by M. Gregg Roe
She paused a moment to think how to reply. “I agree that it sounds dangerous, and I’ve certainly heard a lot of old stories now where things went very wrong. But I am going with you, and you are not going to change my mind. I’ve been training hard and researching undead, and as a result, I am not going to go charging into the house. I’m going to be careful and cautious, and I’ll run away if I have to.”
He smiled, looking relieved. “All right, Audrey. I’m well aware of how stubborn you are, but I had to make one last attempt because I’m worried about you. And when we bring your body back here for Alessandra to raise, I’ll be able to tell her that I tried to talk you out of it.”
She elbowed the now-grinning Saxloc in the side. “Very funny. There is one thing I want to ask you: Why do you think Alessandra isn’t going herself?”
“I’m not certain. It may be because she thinks that Morton would find out that she had left the temple, but I suspect that it’s really because she doesn’t want to face him.”
Audrey nodded. “I think you may be right.”
They continued to stroll the area in silence for nearly an hour before returning to the temple. Afterward, Saxloc went to use the bath, and she went to her room to rest.
She worked along with Alessandra and Siljan to fix dinner that evening. The temple had a large herb and vegetable garden, and Alessandra made expert use of it in her cooking. Ariel came in while they were working and began begging Alessandra to let her go along on the mission to kill Morton.
“Ariel!” scolded Alessandra. “Your parents traveled a long way just to see you, and now you want to immediately run off? No. You may not go. Stop bothering us.”
Ariel’s crestfallen expression was remarkably childish. “Okay,” she said. “I’ll stay.”
Audrey found it hard to sleep that night; she really was worried about their mission. She was definitely stronger now, but she knew she was still the weakest of the five of them by far. Despite all of her preparation and study, undead still worried her. She realized that she had missed an opportunity. She should have talked with Alessandra about Morton and undead instead of something as insignificant as relationship problems. Breaking up with Saxloc wasn’t going to kill her, but Morton might.
♦ ♦ ♦
The five of them headed out early the next morning. The weather was pleasant, and they were able to make good time. Shortly after they reached Fog Lake and turned south, Siljan suddenly moved up next to Gabriel looking unusually serious. “Gabriel,” she said. “I need to tell you something. Ariel is getting worse and I’m worried.” Audrey, Saxloc, and Hankin all exchanged surprised and worried looks.
“Ariel has nightmares,” continued Siljan. “She wakes up screaming. She wakes us all up. Isadora is usually the one who manages to calm her down afterward. It really upset Aliva, and she actually used one of her succubus powers on Ariel. That did seem to help for a while.
“But one day we had visitors to the temple that included children. Ariel was supposed to welcome them, but instead, she just turned and ran into the temple. Isadora wasn’t there, so I had to go after her. I found her sitting in the storeroom staring at her dagger.”
“She was going to kill herself?” Gabriel asked with a shocked expression.
“That’s what it looked like to me,” she replied in a tired voice. “I didn’t know what to do. I said a prayer to Kyran, and then started talking to her. She eventually snapped out of it, but she didn’t seem to understand why she had her dagger out or why she was in the storeroom. That was what led to Alessandra sending a letter to her parents.”
Gabriel looked sad, and Audrey was feeling that way herself. She remembered Almera telling her that Ariel might never recover. And now she understood why Grasapa had been so upset when she received Alessandra’s letter.
“I suspect that Dulls and Grasapa have come to take Ariel back home with them,” stated Gabriel. “That may be for the best.”
Siljan nodded. “You may be right, but I don’t think that Ariel would agree. She and Dayne are pretty close now.”
There was hardly any conversation during the rest of their journey to Merryton, which they reached just before sunset. Audrey had asked everyone if they could detour around Farmerton, and they had all agreed. There really wasn’t time to stop there anyway.
