by Rachel Aaron
"No!" James screamed, fighting his brother's hold. "We can't leave her!" He couldn't lose Tina again. Not like this.
Something flickered in the shadows behind Tina, then the Blood General's throat exploded in a shower of crimson as shadow-wreathed SilentBlayde sprang from the Lightless Realm. Silver swords flashing in the smoky sunlight, he moved faster than James's eyes could follow, driving the Blood General away from Tina with a relentless attack. Now that the courtyard was nearly empty of players, the general's wounds were much slower to close, and when the pain made him stagger, Tina took the opportunity to break free, sprinting across the bloody courtyard toward the portal.
When she'd made it thirty feet, SilentBlayde vanished off the Blood General and re-emerged in James's shadow--and just stood there.
"What are you doing?" James yelled at him. "Get through the portal!"
"Not without her!" SB yelled back, his blue eyes going frantically to Tina, who was still sprinting across the courtyard with the Blood General hot on her heels. The huge elf was reaching out to grab her when King Gregory suddenly reemerged from the portal.
"Get down!"
James and SB both dropped as the king swept his Dawnblade in an arc over their heads, sending out a wave of golden light that knocked the undead over like bowling pins. Even the Blood General stumbled, his fingers missing Tina's copper hair by inches as she charged ahead.
"Mr. James Anderson!" the Grand Schtump yelled.
James looked back to see the giant schtumple gesturing at his vault, which was now almost completely empty. The only thing left was the Vitas Gloria Raiment, and it was disappearing before his eyes, the vivid green silk unraveling at a terrifying rate as the portal magic devoured it.
"Go, your highness!" James yelled at the king. "The portal's about to close!"
King Gregory nodded and jumped back through, clearing the distance between the two portals in one giant step.
"We need to get out of the way too!" he yelled at SB, stepping through the portal himself.
The elf didn't look happy about that, but SilentBlayde wasn't stupid enough to lie there on the ground while Tina was charging at them. He dove through the portal after James, rolling neatly across the bank's smooth floor to pop up on the Windy Lake side. James, however, stayed in the bank, thrusting his hand through the portal to grab his sister. She was almost to him, almost in reach, when she suddenly went down with a crash that shook James's teeth. For a horrible second, James had no idea why, then he saw the Blood General's sword sticking out of her back.
"Not that easily!" the bloody elf roared, yanking his weapon free to stab her again. "You'll never escape death that--"
He cut off with a choking sound as Tina flipped herself over and planted her boot right in the middle of his chest. The blow sent the general crashing into the wall of zombies behind him. Before he could recover, Tina scrambled onto her hands and knees and tossed herself at the portal, but she only made it halfway. With no one to keep them back, zombies had flooded into every inch of the castle courtyard. They grabbed her kicking legs, biting and clawing at her sun-metal armor as she struggled to get free. She was still kicking at them when the last green thread of James's Vitas Gloria Raiment vanished, and the portals began to collapse.
"No!" James screamed, lurching forward only to be caught by Ar'Bati, who was still standing behind him. He watched in petrified horror as the shimmering portals collapsed toward his struggling sister, the gleaming edge falling like a guillotine to cut her in half. James's heart stopped as a horrible wet noise filled the air, but it wasn't Tina.
It was a tooth. A large, bloody, golden tooth had hit the mirror of James's vault. It vanished the moment it landed, filling the bank with golden light and stopping the portal's collapse just long enough for the team of Black Golds to grab Tina and drag her through. She was still kicking off zombies when she landed on the floor. They would have surged in after her, but the schtumple Black Golds blocked the hole with their spears, shoving back the undead with astonishing strength. Staring at them in wonder, James turned to look at the Grand Schtump, who flashed him a wide smile that was now short one golden tooth.
"The proper form of the saying is 'My money, my mouth,'" the giant schtumple informed him, pointing at the Windy Lake portal, where the king and SilentBlayde were watching them desperately. "I've bought you a few more seconds. Use them to finish the job. We'll hold back the undead."
"Thank you," James choked out, reaching down to grab Tina, but she was too heavy.
