Well Done

by Andrew Seiple

  “Which is why I was not at my Duke’s side when the dragon struck,” the Knight continued. “The cowardly worm burned the southern part of the city first, and I took my garrison out to secure this... and other relics, that I will not dignify with discourse at this time.”

  “I didn’t know that,” Chase said, shuddering a bit. The old weapons cast a different light now, more sinister.

  “Though, admittedly, the risk is slight,” the Knight said, almost as if he was talking to himself. “The catacombs below here are a dungeon now, as are most of the old monuments and structures. The change forty-six years ago did for that, the old ruins caught it the first. I still remember the despair on my father’s face when the horrea became the Horroreum. Our world changed forever... he lost his life reclaiming this city, and helping the old Duke to keep sanity in a world gone mad.”

  Leather creaked, and she glanced over to find his fists clenching inside burned gloves. “Cymbal was a terror, but we destroyed her. A god, thrown down, and Gnome’s legacy moved on over her. Now the dragon has arisen, and pitted itself against my city. The great wolves of old are no more, but we shall not need them; we shall prevail no matter the cost.”

  His eyes were softer as he looked to her again but only by a bit. “So, you must understand that I cannot be lax in my duty, not while we are in crisis. Why are you here, Chase Berrymore? Why were you trying to enter my domain?”

  Chase considered lies but only for a second. She didn’t know what the catgirl had told Sir Barriano. “A friend of mine was supposed to come here yesterday, then return to us. Her name is Cagna, and she’s a dog beastkin. Have you seen her?”

  “A dog beastkin appealed for an audience with me yesterday afternoon. But when the time came she did not arrive.” Sir Barriano studied her. “Why was she here?”

  “We’re looking for a missing friend... and she’s searching for a wanted man,” Chase decided in an instant that mentioning Cagna’s real motivation might help. “She’s an agent of the Doge of Arretzi. She’s after a man called Pwner.”

  Sir Barriano hesitated, and she watched his lips twitch, pull over his teeth for just a second. “I see. And what is the name of your missing friend?”

  “Thomasi,” Chase said. Something was off, but her instincts were telling her she’d gone too far to return. Lying now would not save her.

  WIS+1

  Okay, THAT was a shocker. She shivered a bit, and the Knight studied her, before nodding to himself.

  “Is Dijornos still with you?” Sir Barriano said, and it was Chase’s turn to control her own surprise.

  “No,” she said simply. Renny’s paws tapped on the back of her neck, once, twice. A warning?

  “There is no need for that, ser fox. Yes, I know what you are. You may reveal yourself without risk, and I ask that you do so.”

  “Do it; it’s okay,” Chase said quickly.

  “Now that’s the first lie you’ve told tonight,” Sir Barriano smiled. “You’re far more honest than I’d been led to believe. Let’s keep it that way, yes?”

  “Um...” Renny sat up, pulling himself up on Chase’s hair until he was propped up on her shoulder. “How did you know all this? Who are you?”

  The Knight’s next words sent dread straight through Chase’s spine, destroying her courage and leaving nothing but despair.

  “I’m currently the official authority in Gnome. Which is why the Inquisition saw fit to contact me and warn me of you.”

  “Ah,” Chase said, closing her eyes. “That’s it then.”

  “No,” Sir Barriano said, and his tone made her open her eyes, and sent a small spark of relief through her nerves.

  He was smiling.

  Not in an evil way, not in a ‘ha-ha I got you way,’ but a relaxed smile that seemed to imply a large worry had been removed from his mind.

  “You’re not working for the dragon or advancing his cause, and that was my primary concern, Chase Berrymore. You are a problem to the Inquisition, but I do not believe they have been completely honest with me. So far you have.”

  “What are you going to do with us?” Chase asked. It seemed the safest question right now.

  “The Inquisition wants you and any associates. They want your players.” His eyes turned hard again. “If you had told me the Butcher of Barvigga was still with you, I would not be so friendly. That he is loose upon the world again is a blow against you, a shame that you must answer for. I believe you had your reasons; you seem a sensible girl, but that is between you and whatever god you follow.”

