolled around, attempting to escape in its entrapment.
