Then a fern, then some oddly shaped fungi.
Zahna glanced back through the trees, picked out the orange glow in the gloom. The scent of smoke drew her back to the waiting boys.
Chanting loudly now, Zahna pushed her finds into the samovar, then sat on her haunches to wait.
As the tea simmered, gossamer strands webbed out to connect everything in the jungle: the insects, the trees, even the droplets of humidity condensing on Torstag’s armour.
Result = 9 (Performance) +0 (Luck) -6 (Challenge) = 3.
Effect = A dozen doses. Spell duration is about 2 watches. Tea maintains potency for a couple of days.
The Gods were with her today!
Zahna laid out the enamel cups and wrapped her hand in a cloth. She poured a cup of tea and took a slurp. The insects danced away. Her pores opened. Her skin tingled. She nodded. “Drink,” she said.
“Is it safe?” asked Ingar. The boy’s red hair was plastered to his scalp and the humidity had brought out a flush that made his freckles look pale.
“What?”
“Last time you gave us a potion, it hurt,” said Torstag.
“Of course it’s safe…” grated Zahna.
You are “Cold”.
Test of Will 3. Failed.
You have Issue “Irritated by People Stuff” at 1 Hardening.
Wrestling with Irritated by People Stuff (1/6) cost 3 Potestas, -1 of 5 Potestas remaining.
Will 3 overcome. You have Hindrance “Infuriated.”
Potestas -1. You have Hindrance “Emotionally Exhausted.”
Form lost. New Form 0.
Performing Virago at Level 1.
Zahna took a deep breath.
Nearby a frog chirped. Further off, something screeched.
Test of Will 3. Hindrance “Infuriated” shaken off.
Hindrance “Emotionally Exhausted” remains.
She sighed. That wasn’t going to go away until she got her Potestas back up above zero. Just growling at them wasn’t going to work. “The tea,” she said, her voice flat to her own ears, “will let you pass through the jungle unhindered for two watches—say eight hours.”
“Unhindered as in un-feasted-on?” said Ingar, slapping at his arm. “I’m in.” He squatted and knocked back the drink
“Thank you,” said Torstag, following suit. He shook out his shoulders, making the lamellar plates rattle. “Much better. Now what?”
Zahna decanted the tea into a flask. It would keep its potency for a day or so. She used her knife to dig a hole in the loam, then nudged the glowing charcoal into it. Finally she packed up her bag. “Uphill from here, pretty much in a straight line and there’s the Tomb of the Ice Queen. What are you waiting for? Come on.”
The tea continued to work as they climbed steadily through the gloom, occasional shafts of light revealing clouds of insects between the trees. The ground slowly tilted up to become a gentle hillside. Here and there, rocks reared out of the mud, making clearings where sunlight pooled.
Just as Zahna got back up to two Potestas, something ahead of them flickered in her Sight.
“Halt,” said Zahna. “Magic.”
Torstag unsheathed his sword. Ingar hefted his new axe.
New Form 2. Performing Scout at level 5.
Moving lethargically, they stalked forward, Torstag and Zahna in perfect silence, Ingar blundering and cursing under his breath. “Fucking jungle.”
They needn’t have bothered with stealth.
They came on a middle-aged woman in heavy woollen clothing, propped against a stone door in the side of a low cliff with trees overflowing its edge. From its curve, it looked very much like an old quarry cut into the hillside.
Warlock.
Zahna held up her hand. “Careful. She might be dangerous.”
Torstag nodded and unsheathed his sword.
“Bollocks,” said Ingar. “She needs our help.” He crashed through the vegetation toward the woman.
“Wait,” said Torstag, blundering to catch up with him, armour letting him brush through thorny growths and foliage.
“Gah,” said Zahna. She slipped after them, ranging out to the flank just in case.
The woman blinked up at the two men, eyes narrow above insect-puffed cheeks. “Oh good,” she said. “Savages. You can take my money. Just make sure you put me out of my misery first.”
“Tea,” said Ingar, looking directly at where Zahna was trying to lurk. “Now.”
