by Eric Vall
Orenn and Gawain had beds right next to each other, but their sheet was pulled aside so they could see each other. Orenn sat upright on his bed and hummed cheerfully to himself as he flipped through a book, but Gawain slouched in his bed and stared glumly out the window like a grounded child.
“Hey, guys,” I announced as I strode through the door. “I can’t believe you’re partying together without me.”
“Like hell we are,” Gawain snapped from the closest bed. “I can’t get him to stop offering to get me things.”
I looked over at Orenn, and the metallogue smiled and waved at me in response.
“Gryff! You came to visit, that’s so nice of you,” he said to me with a huge, appreciative grin. “Do you want me to get you some water?”
“I think I can get it myself,” I assured him, “since I’m the only one in this room with two functioning legs. What’s this I hear about Gawain disrespecting you?”
“Oh, he’s fine,” Orenn dismissed with a smile and a wave of his hand. “Gawain’s been super nice, actually.”
“I threatened to steal your crutches,” Gawain muttered darkly. “I would go through with it, too, but Meridan wrapped my knee so tightly, I can’t even sit up.”
“Aw, I’m sorry,” I said as I walked over to sit on his bed. “Want me to kiss it better?”
“Kindly move your ass before I move it for you,” Gawain suggested through gritted teeth.
“Somebody needs more pain meds,” I commented as I chuckled to myself. “Orenn, why didn’t you ask him if he wanted any?”
“Don’t worry,” Orenn assured me, “I asked. Oh, but maybe he’s changed his mind. Gawain, do you want any--”
“I’m fine,” the fire mage groaned before he shot me daggers with his eyes. “Why would you prompt him to do this? What have I ever done to you?”
“Consider this payback for how long we had to chase you all over Mistral,” I suggested with a crooked grin. “Then you can get over it and stop feeling so bad about yourself.”
“You’re an ass,” Gawain told me with a roll of his eyes, but a small smile quirked at the corners of his mouth.
“Guess you don’t want these, then,” I said as I patted the napkin full of pie.
“Of course I don’t want your dirty tablecloth,” Gawain bit back, but then he paused and eyed the napkin with interest. “What’s inside?”
“Apple pie,” I said with a wink as I unfolded the cloth and brandished my gifts.
“Hell yes!” Orenn exclaimed with delight. “Oh Maker, I love you, man.”
“As you should,” I teased.
I got up to hand the metallogue his miniature apple pie. It didn’t look too fancy, since the cafeteria had to bake so many at once, but it smelled fresh, and the scent of cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg wafted through the room.
“I love the cafeteria’s pies,” Orenn breathed out, and he positively melted as he took it from me.
“So, Gawain?” I asked as I cocked an eyebrow. “You don’t want any pie?”
“Fine, fine, give it here,” he grumbled with a glower in my direction.
“I’m not sure you deserve it yet,” I wondered aloud to myself with a hum.
“If you do, I’ll be nice to Orenn,” Gawain proposed as his nose wrinkled. “It’s your fault if I drown under all the water he gives me.”
“Deal,” I agreed with a smirk as I handed the remaining pie over.
Just then, the door opened, and I glanced up to see who it was.
To my surprise, it was Headmaster Sleet, not Meridan, who loomed in the doorway.
“Headmaster,” I asked in surprise, “what’s going on?”
“There is a new rift,” he rumbled out.
“Is it Phi?” I questioned as my eyes widened in alarm.
“No, no,” he assured me with a slow shake of his head. “Just a normal rift. However, Varle Enclave is running low on monster response teams.”
“So you need me,” I confirmed as I got to my feet.
“You and Varleth are the only combination of leader and banisher that I have available,” Sleet explained with a reluctant smile as he stroked his wizened, white beard. “I realize you weren’t appointed officially, but you’ve done very well so far. I’ll send Arwyn with you on this mission as a healer, but she can step in if you’re not comfortable heading up your team.”
“I should be fine,” I said with a determined nod. “Who else am I getting?”