  “Hoon,” Chase said.

  “What?”

  “I don’t... I’m an Oracle, so I don’t really follow him. It’s a different relationship than that.”

  “That would explain her grudge against you,” Sir Barriano rubbed his beard. “Agnes has ever been at odds with Hoon. Her god despises yours. But the fact remains that you released Dijornos, yes?”

  Chase took a deep breath. “Yes. He’s not the unbeatable immortal he used to be. He’s well aware of his mortality.”

  “And no less guilty of the slaughter he perpetrated decades ago,” Sir Barriano’s tone told her to drop it, and she nodded, looking down.

  “You are young. You have made mistakes,” he said into the silence. “But if you are not helping the dragon I believe that they are not problems I need to reflect upon at this current time. If the city is mine when the dragon is gone, I shall sort it out then. If a lawful heir turns up, then I shall bring the problem to his or her awareness. In the meantime, I shall keep you prisoner. You will not be mistreated or harmed in my care; you have my word—”

  “Wait! No! I need to get my sister back before the dragon cult moves!”

  The Knight started in surprise, then knelt before Chase, grabbing her shoulders and pulling her close to his face. “What do you know of the dragon’s slaves? Tell me now!”

  Chase didn’t hold back anything, telling of her tailing the group back to the compound, finishing up with Greta’s arrival on the roof. “They have her. I don’t know why, I don’t know how, but they’ve got her and maybe the rest of my family. I need to get in there. I need Cagna’s help to do that. And I need to do it before whatever plan they’re working on comes to fruition in three days.”

  “It won’t,” Sir Barriano said, releasing her and rising to his feet again. “They tipped their hand too early. They won’t get any of the crystals south of the river, we’re in the process of rounding them up and securing them now. In fact—” he paused, then shook his head. “You’re good. Very good.”

  “Excuse me?” Chase blinked.

  “I almost told you things I shouldn’t have.” He nodded, then peeled one glove off, studied a silver wristband lined with small glowing gems. “The Inquisitor gave me this. It wards against lies and manipulation. But it’s not perfect. You’ve found a way around it, with disarming charm.”

  “I haven’t been trying to manipulate you,” Chase said, watching the gems glow. “The moon is made of cheese,” she tested, and watched them flicker red.

  “You’re dangerous and also not my primary concern right now,” Sir Barriano said, nodding. “Yes, to guest quarters with you. And your friend.”

  “Renny’s innocent,” Chase protested.

  “He’s a different problem. But we’ll let the Cylvanian ambassador sort that out, if and when she turns up.”

  “Wait. What?” Renny burst out.

  “Don’t get your hopes up,” the Knight waved at his commander, and the guardsman picked up Renny and took Chase’s shoulder, nudging her toward the door. “Given her chosen shape, and the appearance of another dragon so close to her arrival, there are many questions she’ll have to answer before Lady Madeline is trusted again.”

  Chase shot him her most pleading look, but he turned his back. As his men pushed her forward, gently but steadily, she moved her lips as subtly as she could. “Silent Activation, Size Up.”

  She hadn’t been able to risk it while he was looking straight
at her face, but now that his back was turned...

  Your Size Up skill is now level 9!

  SIR BARRIANO

  Charisma – Slightly worse

  Perception – Hugely better

  Willpower – Greatly better

  Wisdom – Slightly worse

  Influencing Conditions: Hear No Lies, Pride of His Troops, Scourge of the Wicked

  He twitched, started to turn, and Chase whipped her head around to stare forward. Her instincts had been right. Lucky, lucky halven...

  Her pulse pounded until she got out the door.

  They took her downstairs, past a well-lit guardpost, one that didn’t have any hanging key rings or sleeping jailers, and into a series of cells that looked like priests of old had used them for snoozing and the occasional bout of flagellation. For a second Chase shivered...

  ...and then they went up a flight of stairs again, to a windowless hall lined by wooden doors. Chase was ushered into a cozy room with a bed and a nightstand and the odors of freshly-cooked food, and she found a plate of pasta waiting on a small end table. She tucked in, sighing with relief as her belly filled for the first time in days.