The people in Merryton recognized them when they arrived and offered to provide food and accommodations for a reasonable price. After dinner, Audrey sought out Wilkin and told him the story of how his boat not being returned led to her life being saved by Saxloc. Wilkin’s unfriendly expression softened as she spoke, and he actually smiled and wished the two of them luck when she finished her tale.
Later, she asked Saxloc why they had never told Wilkin about meeting his dead wife Silest in the other world.
“We talked about it, but we decided that it might be too painful for him. It’s probably best to let him live on with the memories of the Silest here.”
Audrey nodded in agreement. “I think that was wise. Otherwise, he might spend the rest of his life trying to find the other one. I think he’s actually a sweet old man under that gruff exterior.”
♦ ♦ ♦
The next morning was colder, and Fog Lake lived up to its name, making visibility poor even near the shore. They continued along the shore to the east, and Audrey found herself nervously watching for crocodiles. She tried to keep the others between herself and the shoreline.
Hankin was walking alone behind the others when the marshy ground behind him erupted and a mass of vegetation smashed against him. It grabbed him and began to suck him down into the marsh. She and the others quickly surrounded it as Hankin struggled to break free. Audrey found it difficult to keep her footing, and she nearly fell trying to kick the creature. Siljan was also having problems, but Gabriel and Saxloc slashed at it with their swords and it was clearly hurt, giving voice to an eerie scream. Gabriel finished the creature off with one final swing of his sword.
Audrey was impressed by how the others always acted with such teamwork and precision, but she was annoyed that she wasn’t able to do more to help. She watched as they pulled Hankin out of the marsh. He looked kind of rough, but Siljan and Saxloc both cast Recovery on him and he soon seemed like his old self, except for being rather dirty and wet.
Knowing that they had a schedule to keep, they continued on. Just before sunset, they saw the ruins of small town—stone foundations and a few remnants of stone walls—ahead of them through the trees. Siljan waved everyone to a stop and then whispered that she had spotted a bugbear sentry who hadn’t yet noticed them. Audrey watched in amazement as Hankin cast a spell and vanished. No one else seemed to find it remarkable, and Saxloc told her that it was an invisibility spell.
She was startled a few minutes later when Hankin’s voice suddenly started sounding from above them. “There are about fifteen bugbears,” he said. “One of them looks like the leader, and he’s near the campfire. They also have several keeping watch, but none of them seem to have noticed us yet.”
“Thanks, Hankin,” said Siljan. “I’ll deal with the nearby sentry and then get things started. Make sure that you’re well above them when I do.”
“I hear you. Just be careful aiming your spells.”
Audrey watched as Siljan stealthily entered the woods nearby and then returned with the bugbear sentry walking along beside her. It was a big, primitive-looking humanoid with tan skin, wearing some kind of dark pelt for clothing and armed with a large mace. Audrey couldn’t believe it; Siljan was talking to him in a friendly manner and he was smiling and answering her! He told Siljan that his name was Furg and that they were from the plains to the west. She asked him to take them to see the leader and he readily agreed. Audrey assumed that Siljan must have used some kind of charm magic on the bugbear to make him friendly. As the four of them slowly walked forward following the bugbear, Gabriel pulled out his crossbow and prepared it to fire.
When the bugbear encampment came into sight, S
iljan suddenly pointed her right arm at it and yelled “Fireball!”. A tiny glowing red sphere flew from her pointed finger into the camp. There was a loud concussive thud, and a huge blast of orange flame exploded in the middle of the encampment. Bugbears were suddenly yelling and running everywhere, some on fire. Gabriel fired his crossbow at one, and she noticed that Saxloc had drawn his sword. Suddenly, a cone-shaped blast of ice and snow enveloped several of the bugbears, and two of them immediately fell with white frost all over them. Hankin was now visible floating in the air above the encampment, and he had clearly been responsible. Audrey just stood there, staring in awe and feeling useless.