“Nia will remain with you inside the rift entrance,” he replied. “Erin will be your pilot, and you may use her in the fight as well, if you think it wise.”
“Sounds good,” I replied. “Thank you, sir.”
“I’ve sent people to inform your other teammates,” Sleet continued. “I decided to let you know myself, since I was already in the clinic for a checkup. And Gryff? Good luck.”
“Hopefully, I won’t need it,” I replied with a wry expression.
Sleet chuckled and shook his head as he turned to go, and his cloak swirled behind him.
“I don’t believe you will,” the Headmaster said with a smile and a parting goodbye before he strode away.
The door closed behind him with a click of finality, and the three of us glanced back to each other.
“I think he really respects you,” Orenn said with a wondering tone. “I’ve never heard of anybody else getting a personal call from the Headmaster for a mission.”
“We’re just short on hands,” I disagreed. “He’d do that for anybody.”
“Yeah right,” Gawain snorted and smiled. “Be happy, it means you’ve been doing a good job.”
Pride swelled in my chest, but I waved them off with embarrassment before I fumbled over a quick goodbye.
“Gotta go, see you guys later,” I called as I hurried through the clinic doors.
I never went out without even a light amount of combat gear, so I already had my bandolier and other essence crystals on me. Then I ran to the training armory to grab a spare leather cuirass in my size before I made the quick trip through the streets to Erin’s airship.
When I got there, I encountered Erin at the ladder into the airship.
Her short, orange hair fell to her chin, and it looked fluffy and soft from the Academy’s high-quality conditioner. She wore a white, tightly-fitted shirt with muted, blue accents and pink detailing that contrasted nicely against her beautiful eyes. Her top had a cutout section that revealed the underside curve of her breasts, and two thick straps of white fabric supported her chest and barely kept her modest.
She also wore a white miniskirt held up by an accented belt, and below that, pink and blue striped leggings covered her long legs. Her heeled, ankle-high boots were porcelain white to complement the rest of the outfit, and she looked absolutely stunning from head to toe.
“Hi, Gryff,” she greeted me breathlessly before she wiped at a grease stain across the bridge of her nose. “Glad you got here so quick. We’re just waiting on Arwyn and Nia, now.”
“What are you doing?” I asked as I noticed the wrench and screwdriver in her hand.
“I’m trying to make my Diomesia pretty again,” she explained in a mournful, longing tone. “Those stupid monsters got claw marks all over her.”
“Uh-huh,” I replied slowly as a hint of humor entered my voice. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“That’s fine,” Erin replied with determination as her eyes blazed with righteous fury. “I’m going to fix her up once we get back. Nobody leaves a scar on my baby.”
“I believe in you,” I said teasingly as I patted her on the shoulder.
Just then, Arwyn and Nia turned the corner. They waved to us as they walked quickly down the street, and I raised my arm in greeting.
Arwyn was dressed in a short, black tunic with a plunging neckline that showed off her cleavage. On the bottom, she had on skin-tight burgundy shorts that complimented her red waves of long hair.
Nia wore a white and black dress that worked perfectly with he
r pale features and ashen hair. The flaring bottom of her dress was short in the front and split down the back to allow her to run and fight more easily, and white tights covered her long legs. Her hips swayed as she walked, and I had to tear my eyes away from the gorgeous, perfectly round curves of her ass.
“Ready?” I asked as they neared.
“Ready as ever,” Nia responded with a soft smile. “I haven’t seen you in the role of leader very recently, so this could be quite fun.”
“I hope so,” I replied agreeably before I turned to Arwyn. “Are you okay with not being in charge for this one?”
“Maker, am I ever,” Arwyn laughed out as she nodded. “This is actually quite standard, in terms of monster response teams. You’re a bit young for it, but it’s normal for the main leader to step aside to nurture the growth of a new one.”
“Oh, really?” I asked with curiosity, since this was news to me.
“Of course,” Arwyn replied with a grin. “I’ve done this a couple times before, actually. We try not to throw young mages off the deep end by asking them to take full command immediately.”
“That makes sense,” I said with a nod. “In that case, are we all ready to go?”