  “Madeline’s here! Madeline’s here!” Renny squeaked, running around in circles.

  “Mmmrf?” Chase asked, swallowing one last mouthful, and chasing it down with the wine she’d found next to the plate.

  “She’s one of my guild leaders! She’s Garon’s um... girlfriend? I think.”

  “Okay... and she’s missing.”

  “Oh. Yes,” Renny’s tail went down. “But I’m sure she didn’t die.”

  “The dragon did burn the city. And if she was an ambassador, then she was probably in the palace. That got burned.”

  “She’s a fire Elementalist!”

  “Oh.” Chase nodded. “That would put better odds on her survival. An ambassador from your home country... that’s an odd coincidence.” Chase sat on the bed. My, it was cozy for a human bed.

  “It’s possible that she came looking for us when our party didn’t come back. She does that sometimes, goes and checks up on groups in the field. It’s easy for her because she can fly.”

  “Oh?” Chase blinked. Goodness, her eyes were heavy. She’d been up all day, and been walking far more than any reasonable halven should.

  “Yeah! She’s big and tough and now that I think about it I think I see why Sir Barriano is suspicious of her. Her golem body is a wooden dragon.”

  Chase eased back into the bed. Maybe she’d just shut her eyes for—

  Renny’s words sunk in.

  “She,” Chase said, struggling up on her elbows, sitting up despite the aches and pains. “She’s a dragon.”

  “Yes,” Renny said.

  “Nebs told Corinthia that the dragon that would destroy the world is a woman.”

  “Um... yes.”

  “And that it would happen five days from now.”

  “Uh oh.” Renny was smart. Smart enough to see where she was going. “You think...”

  “There are two dragons!” Chase slapped the end table. “We have to tell Corinthia! We have to figure out what to do about this!”

  “But... but she wouldn’t destroy the world! She’s awesome!”

  “Her shadow, it’s her shadow that’s supposed to destroy the world! Something that she’ll do will do it! Aaaaaah, this is no good,” Chase struggled to her feet, ran to the door. “We have to tell Sir Barriano! I didn’t tell him about the prophecy; he needs to know right.... away...”

  Chase’s voice trailed off as the door opened, silently. She looked up at the black-suited catgirl who was staring back at her, with a bloody club in one hand and a set of lockpicks in the other.

  “Oh,” Chase said.

  “Yeah,” the catgirl said, tucking the club away and pulling out a pillowcase. “Let’s try this again. Lootbag!”

  CHAPTER 16: KNIGHT FLIGHT

  Chase had come a long way since beginning life in her rural halven village.

  She had survived things that by rights should have killed her, escaped trouble and violence with quick-thinking, and gotten far more badass than any halven had a right to.

  One of the keys to her survival was her fervent belief that she shouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

  So when the catgirl reached out to grab her, Chase snapped “Pickpocket,” and grabbed the bag right out of the very surprised beastkin’s hands.

  Your Pickpocket skill is now level 21!

  “Renny! Duplicate!” Chase shouted, and hurled herself backward into the room.

  When she hit the floor there were twelve of her, rolling in different directions and straightening up. To Chase they were see-through, obvious illusions.

  To the staring catgirl, they were legion.

  Chase took the opportunity to grab up the end table and throw it at the Burglar... who evaded, almost absent-mindedly.

  Stupid high agility, right.

  “Hey! Stop!” The catgirl said, as the table splintered in the hall outside. Someone shouted in the distance, and she glanced that way with a scowl. “Oh that’s done it! We need to go, now!”

  “Give me one reason to trust you!” Chase hissed, reaching for her throwing cards.

  “Cagna! She’s dead if you don’t come now!”

  Chase hesitated. “Fortuna,” she spat, and drew a single card. The Waystone gleamed back at her, transportation runes glimmering in the dim light.

  Well, you couldn’t get any clearer a message than that. “Fine! Renny, keep the spell going.” She scooped up the fox.

  “Get in the bag!” The catgirl said, as more shouts rose and a door slammed open deeper in the building.

  “No!”

  “You’ll get caught unless I carry you!”

