by J E Mueller
“Of course.” I sighed. While this was about getting back to my sister and being free from here, it was still more than just me. “I don’t know how I can even begin to do that.”
“I have a plan, and one final gift for you to remember.” Marella emitted a smile that looked more evil than normal.
“Of course, you do.” Sighing, I sat. “Well, what is it?”
“One Emmyth can explain better than myself.” She happily handed me a gauntlet I hadn’t seen her holding.
Ignoring how it was even possible for a water creature to produce such a slight of hand, I reached for it. “Emmyth…” I said the name softly as I tried to remember all I could about him. How could he help me?
Chapter 22
Mare
I was thrilled to be back in the house more than I thought would be possible. Benz held a coin tightly in his hands as we made our way back to Marella. No one knew how to make the coin work, but from the brief moment Benz had been possessed by Marella, he knew the coin would help us get around without a Tracker. It seemed a little much, but if that meant we could somehow cover more ground, I was all for it.
As we entered the room I was surprised to not see Marella waiting for us. It took more than a few moments before she appeared before us.
“Ah, so you were successful,” she declared happily.
“More or less,” I replied honestly. Clearing up the spider’s acid effect hadn’t been my idea of success but no one had died so… “How do we make it work?”
Marella stared at me, confused. “It’s to see those creatures you cannot see, whether they be too far or hiding. That should be explanation enough.”
“But it’s a coin.” Benz flipped it between his fingers. “Coins don’t do much for seeing.”
We all waited for Marella’s reply. Which seemed to be to stare at Benz with her arms crossed and a frown covering her face.
“Have you considered putting it over your eyelid?” Marella finally suggested.
“A coin?” Benz scoffed.
“Yes, it’s a coin. I am glad they are teaching you so many things in your realm.” Marella waited for him to give in.
With a sigh, Benz closed his eyes and set the coin on his eyelid. He quickly stepped back and laughed as he looked around the room. “Should have guessed.” The sarcasm in his voice was nearly tangible. He removed the coin and pointed out three different spots. “The polycoy are just hanging out here.”
“This is where they live, so yes.” Marella wasn’t impressed with the commentary.
“How far can I see with this?” Benz asked excitedly.
“As far as you can see normally. You won’t be hindered from seeing them due to objects or invisibility magic,” Marella replied. “Now, for the next mission.”
“Check it out.” Benz laughed, tossing me the coin.
Marella sighed but didn’t say anything as I copied what Benz had done. With my eyes closed, I set the coin against my right eyelid and suddenly it was as if both eyes were open. I could see everyone normally but in the water, in three different puddles, I could see the polycoy snoozing happily toward the bottom. Instead of being their normal looking selves however, they were in a red hue. Still, this was a one up on getting around.
Removing the coin, I passed it to Gretta who was standing next to me before turning to Marella. “So, what’s the mission?”
“With that coin this mission will not be difficult,” Marella began. “With the combined abilities of a Tracker and being able to see exactly where things are, you can move through the woods with little detection.”
“I was really hoping this would be inside.” I sighed, not trying to hide my disappointment.
Marella glared at me. “Are we done with the interruptions?” No one spoke as she continued. “There’s a large tree several miles into the woods. It has lighter than average bark and deep red leaves. No tree around it looks like it. To get to it you walk just past the hedge garden and continue straight.”
Benz nodded as she finished. “We’ll see you soon then.”
“One more thing.” Marella smirked, an evil smile crossing her watery features.
I wasn’t sure if I liked the expression on her face. “What would that be?”
“The bracelet you have helps you to see into minds,” she stated to me.
I nodded. “I’ve never used it for that, but yes, I’m aware.”
“This helps give you extra strength to overcome any odds,” Marella stated as she reached down into the water and pulled out a tiara.
“Where did you get that from?” I asked, astonished.
I’m also wondering that. Lydia’s voice echoed through my mind. I was surprised she hadn’t said anything before about it.
The water is considered connected to something else. I couldn’t sense it since it wasn’t actually part of this room, Lydia explained. But that is another Creator.
Marella was smirking as she handed it to Consta. “Someone brought it to me, however, for now, they are resting.”
Consta handed the tiara to me. “I don’t want this responsibility.”
I held back a sigh as I put it on, not sure what abilities it would give me.
Hello there, Dani, Lydia said with such joy I couldn’t process.
Lydia! Good. There is progress, then.
Is there any way not to have this meet and greet not in my head? I wondered. The voices stopped, so I assumed they figured something out.
Marella watched me with an amused smile. “We have two Creator artifacts down.”
Everyone looked surprised.
“Who gave it to you?” Benz asked Marella, shocked. “Someone couldn’t have just given it to you without a reason. They would have had to have known it was important.”
“The reason it was given to me was so it wouldn’t be lost again. We can discuss the minor details later.” Marella waved us away. “Be careful out there.” With that, she vanished back into the water.
I wasn’t ready to be sent off just yet and was slightly irked Marella was holding back important details.