“I guess I can be ready,” Erin said with reluctance in her voice. “I can fix Diomesia when we get back.”
“That’s the spirit,” I replied with a smile. “Everybody onboard!”
Nia and Arwyn followed me up the ladder into the hold of Diomesia. Varleth was already there, and he looked solemn and businesslike as he sat in his chair with his full battle armor on.
Since Varleth was a banisher, he was given a few heavier metal pieces for protection, and he even wore a chainmail shirt under his black cloak. It would slow him down a tiny bit, but it was vital that banishers stayed safe rather than risk themselves just to fight. Besides, every time I saw Varleth in a fight, he almost moved quicker than I could track.
Erin disappeared into the pilot hold, and the rest of us strapped in. The airship jolted and banged around a little as we took off, but we soon got off the ground without incident.
I breathed a sigh of relief and caught Varleth doing the same. We both remembered the airship attack a little too well.
Once we were in the air, the whole ride flew a little more smoothly, and I settled down into my seat as my stomach calmed.
“Too bad we don’t have Cyra’s cards,” Varleth commented. “I’ll miss losing to that little tyrant you guys call Layla.”
“It wouldn’t be the same without Gawain here,” I argued. “His suffering makes the whole game sweeter.”
I snorted out in laughter, and Varleth smiled along with me. Arwyn and Nia exchanged looks before they both rolled their eyes at us.
“Aren’t you supposed to be the leader?” Nia teased. “You sure don’t sound like one.”
“I’ll fix it,” I replied with a pleased shrug. “I order you to see me as leaderly.”
“I’m going to fight alongside a child,” Nia sighed, but her eyes sparkled with amusement. “Arwyn, is this grounds for you to take over command? He’s clearly failing his job.”
“Morale does seem to suffer whenever Gryff speaks,” Arwyn teased back. “Maybe I should.”
“Hey,” I complained. “Just because I have a tiny Wilds accent, that’s no reason to make such unjust claims about my team’s morale. In fact, I think that’s technically discrimination. Arwyn, you could be fired for that.”
“That’s not the only thing I could be fired for,” Arwyn murmured with a thoughtful tilt to her head.
I flushed as I remembered the start of our relationship, when Arwyn had approached me in the library.
“I’m practically not even in school anymore,” I said sheepishly. “And we’re both adults, so, y’know, you should be fine.”
“Aw, look at him blush,” Nia cooed. “He’s so concerned for you.”
The two girls dissolved into light laughter as they studied my face.
“Hush,” I warned as I battled my embarrassment. “Quit mocking your leader. You’re all guilty of insubordination.”
We bickered back and forth as the good-natured ribbing continued, but we had to stop when Erin jogged back out into the cabin area.
“Get ready for the descent, ‘cause we’re here!” the mimic announced with a smile.
“That was quick,” Varleth responded as he raised his eyebrows. “Maybe not quick enough, since I had to listen to these idiots.”
“You know you love us,” I replied with a wink.
“Aw,” Erin said wistfully, “you guys sounded like you were having fun. I must miss so much when I’m piloting.”
“You’re better off without hearing it,” Nia advised with a warm smile as she straightened her silver braid of hair.
“Aw, thanks, Nia,” Erin replied. “Alright, I’m gonna go land my girl. Sit tight!”
We sat back as the ship bumped and swayed to a stop. The metal landing legs cushioned our final set-down, and then we were there.
“Alright, team,” I directed, “let’s go. Nia and I are on point, Varleth and Arwyn should come in behind.”
“What about me?” Erin asked as she scurried back from the pilot’s seat.
“Follow Varleth,” I requested. “You still have summoning magic mimicked, and your stagi could come in hand if you two need to get somewhere quickly.”
“Sure thing,” Erin agreed.
We made our final preparations and climbed off the airship down to the ground below.
The small town sprawled out before us, and I could tell immediately this one wasn’t going to recover. There was no fire, but most of the houses were completely smashed beyond repair. Roofs were caved in and the streets were churned up into nothing more than dirt and debris. A few bodies were visible in the mess, and my heart clenched in my chest as I looked at the death and destruction.