He was still struggling when the Grand Schtump reached down and picked up Roxxy one-handed, then he tossed her through the portal onto the grass at the king's feet.
"Go," the schtumple ordered. "And thank you for doing business with the Bank of Bastion."
James could only nod in reply as Ar'Bati dragged him through the portal. King Gregory was already helping a dazed Tina back to her feet when the silvery portal fizzled out of existence for good, cutting off the din of battle and leaving everyone panting in the hot, dusty silence. It was only then that James saw they were standing in a field surrounded by thousands of armed cat-people, crushed yurts, and a furious-looking Gray Fang, whose green eyes lit up the moment she spotted James.
"You!" she yelled, hobbling forward. "What in the name of the Winds is going on here?"
Chapter 24
Tina and James
The last few hours of Tina's life had been an angry blur. She knew they'd made an epic last stand, but she couldn't actually remember anything clearly. It was all just slashing swords and flying blood and godlike monsters trying to kill her. The last five minutes had been even worse. All she could recall was the Blood General, trying not to die, and everyone screaming at her. She was pretty sure she'd nearly been cut in half by a portal, but she'd been hit in the head so many times, it was hard to be certain of anything, especially now.
Standing on her feet in the hot, dusty road with a vast blue sky overhead, Tina had to wonder if she'd actually died. Maybe they all had, because the other players and the king's soldiers were there as well. If this was the afterlife, though, it was a weird one. Thanks to Roxxy's height, she was tall enough to look over the crowd of players and knights to see the thousands of furious puffy-tailed cat-warriors that surrounded them. She was starting to worry she'd have to fight in death too when an old gray-furred cheetah-lady stepped forward, using her walking stick like a club to shove her way through the crowd straight toward them.
"You!" she yelled, pointing her stick at James. "What in the name of the Winds is going on here?"
Tina opened her mouth to state the obvious, but the king beat her to it.
"Please forgive our sudden imposition, Elder..."
"Gray Fang," James whispered.
"Elder Gray Fang," the king finished, giving her a stately bow. "I am King Gregory Heraldsford of Bastion."
Elder Gray Fang gave him a skeptical look, but behind her, the jubatus warriors were freaking their fur.
"It's the Holy King!" someone cried.
"I told you those were Royal Knights!" hissed another.
"Why's the king here?" a third asked. "Who's in Bastion?"
Gray Fang made a warning sound deep in her throat, and the peanut gallery fell silent. When it was clear there would be no more interruptions, the old cat bowed as far as her stooped back would allow.
"Your Majesty," she said reverently. "We are always honored by your presence, however sudden. But you have clearly come to us in much haste and need."
"Indeed," the king said, looking around at the refugees, who now looked even more pathetic than they had back at the castle. "My people are in dire need of assistance."
"Then we shall help them," Gray Fang promised, waving to the warriors behind her. "The four clans will see to it that their immediate needs are met. Meanwhile, if you'd please follow me to the Lodge, there is much to discuss."
"We are most grateful for the hospitality of Windy Lake," Gregory said earnestly, reducing his giant stri
des to teeny steps as he matched the elder's pace. Tina was still watching the two racial leaders walk awkwardly away when a new cat-person--a scarred warrior with graying fur and keen eyes--elbowed his way into the crowd.
"My boys!" he cried, running straight past her to grab James and Ar'Bati in a crushing hug.
"I'm so proud!" the old cat yelled, lifting them both off the ground in his excitement. "You came back, and you brought the king! You've brought our family so much honor this day!"
"Thank you, Father," said Ar'Bati, his stiff jaw trembling with something that looked suspiciously close to tears.
"We saw the smoke the day after you left for Bastion," the old jubatus went on, setting them down at last. "It was a week old, but we knew you'd gone into trouble." He hugged them both again. "I'm so glad you're both home safe!"
"Us too, Father," James said, causing Tina to arch an eyebrow. She was about to demand to know what the hell this was all about when the jubatus everyone was calling Dad turned to glare at her. "Who is this?" he demanded. "The king and his men are without question, of course, but what are you doing with all these players?"