“Marella, a request.” There was nothing but silence. “I know you’re there still. Even with all these gifts, these creatures can still overpower us. The deeper into the woods we go, the more swarms there are. We may not be able to sidestep every last thing. Is there something additional you can suggest?”
There was silence for a moment.
Then another.
“Midge will assist you,” Marella finally stated, poking her head up above the water as a polycoy emerged from the water.
We all stared as this oversized otter thing with extra sharp claws and fangs scratched at its ear.
I considered our options for a moment before calling out once more. “Marella, I think you should keep the tiara.”
She tilted her head confused. “And why is that?”
“If anything happens to us, it’ll be one less artifact to find again,” I replied simply. “Maybe the two of you can come up with a plan on finding the rest?” I wasn’t sure if she could talk to Dani, but it was worth a try.
Marella gave a single nod. “It is hard for us to communicate, but I see your logic. Yet, I will decline. The tiara will bring you luck. That is the magic it carries.” With that, she vanished back under the surface of the water.
With nothing more to do about the matter, I shrugged. We could use more than a little luck anymore.
“Midge, ready for an adventure?” I called to the polycoy, not sure if it would really listen to me. With a delighted squeak, it happily ran to my side.
“Are we really sure about this?” Kip asked, staring at the thing.
“A Creator just gifted us this adorable, deadly terror. Why not see what she can do?” I shrugged and headed for the door. If I didn’t roll with it, I would lose my mind.
Benz gave a tired laugh, dark circles steadily becoming more noticeable under his eyes, as he followed. “I guess that is the best way to look at it.”
“At
least it’s cute,” Ellyn agreed as the others broke into quiet conversation.
We were going to need all the help we could get.
Once more we found ourselves outside. No one looked excited but it was obvious that the combination of the new artifact and the polycoy, Midge, made things a bit less tense. I wondered exactly what Midge could do. I knew they had a slow-acting poison, claws, and teeth, but could they tear a creature apart? I supposed even if they just wounded something it would save us some grief.
“Back toward the gardens, then?” I mused aloud as I felt the magic of my Tracker ability swirl pleasantly around me.
“Ladies first.” Benz motioned ahead as he flipped his coin.
I rolled my eyes at him as I continued on ahead. My sword took half a second to summon to my side, and with a small wave of energy, I could feel the others do the same.
“There’re several creatures ahead, though none look close enough to give trouble,” I quietly filled in the group.
“Must be the early evening they’re really flocking. They’re probably getting ready for the night while the really bad ones start to wake,” Gretta mused.
“Please don’t talk like that,” Season groaned a bit too loudly.
I didn’t know what to say. Grim humor was more my thing in these situations.
“It’ll be fine. We’re going at a good time. The really bad things won’t wake up until it’s actually dark and we’ll be almost back, if not back by then,” Benz replied reassuringly.
“Are you sure?” Consta didn’t seem convinced.
“It’s about three miles in,” I replied, doing quick mental math. “At a leisurely rate it’ll take us about an hour to get there. Accounting for possible trouble, maybe an hour and a half. We have about two hours until dusk, so yeah. Time is just on our side.”
“We still could be walking back in the dark though,” Kip pointed out.
“Guess we’ll walk faster then.” I shrugged and picked up the pace.
“Now that’s a plan.” Gretta joined me to my left since Midge was happily keeping up on my right.
“Be ready for trouble.” I nodded at her.
Gretta summoned a handful of spikes. “Always.”
Turning my attention fully on the woods, I could feel the creatures going on about their days. Most were moving away from us, heading more eastward toward the great lake. I knew west was toward the Watch and could feel strong energies stirring that way. They were much too far for me to gather any information about, and for that I was thankful.
As we reached the edge of the trees, something hit my sensors.
“We’re being followed.” I mumbled just loud enough for the group to hear.
Benz was already on the coin and I shook my head as he scanned the trees. “I don’t see anything.”
“That’s because it’s Canton. He’s hidden by the hedge garden now.” I pulsed my magic out. “He’s with that bobble head with the random staff.”
“Oh, Addison.” Benz sighed.
Addison wasn’t particularly clever, and her staff suited her. It would cast either a fireball, iceball, or waterball. She had no control over it. The only other person I had once known with that staff had no issues with choosing what to cast.
“What are they doing following us?” Kip questioned. “Addison can’t very well take care of herself out here.”
“My thoughts exactly.” Benz sighed. “Let’s see if they follow us into the forest. If they do, we’ll just have them team up with us. They have no way of knowing we’re grabbing a Creator artifact so we’ll just keep it those facts quiet.”
“Fine by me.” Season shrugged.
“We don’t have time to waste. Let’s get moving.” Ellyn motioned for me to continue.
I clicked my tongue and Midge happily carried on alongside me. This adventure was not going to go well, was it? I didn’t even want to think what Canton thought of this team, but he could sense us and already knew we were a mixture of alliances.
Upon entering the forest, everything was almost instantly darker. Several feet in and everything already felt cooler, and something in the air made me uneasy. In the distance, I could hear birds and various woodland sounds, but nothing near us. After a few minutes of walking it was clear the two from Steel Oath were intent on following us. I waited for a good spot before pausing.