Zahna stepped out of hiding.
The woman’s head snapped around.
Virago. Challenge, 4.
“Oh,” said the woman. “You’re another…lady.”
Chapter 33: Tea and Sympathy
The woman wrinkled her nose. “Lukewarm tea. Don’t you have coffee?”
“It will make you feel better,” said Ingar.
She managed a smile and the jungle seemed to light up. “You’re being awfully kind to me.”
Because I’m not Marvon the Mutilator, thought Ingar. “It’s just nice to meet somebody who’s not trying to kill us,” he said.
The woman took a deeper sip. Her insect bites started to fade. Her face lost its puffiness. “Interesting,” she said. “What was in that?”
“Ask Zahna,” said Ingar. “She made it.”
The woman drew in a knee and shuffled up into a more upright position. The movement caused her right leg to briefly emerge from her long skirt, revealing a muscular calf and a laced ankle boot.
Ingar was suddenly reminded that this was only the second girl—woman!—he’d met since the Grey Cortège took him. There was certainly more of her than there was of Zahna, but Ingar didn’t think that was a bad thing. He wondered what she’d look like—
Unlock Companion, Gallantry?
“Ahem,” she said.
He flushed, couldn’t think of anything to say.
Unlock Companion, Gallantry?
Fuck yes. Please. Gallantry.
You are Quick Witted so Gallantry Feats start at 2 Grasp.
Companion, Gallantry at 2/6 Grasp.
You may have 4 Vocations. Entertainer vocation Abandoned. Tout, Recite, Acrobatics and Sing retained as Skills.
Wait! What?
“Is something wrong?” asked the woman.
Ingar flushed and shook her head. He could hardly tell this stranger that he’d just given up everything from his childhood just so he could flirt with her.
“Then perhaps you should introduce yourself? Who exactly are you?”
“Who am I?”
You are Ingar, Human, Youth, Quick Witted, Nimble Fingered, Hedonistic, Sensitive.
Potestas 6/6. Will 3. Issue “Horror of Murder” 1/6.
Vitality 4/4. Toughness 2.
Vocations:
Burglar 4: Hide, Climb +1, Spider Climb, Move Silently, Stalk, Pick Pocket, Open Lock, Detect Trap, Stalk Close 3/6, Disarm Trap 2/6.
Warrior 1 (Halberds): Wrath Strike 1/6.
Companion 0: Gallantry 2/6.
Artist 0: Visualisation 4/6.
Various capabilities including Tout 2, Recite 2, Acrobatics 2, Sing 2 and Meditation.
Ingar exhaled. The skills he’d learned growing up were still there, just shifted a little.
The woman’s eyes twinkled, obviously enjoying his discomfort.
Go on then. Make me gallant!
Using Gallantry, 2/6. Cost 1 Potestas. 5 Potestas remaining.
Form 3.
Performing Companion at Level 3.
Ingar bowed flamboyantly. “Permit me to introduce myself. I am Ingar the Burglar, at your service my lady.”
Result = 3 (Performance) +2 (Feat) +1 (Luck) -6 (Challenge) = 0
Effect = Mild Tug (0).
The woman fanned herself with her hand. “A burglar? How roguish!”
Companion, Gallantry advances to 3/6 Grasp.
“Miss Millicent Tomarda,” she said, extending her hand for a kiss. “Delighted I’m sure, Master Ingar.”
“Very pleased to meet you, Miss Mil
licent. This is Zahna and…” He glanced around and located his friend lurking a little distance off, watching over them like a sheepdog. “…that’s Torstag. Might I ask where you are from?”
“Why, the City of Timbandria!” She seemed to read his expression. “We’re famous for our libraries. Libraries and steam engines I suppose.”
“Not a sorcerer or a warrior, then?” prompted Zahna, who had moved to sit on her haunches nearby.
Miss Millicent raised a limp arm and let it drop. “I really am beyond the Pale aren’t I?”
“Pale, as in bucket?” asked Ingar.