At the end of the town, a large dark rift swirled next to a large granary that once held food stores for the winter. Now, it was smashed up into nothing more than tinder and crumbled rock. If there were any survivors, they wouldn’t be able to get through the winter even if they stayed.
“When is the military backup going to get here?” I asked as I led us at a jog toward the awful scene.
“Should be just a couple hours,” Erin said, and her once-cheerful demeanor was sucked dry. “Preparations will take an extra half hour at least, and their airship is bigger and slower. Maybe four hours, tops.”
I gritted my teeth, but I couldn’t do anything about the time gap. We would have to just do the work ourselves.
“Get ready,” I warned. “This is going to be a rough one.”
Right then, the rift grew and rippled violently as something large began to come through.
“Oh, Maker,” Nia breathed as we stared at the new threat.
It was an enormous skeletal monster unlike any I had seen before, and it stood at what I estimated to be nearly seventy feet in height. It walked on two legs, similar to a human, but its bones were distressingly wrong and misshapen. Its bottom legs ended in two hooves, and its front arms curled into the bones of humanoid hands.
Its enormous skull looked somewhat like that of a horse, but there were two sunken holes for eyes on each side of its head, for a total of four eyes. Each socket was filled with the smoldering glow of an amber-colored orb of flame. Each of its white, blocklike teeth looked about the size of a small, single-person sleeping bed.
“What the fuck is this thing?” I asked as horror filled my voice.
“An undead satyrid,” Arwyn explained as her eyes glimmered with fear. “I’ve never seen one, and I’ve only heard about them through third-hand accounts at best.”
“Any idea how to take it down?” Varleth asked, and even his usually-monotone voice was a little hollow and wild.
Despite our misgivings, not one member of my team slowed down in our jog toward the town. We were mages, and it was our responsibility and duty to protect everybody.
“The eyes are a good start,” Arwyn replied as she pointed to the glowing orbs. “I’ve heard the skull still contains some brain matter, so an attack through the eyes works best.”
“So,” I mused, “if you send an attack through an eyeball, it’ll pierce into the brain and shut the whole thing down. That’s not too bad.”
“Hypothetically,” Arwyn cautioned. “I don’t trust research I get through hearsay, though. Be careful not to put all your faith in that method of killing it.”
“Right,” I confirmed. “Have an exit plan. I can do that.”
“Can you?” Varleth asked as he eyed me with worry. “I recall you falling from great heights before, and it’s whenever you’ve gone after a large monster like this.”
“I’ll be okay,” I affirmed. “I’m responsible for leading this team now, and I won’t take any unnecessary risks that may put you all in jeopardy.”
“I like this new, leaderly Gryff,” Nia complimented as she looked at me with surprise.
Finally, we arrived close enough to the town that the first monsters noticed us.
Six identical monsters charged from the debris of the town, and they bellowed with wild rage as they crushed rubble underfoot. As my team froze, the beasts spun to face us, and I got a good look at what they were.
These monsters were mindless and brutish, but each was twice the size of a rhino. They had thick bone shoes that emerged from the bottoms of their legs, and their massive bone heads swung around to peer at us with poor eyesight. Glowing red eyes swam at the sides of their skeletal heads as they pawed frantically at the earth before them. It seemed clear to me that the undead satyrid was not too dissimilar from these grunts.
“Ramblers?” Erin asked nervously.
“Yep,” I confirmed as I recalled my last encounter with this kind of monster.
They were big and mean, and they didn’t stop once they’d locked onto you. Their bony protrusions were as tough as steel, and they could kill you in an instant if you weren’t protected from their crushing power. I’d barely managed to take out one rambler with my bullet bass and my kalgori, so this would be a challenge, but not impossible.
“Alright, team,” I declared as I threw out a set of five bullet bass crystals. “Let’s suit up in metal, but stick close to me so you don’t risk the chance of it wearing off through distance. This won’t be too hard of a battle at all, so don’t worry about a thing.”