Gabriel charged forward and cut down a fleeing bugbear. Furg suddenly yelled and ran directly at Audrey with his mace held high. She danced aside and kicked him hard in the groin, causing him to double over in pain. Saxloc leaped forward and finished Furg off with his sword. Siljan cast another fireball and Hankin another blast of cold. The surviving bugbears were now all trying to flee. Hankin captured the leader and questioned him. He refused to cooperate, and Hankin swiftly finished him off with his rapier.
Audrey found that the carnage didn’t bother her as nearly as much as it had last time. She helped search the bodies and they found some copper and silver coins. They ended up setting up their own camp in the ruins, but well away from the bodies. She helped Siljan prepare dinner and then distributed the food to everyone.
After they finished eating, Saxloc said, “You did well, Audrey. That was an impressive kick.”
She stared at him and said, “Somehow I think you putting your sword through his neck hurt him more. But if you can get Morton to charge at me, I’ll kick him in the balls too.”
Siljan grinned at her. “You kicked a bugbear in the balls? Nice! Make sure you tell my father the next time you see him. He really hates bugbears.”
Audrey frowned and asked, “Did we even really need to kill them? They hadn’t spotted us, so couldn’t we just have snuck around them?”
“Maybe,” replied Siljan, “Or maybe they would have spotted us trying to do that and ambushed us. That would have been a much tougher battle. Besides, Audrey, there really aren’t any good bugbears. They actually eat human captives.”
“Oh,” she replied, feeling a little sick. “In that case, never mind.”
Danj had the right idea: The only good bugbear was a dead bugbear.
40
‡ Glasston ‡
After a quick breakfast, it was time to don disguises. Audrey trimmed Saxloc’s hair quite a bit shorter, and then helped him with his fake mustache and beard. She thought they looked pretty convincing. Gabriel and Hankin now had facial hair too, and she helped them to make sure it was on straight. Meanwhile, Siljan used hair dye, and her hair ended up almost the same dark brown color as Audrey’s.
“How do I look as a brunette?” asked Siljan, striking a sexy pose and grinning.
“I think you look better as a blond,” replied Audrey, and Siljan made a face at her.
They continued on to the north, reaching Millton around midday. They detoured around the walled town and found that there was a decent road heading west toward Glasston. The weather was mild, and they arrived safely at Glasston’s eastern gate well before sunset. Audrey was happy that she still felt energetic after so much walking. Her training had definitely improved her stamina.
Glasston was substantially larger than Farmerton or Merryton, and it was protected by a sturdy wooden wall five yards in height. They approached the gate, finding it manned by two alert guards, one young and one middle-aged.
“What brings you folks to Glasston?” asked the older of the two guards.
Hankin stepped forward and said, “We work for a company named Novox that ships goods between a number of towns and cities. We are here to investigate the possibility of adding some of your fine glass goods to our shipments.”
“We produce the finest glass in all of Andoran’s Realm,” stated the guard proudly, while the other one smiled and nodded. “Be welcome and good fortune to you.”
The guards waved the five of them through, and they walked into the town. Audrey began to look around. All the buildings that she could see were made from wood. The south end of the town was bordered by a sandy beach, which she knew they used to make glass. Gabriel pulled out a sheet of paper and they follow the directions on it, soon arriving at a small house in the northwest area of town near the wall. Isadora greeted them at the door. Her hair had been dyed black and restyled, and she looked genuinely happy to see them.
“Thank Kyran that you all made it here safely,” she said, her relief evident. “Come inside before we start attracting attention.”
The five of them followed her inside. There was a dining area to the left, and a small kitchen to the right with a pantry. A hallway led straight ahead, but Audrey could only see two doors leading off it, one to either side. It really was a small house.
Isadora addressed them. “I know this house is probably smaller than you were expecting, but it might have looked suspicious if Aliva and I had rented a large house. We also did not have many choices or a large budget.
“There are only three single beds, but I do have a number of blankets. Most of us are going to have to sleep on the floor, but it should only be for a day or so. At least, that is what I hope.