“Pale as in the Pale of Rationality,” corrected Miss Millicent. “We must be positively surrounded by gremlins.” Her expression sharpened. “I’m a librarian,” she said. “What am I doing here?” Her eyebrows rose. “Did you kidnap me?”
“No, really, Miss Millicent,” said Ingar, “we didn’t.” He poured her more tea. “So what are you doing here, Miss Millicent?”
“The chart!” she said, scrabbling in her things. “Ah…” She pulled out a rather floppy roll of parchment. “I should have copied it onto paper. How was I to know about the humidity?”
“May I?” asked Ingar. “Hmmm.”
It was a portal map familiar from the monastery geography lessons. It was easy to trace their route from the “Broken Lands” to a portal in the middle of the chart, marked with a crown.
“I am an experienced spelunker,” declared Miss Millicent. “In fact, I am a founder member of the League of Lady Spelunkers and Trailblazers. And I was cautious at first.” She blinked at them. “Are you…natives? It’s just that you look as if you come from two different cultures.”
“Ingar and I are former monks,” said Torstag, striding over. “Zahna…”
“I travel a lot,” said Zahna.
Ingar offered her the cup.
Millicent sipped. “Odd taste. Where was I?”
“The League of Lady Spelunkers and Trailblazers,” prompted Zahna, her eyes narrow.
“Oh yes,” said Miss Millicent. “When I discovered this chart in an antique desk, I thought ‘How fabulous to surprise everybody with a new route for our Summer Expedition’. But there were dragons, and I rescued this naked barbarian who turned out to be a king and wanted to marry me so I slipped away and I should have headed home but it was only two portals from the crown and I thought I had come this far, just a quick look around…Which reminds me…” She fished in her bag, opened a small wooden box took out a pill. “I have to take these…for my voices.”
“Voices?” said Ingar.
“Well, just one voice…why am I telling you this?”
“Do the pills work?” asked Ingar, putting a gentle hand on her arm. He caught Zahna’s eye, trying to put a question into the look.
“Not entirely,” said Millicent, “But they do muffle it somewhat.”
Zahna coughed. “You should absolutely…” She glanced at Torstag, who was watching her. Her eyebrows raised a little. “…absolutely not risk taking them,” she completed. “You don’t know what effect the humidity will have on the medicine.”
What was going on there? Having Zahna along made everything complicated. He and Torstag should be in some tavern by now, flush with loot from some old tomb. I’m going to fuck all the women, drink all—
Millicent blinked owlishly, which somehow captured all his attention. “Oh. Good point, I suppose. I can always tell it to shut up. That works, but then people think I’m mad. Do you think I’m mad?”
“No,” said Ingar.
“Then what happened?” Zahna leaned forward. “Once you reached the jungle?”
“Then somehow I just kept walking. It was as if I was being towed. And here I am, days from the portal.” She laughed. “It sounds really quite foolish now I say it aloud. Perhaps I should ask Dr Joyous for new pills when I get home? Finally I saw something through the trees and I thought Oh Thank Goodness! I’ve found an Underground Station. But instead it’s some kind of tomb and I can’t get in—though why I should want to I don’t know, I mean disturbing the archaeology is bad—and I am too exhausted to backtrack but at least the stone is cold for some reason.”
“Will you excuse us for a moment?” said Zahna, rising.
“Of course,” said Miss Millicent. “I imagine you’ll want to talk about what to do with me.”
“Nothing like that,” protested Ingar.
“Go on,” said Miss Millicent. “People make stupid decisions when they can’t discuss them properly.”
“Actually,” said Torstag. “Ingar will stay with you while Zahna and I find a spot to make camp.”
“Will he now?” said Ingar.
Torstag gave him a meaningful look.
“Sure,” said Ingar and turned his attention back to Miss Millicent.
Chapter 34: Beware the Virago
Sweat streamed down Torstag’s face as he scrambled up the rocky rise to the right of the cliff. The overlapping plates of his lamellar made it hard to bend far enough forward to lean into the climb.
Zahna got to the top ahead of him. She lent on her staff and stood looking down at him with the lush green behind her.