  “You messed up and got caught last time anyway!” Chase yelled back, casting caution to the winds. She was tired, she was angry, and her friend’s life was on the line. And she had zero intention of putting either herself or Renny at anyone’s mercy again. “We go on our feet or not at all!”

  More doors slamming, and the catgirl turned and hurled the club. Someone yelled in the distance. “Fine! Come on already!”

  Another key to Chase’s survival was the simple notion that when you decided to do something, you should do it without hesitation and to the best of your ability. So there was no second-guessing, there was no worry or wasted time for talking. She simply tucked the fortuna card back into the small pack at her side and ran.

  Even the catgirl was surprised, but she passed the fleeing halven a second later, looking annoyed beyond measure. “What— you don’t know where we’re going! Follow me, smallbrain!”

  “Then lead us, moron!” Chase snapped back.

  “Fine! I will!” At this point the catgirl was screaming, clearly at her wit’s end. A door slammed open ahead of them and she flipped mid-run, kicked it with both legs, and slammed it back shut. Somebody yelled in pain and the woman barely broke stride. “Keep up!” she snarled, passing Chase once more and juking left down a tiled hallway.

  They ran.

  Tired beyond measure, legs pumping, the meal she’d just eaten jostling in her stomach and threatening to come back up, Chase pushed herself to the limit to keep pace with the errant Burglar.

  As they went, Renny peeled off illusionary copies of Chase, and jumped them out windows, sent them down alternate halls, and threw open doorways. More shouts, yelling, and a horn was blaring somewhere in the Basilica or whatever building they were in, but it kept the guards off them...

  ...for a bit, anyway.

  Every now and then the catgirl would glance backward and smirk, white teeth glittering against the black fur of her muzzle and Chase would bite back curses. Whatever, it doesn’t matter, she told herself. She’s taking me to Cagna and not in a sack for once. Let her feel superior.

  Then it was up a flight of stairs, past a group of shrieking women who dropped baskets of laundry and rags, and through a kitchen. Chase snagged a peach as she went, tuckin
g it into one pocket. Her breath was tight now, and her side burned, but she knew she’d need the food later. She’d pay the price for this exertion...

  CON+1

  ...but the gains were worth it. If she survived. And escaped. And the catgirl didn’t betray her.

  “Too SLOW,” the catgirl finally decided and before Chase could protest, snatched her up and tucked her under one arm.

  Renny yelped, grabbed for something, and caught the catgirl’s tail.

  She shrieked in pain as the plush toy bounced off the floor, legs pumping, then hopped along in long bounds while dragging behind her like a grasshopper on a rope. “Nyaaaa, ahhhh, aaaaaah, ow ow ow!”

  They stopped briefly in a pantry off to one side to reorganize and shift about, while shrieking washerwomen and cooks fled into the approaching guards. There was a lot of chaos and shouting, and Chase got shifted to the catgirl’s shoulders as Renny went under one arm instead. The beastkin panted a bit, then shook her head. “Okay, we lost a lot of time, so we need to—”

  “Phantasm!” Renny said, and then they were a washerwoman.

  Well, they looked like one anyway. The image of a grandmotherly serving woman carrying a bundle of clothes on her back surrounded them, concealing them beneath it. The beastkin and Chase barely had time to gawp before the door slammed open, and a pair of guards glared in.

  “Damn it!” one cursed. “Woman, get to safety!”

  The catgirl blinked.

  “Why thankee kind sir!” Chase crooned, imitating Mother Bloom’s creaky old voice. “You’re as kind as my son, bless his heart. Kinder even! He never comes to call, he never writes...”

  The guards paled and slammed the door.

  Chase chuckled in an old woman’s voice. “Rather face down a dragon than listen to an old woman gripe about her children. Some things are the same no matter your race.”

  “Okay,” the catgirl whispered. “So maybe you’re not useless.”

  “Do you have a name?” Chase murmured back.

  “Carmina. We need to reach a window on an outside wall. Do you know this part of the building?”

  “No—” Chase did a double take. “Wait a minute! You were telling me to follow you, and you didn’t even know which way you were going?”