As usual, he said that word like a curse, and Tina sighed. Great, a new place, a new batch of NPCs who hated their guts. She was about to tell Angry Cat Senior to piss off when James pushed his way between them.
"These players are good, Dad," James assured him, putting a hand on Tina's arm. "This is my sister, Christina Anderson, leader of the Roughnecks, who fought the undead and saved the people of Bastion. Tina, this is my adopted father, Rends Iron Hides."
Rends Iron Hides's expression changed completely as her brother spoke. "Defender of the kingdom, you say? Well, well, well." The old cat flashed Tina a giant fanged smile and held out his hand. "Sorry to have doubted you. Age is clearly getting the better of me. I should have guessed you were no ordinary player the moment you showed up with the king. I'm delighted to meet you, Christina, sister of James."
"Just Tina is fine," Tina said awkwardly.
She was reaching out to take the jubatus's rough-padded hand when she realized that her glove was drenched in sticky red blood. Grimacing, she pulled her hand back to wipe it off on her armor, but that just added her blood to the mix. She was staring at the mess in exhausted defeat, trying to figure out what to do, when Rend reached out and grabbed her hand anyway.
"Any sister of James's is family to me," he said proudly, squeezing her filthy glove without so much as a flinch. "Would you like to be Claw Born too? Stonekin's not a problem these days. Speaking of, are you single? 'Cause I could pay the Water Born to adopt you instead, then you can marry my boy Fangs here--"
"Dad!" Ar'Bati growled.
"Too soon?" Rend asked.
Everyone glared at him, even James, and the old jubatus sighed.
"All right, all right," he said, then he gave Tina a wink. "Just think about it. In the meanwhile, let's get you taken care of."
He gave a whistle, and more old jubatus came forward, including several who seemed to be important. Tina tried to listen to what they said, leaning heavily on her shield for support, but she was so tired she couldn't follow the words. Something good must have come of it, though, because a few minutes later, James was leading her and all the other players to the outskirts of the yurt-city that was Windy Lake.
As they walked through town, a pack of jubatus stuck their heads out of their white tents to glare at her suspiciously. But while she and the other players got the hairy eyeball, James and Ar'Bati were being treated like celebrities. At one point, a lithe young lady in leather armor ran over, gave both Ar'Bati and James a hug, then ran off. Ar'Bati smiled. James blushed. And Tina rolled her eyes.
"What the heck is going on?" she mumbled, looking around for SB before she remembered he wasn't there.
She was still recovering from that when NekoBaby said, "I dunno, but it looks like James is wildly popular around here."
Tina glanced over her shoulder, blinking in surprise when she realized the Naturalist wasn't just walking behind her. Neko was practically plastered to her back, keeping so close, Tina was amazed she hadn't stepped on the cat girl's paws yet.
"What's up with you?"
The healer clutched her magical staff to her tightly bound chest and moved even closer. "It's this place! People keep staring at me."
"Of course they're staring at us," Tina said. "We're an invading army."
"I didn't say us," Neko hissed. "I said me. Every dude in this damn village is looking at me like I'm a piece of meat! There's a whole pack of them over behind that yurt that keep moving to new gawking positions as we go."
Tina almost burst out laughing at that. Almost. That would have been cruel to Neko, though, so she kept it to a mere snort. "They've probably never seen a girl like you before," she said, looking pointedly down at Neko's ridiculous body. "You're curves-by-Photoshop, remember? That's high ordinance."
"It's creepy is what it is!" Neko hissed, giving up all pretext as she climbed up onto Tina's shield to ride on the safety of the stonekin's back. "Normally, I'd just Taser them, but I'm OOM, and it's freaking me out. I'm getting a majorly rapey vibe here. These are medieval guys, after all. I bet one tries to knock me out and drag me off to be his cat-wife!"
"Relax, Neko," Tina said. "This a newb zone. Those guys are all level twenty at best. But if it bothers you that much, just make sure you stay by a friend at all times. Also, don't forget to cast Cure Poison on anything anyone gives you to eat or drink. The same goes for anytime you walk away and come back to your cup or plate. We probably won't be here for long, so just stay vigilant, and you'll be okay."