“Canton, we know you’re there,” I called, well aware he had in fact caught up a bit once they entered the woods. Addison lingered near the tree line for a few moments before heading back toward the house, likely not wanting to be a part of whatever it was Canton was up to.
There was silence.
“Canton just come out, you know Mare is also a Tracker. Why would she be wrong about this?” Benz called exasperated.
There was some rustling in the bushes and then they appeared.
“What the hell are you doing with this crew, Benz?” Canton asked, getting straight to the point.
“We both ended up getting the same lead to an artifact. Weird things are going on. A huge team out here means someone will actually get it. Now come on before it gets dark,” Benz replied and motioned for us to continue.
Nodding, I set the pace once more. Midge kept looking back at Canton. It was almost the face of distrust, if an otter-like thing could make such an impression.
“How the hell did you get a freaking lead? There’s no Finders here,” Canton pressed on.
“Most don’t usually travel with a polycoy either, do they?” Benz chuckled. “I don’t want to get into the horror today has been. Just relax ,and if we survive, we’ll have an artifact.”
“What if they try and keep it?” Canton spat, aiming a sword at Ellyn who did not look the faintest bit impressed or scared.
“Oooh, then we keep it!” Ellyn rolled her eyes. “It’s worth it to see if it’s any good. For all we know it could be an amulet of blowing bubbles. Great distraction, for Hedgeish but useless overall.”
“Exactly, relax Canton. You can’t get this thing yourself so you work with others,” Benz reiterated.
Canton didn’t reply but I knew he was not cooling down at all. I didn’t trust him with us, but I trusted him following behind us even less. I bit my tongue and continued on.
Chapter 23
Mare
It didn’t take long before we ran into something. It never seemed to take long once you stepped foot outside.
“We’ve got something to the right, a few hundred feet. It’s likely they’ve already heard us and that’s why they’re heading this way,” I stated, stopping to point my sword in the direction of the creatures. Everyone stopped to look, but was unable to see anything yet.
I didn’t dare look at Benz and wondered if he would use the coin while Canton was around. I didn’t trust the fool with that information.
I wasn’t sure what was ahead. This feeling was a new one, so it was something I hadn’t physically encountered. What could it be?
Probably a Dilus or a Rikettet, neither of which are going to give you a huge problem, Lydia’s voice chimed in.
I nodded, taking in the facts. “Be ready,” I whispered. I had no idea what the second creature even was.
Nothing came, and it seemed with the lack of noise from us, the creatures had lost interest in us.
“Psh, there’s nothing,” Canton finally scoffed as we stood in silence.
Benz shrugged. “If something is ahead that Canton can’t sense we’re going to have to be careful,” Benz chose his words carefully. “If that’s the case, I’m sure you’ll adjust quickly, Canton. You haven’t dealt with these creatures much yet.”
“I know what I’m doing.” Canton started to storm on ahead.
It wasn’t a surprise to me that Canton still sucked at Tracking. His ego often got the better of him. I let him take the lead, sword readied as I felt the creatures move toward the sound of his walking, more like stomping, through the brush.
I motioned for them to keep silent and pointed to Gretta, Ellyn
, and Consta, who had ranged weapons, to come closer to me as we continued forward. The trio of ladies had their weapons ready as we easily followed Canton by sound alone.
In less than a minute three creatures appeared in front of Canton causing him to swing wildly with his sword as he tried to block claws along spikey arms. Feathers along its body hid most of its features. Gretta and Ellyn threw their weapons as Canton stumbled back and Consta followed up with her explosives.
Benz rushed in, clashing sword and claw and Kip shot fire around him at the trio of creatures. To my surprise, Midge took one down from behind as I rushed in to take the third one on.
Stab the heart, Lydia supplied as I blocked and pressed the creature back, looking for that exact opening. The moment I had it, the creature crumbled.
I saw Benz had already done the same, and the rest had helped Midge end the final creature.
“That wasn’t as bad as expected.” I nodded, glancing at Midge. “Though you look horrifying.” The polycoys face was covered in blood, and either dirt or flesh was caught in its claws. I prayed for dirt as it happily squealed at me.
“It’s happy to have helped,” Season stated. I forgot she could understand them. “Though you can probably tell from its smile.” It chirped another few times. “They used to come outside all the time. It misses hunting… Because that’s not creepy and surprisingly deadly.”
Benz gave a small laugh, “All right, let’s head on. Mare, lead the way.”
Canton scoffed. “She doesn’t know where she’s going.”
“Says the one who doesn’t know what we’re looking for, hasn’t been told a location, and can’t sense outdoor creatures,” Gretta taunted.
Canton took a swipe at her with his sword, but Gretta was ready for it, summoning up her ice shield.
“What?” Gretta smirked. “Can’t stand to be wrong so you’ve got to fight?”
“Shut it.” He hit the shield again but not so much as a dent formed.
“Let’s go, angry child.” Gretta laughed, dispelling her shield. “There will be plenty more creatures to fight for sure.”
I continued on, calling Midge over to me. Midge hissed at Canton before making it to my side.