As he reached her, she turned and strolled over to the cliff top overlooking the tomb entrance where Ingar now sat next to Miss Millicent.
“Good spot to camp,” she said. “Dry.”
Form 1. Performing Scout at Level 2.
The area behind the cliff top was a mostly flat. Low bushes had sprung up wherever a crack or crevice would hold soil. Otherwise, it was an expanse of exposed stone.
“Wouldn’t take long to clear a camp,” she said.
Torstag shook his head. “I think we need to make some kind of raised platform.”
Zahna’s eyebrows steepled. “Why would we do that?”
“Um,” said Torstag. He cast around and spotted a column of ants crossing a bare patch. “Insects?”
“My tea deals with that,” she said without looking his way.
Zahna was watching Ingar talking to Miss Millicent. Torstag’s friend seemed particularly animated by the conversation: bobbing this way and that, alternately stooping and straightening. Sure, there was an age difference, but from this distance it didn’t look that complicated.
“Magic,” said Torstag.
“Yes, magic tea,” said Zahna.
“Yes,” said Torstag, then realised that wasn’t what he meant. He unbuckled his helmet and mopped his brow.
The cliffs were just high enough that he could see over the treetops and beyond hills that undulated like great green waves all the way to the horizon. How far would he have to walk before he found any other people?
A giggle echoed up from below.
“Your magic,” he said.
“Well, obviously,” she said.
Torstag put the helmet down on a rock—a dead memory told him he would have to check it for insects and snakes later—then started on the straps of his cuirass.
“What is it?” said Zahna.
“When I brought up my Necromancer Sight back then, it said you and Miss Millicent are both…Viragos?”
“Yes,” said Zahna. “I am. I’m not honestly sure what that means.”
“But it’s like Warlord,” said Torstag. “It gets people to do what you want. Specifically men.”
She didn’t respond.
“That’s why you were going to tell her to take her pills,” he said.
“I…you can see what she’s doing to Ingar,” Zahna. “Was I so wrong?”
Torstag got the last buckle. The cuirass opened out. Laughter drifted up from the tomb entrance. Should he be dashing back down to protect his friend?
The lamellar clattered as he draped it over the helmet. “It wasn’t Ingar you were worried about.”
“No,” she said. “If you could hear my Demon you’d know I’m ‘driven’ and ‘cold’. You would be too, if Gronchard wanted you for his slave.”
Torstag straightened and stood while the sweat dripped from
his robe. It would be good to just strip off. “So Virago lets you manipulate men.”
“Yes,” she said. “It seems to work that way.”
“So how do I know…” Torstag struggled for the words. “Back after that fight, did you use magic to make me…?”
Zahna rounded on him. “Of course not. I don’t think Virago is magic anyway.”
Test of Potestas 5. Influence detected.
You are Level 3 (Warrior). Current Form 1.
Result = 4 (Performance) +2 (“Irritated”) -1 (Luck) -3 (Challenge) = 6.
Effect = Resisted.
“You just tried it!” said Torstag.
“Yes…no…I didn’t mean to.” Zahna crossed her ankles, uncrossed them. “It’s not Magic any more than a pretty face or a well-turned ankle is magic. If I were built like Miss Millicent—all breasts and hips and legs—would you be having this conversation?” She shifted, bracing her legs.
It looked as if she were poised to drop into a fighting stance, but the interplay of bone and sinew took Torstag back to their fierce coupling.
Her eyes twinkled knowingly.
It would be all too easy for him to blame his mood on the heat and move on to other concerns. Torstag, however, was his own man.
“How can I tell?” he said. “I’m ‘Marked’.”
Zahna sighed. “I didn’t do that.”
“It doesn’t matter, though, does it?” said Torstag. “I will never know whether what I feel is real.”
“What you feel?” said Zahna.
He remembered her shrugging off their encounter as the business of past lives.
“What I feel right now,” said Torstag, “Is that I should help you get what you need from this tomb, and then we should part company.”
The Jungle Tomb of the Ice Queen (The Flying Tooth Garden Book 1) Page 21