“Aliva is currently at a tavern that Morton frequents, and I am not certain when she will return. You may put your equipment in the larger of the bedrooms on the left.”
Audrey dropped her backpack in the larger bedroom and then headed back out while the others worked on removing their armor. Isadora was sitting at the dining table and frowning. Audrey sat down next to her in the only other chair.
“I am actually surprised to see you here,” Isadora told her. “This is going to be very dangerous, and I am not convinced that Alessandra’s plan to use Aliva will actually work.”
Audrey wasn’t going to be dissuaded. “Saxloc has been trying to discourage me, but I’m here now and I’m going to do what I can to help.”
“All right, Audrey. Perhaps you can guard me. I know a number of spells that are useful against undead, but I am a poor fighter.”
Siljan appeared and Isadora stood up and walked over to the kitchen. She opened a cabinet and pulled out a box that she then carefully placed on the table. Audrey saw that is contained about twenty small glass flasks with cork stoppers. It looked like the flasks were filled with water.
“Time to get to work, Siljan,” said Isadora. “We need to change all of these to holy water.”
Siljan’s shoulders slumped. “Fine. Let’s get this over with.” She walked over to the table and Audrey got up so she could take the chair.
Audrey watched as the two of them began to chant and make gestures above the flasks. The others walked in and watched silently until the two of them were finished. Audrey couldn’t see any difference at all when they were done.
Isadora noticed her puzzled look and explained. “These may still look the same, but they will do considerable damage to any undead that comes into contact with the water inside. We will divide these up later. I have already provided holy water flasks for the town guard.”
She gestured toward the kitchen and addressed everyone. “We will eat dinner first, and then I will tell you the details of Alessandra’s plan.”
Dinner consisted of bread, cheese, and sausage. There was plenty of food, and Isadora had some pretty decent wine to go with it. Afterward, Isadora got out some blankets and they all made themselves comfortable on the floor.
Isadora began to speak. She told them that the plan was for Aliva to seduce Morton, go back with him to his house, and have sex with him, draining all of his life force in the process. Aliva would then signal from a window that it was time to invade the house. Everyone else would be waiting somewhere in the vicinity but out of sight. They would charge in, slay all of the undead, and recover Morton’s body so that it could be destroyed. Alessandra was certain that the plan wo
uld work, but Isadora didn’t sound confident.
Isadora and Aliva had approached the town guard with their concerns about “Magnus”. Fleming—the guard captain—was already suspicious of him. Several large wood crates had been delivered to the house, some of them reportedly smelling of something dead. No one had seen the neighbors move out or leave town. Nor had that house been put up for sale or rent.
The captain had taken Isadora and Aliva to see the mayor. Mayor Henrik turned out to have met Alessandra before, and he took their allegations about Morton seriously. He directed the town guard to fully support them and to keep spectators away when the attack took place. But he definitely wanted to see evidence of what Morton had been up to.
After finishing her speech, Isadora asked everyone to take however many flasks of holy water they wanted. Isadora took two. Audrey decided to take four, saying that she was planning to avoid direct combat if possible. She carefully stowed them in her belt pouch as Saxloc gave her a look of approval.
Isadora produced drawings showing the floor plans of Morton’s house and the adjoining one, which appeared to be a mirror image. They began looking them over and discussing possible strategies. Audrey didn’t have much to contribute, but she found it fascinating.
♦ ♦ ♦
They were sitting and chatting later that evening when there was a knock on the door. Isadora cautiously answered it, and Audrey was shocked to see Ariel standing outside, out of breath and looking very excited. She ran in and said, “Alessandra said I can join you! I took the short way around the lake, but I still had to hurry. Do you have anything to eat? I’m starved!”
Isadora looked at Ariel with suspicion and asked, “Did Alessandra really give you permission?”
Ariel looked down and began to fidget. “Um … I left a note,” she said meekly.