"Fuck that!" Neko cried. "They're the assholes, not me! Why should I have to do all that crap?"
"You know girls have to do that stuff back home all the time, right?" Tina snapped. "Only we don't have lightning magic or Cure Poison. I never left my cup alone at parties or bars, and I never got on an elevator that was only guys, either."
"Well, it fucking sucks," Neko said angrily.
"Tell me about it," Tina agreed.
The cat-girl shot another murderous look at the group of young jubatus males, who did indeed seem to be following them. "The moment I get my mana back, I'm electrocuting all of them."
Tina sighed. "You can't attack them just for looking. They probably don't know any better. Like you said, this isn't an enlightened time."
"Then I'll have to enlighten them myself," Neko said darkly, curling her fingers menacingly at the jubatus guys, who waved back eagerly.
"You're making it worse," Tina warned. "Just stay away from--" She stopped mid-step, blinking at the sight that had just come into view. "Wait, are those gnolls?"
Her balance wobbled as Neko lurched over to her other shoulder, jubatus admirers forgotten.
"Holy crap, they are," Neko said, astonished.
Sure enough, the field just beyond Windy Lake had been taken over by an entire encampment of hyena people. Their surprisingly orderly camp was the picture of military discipline, complete with guard patrols and orderly paths between the tent blocks. James exchanged friendly waves with the gnoll soldiers on duty. The soldiers waved back then flipped over to battle mode as they pointed their short spears at Tina and the others. She blinked back, surprisingly intimidated. They might only come up to her knee, but the gnolls' beady black eyes did the squinty, mean-look thing really well.
"Is Thunder Paw still here?" James asked the gnoll guarding the entrance to the camp. The gnoll replied in a series of barks and yips, and James nodded. "Great. Can you please ask him to halt the anti-bandit expedition? We'll explain more later."
The guard gnoll looked at James sideways, so James barked and yipped. This made the guards howl with laughter, and they ran off, running into the orderly camp on all fours.
"When did you learn gnoll?" Ar'Bati asked as the group moved on.
James tapped his black staff against his head. "Vocabulary is all memorization, which Intelligence gear amps up. I learned a lot of words from T
hunder Paw on our trip back from Red Canyon, but I don't understand the grammar yet." He smiled. "I bet I said something pretty weird just now, but it worked, so I can't complain."
Ar'Bati looked insulted. "That is..." He faded off with a scowl. "What's the player term for egregious cheating?"
"Hax," Tina supplied.
"That is hax," Ar'Bati finished.
James shrugged. "Play the hand you're dealt."
He came to a stop after that in the middle of a large, empty field.
"What's this?" Tina asked, looking around in confusion.
James gave her a sheepish look. "Where you're staying, I'm afraid. These are the festival grounds. It looks like an empty field, I know, but it has outhouses for a crowd, and it's inside the magical influence of the Naturalist Lodge. Fangs and I are going back to see about finding you some spare tents, but we're a very large group, so I doubt Windy Lake has enough for everyone. Still, it's not like it rains much here. My main concern is sun stroke, but there's some trees beside the lake." He pointed at a line of scrubby trees beside the water. "If we put the wounded in the shade, they should be okay until we get something better set up."
"Thanks, J," Tina said. "We'll manage. I'm just happy nothing's trying to kill us. But where are you going to be?" She'd already gotten the hint that James had no plans of hanging out with her and the other players, not that she could blame him now that he was a cat-village rock star.
"The main lodge," he replied. "Gotta see what the situation is before I crash."
"We'll be here, then," Tina said, waving goodbye. James waved back and turned toward the village again, falling into step behind Ar'Bati, who'd already gotten a head start.
The moment her brother--or maybe brothers, who the fuck knew--were gone, Tina collapsed on the ground, causing Neko to jump away with a yowl. The army of players around her immediately followed suit. Sighs of relief filled the air as people sat down, fell down, or splayed out on the ground. Some dug immediately into their packs for food and water. Others ran to the outhouses, which quickly acquired massive lines.
