The Companions of Tartiël (8 page)

“That’s not such a great idea, kid,” the wall behind Kaiyr said in a female voice. Both Kaiyr and Wild jumped at the sudden appearance of a very feminine form that stepped directly out of the stone comprising the wall.

Kaiyr masked his surprise well and composed himself in the blink of an eye. “Lady Astra,” he said by way of greeting as the beautiful woman shook out her waist-length black hair.

“Hello again, Kaiyr. Looks like you’re in quite the rough spot,” she said, and Kaiyr gave her a helpless nod.

“I am afraid so.”

“Well, don’t worry too much about it. I’m going to make some noise and pop your doors open. Use the time wisely, Blademaster, and get yourself and the druid out of here. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be right behind you,” Astra purred, striding past Kaiyr and stroking a finely manicured nail along his jaw.

The blademaster watched her with his usual level look. “Very well. However, some of our possessions are—”

“I’ll take care of that,” the nymph replied as she pressed her hand to the wall between Kaiyr’s cell and Caineye’s. “Be seeing you.” She stepped through the wall, melding seamlessly into the stone.

On the other side of the wall, Caineye looked up at Astra as she stepped through the wall. “Just checking to make sure you’re alive and well,” Astra greeted Caineye as he stood and dusted himself off.

“Oh, thank Alduros Hol you’re here to get us out of here,” he replied.

“Just leave everything to me. You follow the elf in the bathrobe and put your legs to good use. I’ll meet you once we all get out of Viel.” She waved at him, and Caineye nodded his accord as she slipped back into the wall of his cell.

The trio did not have long to wait. Wild stood by the door in the back of the building, ready to burst out of it in a moment’s notice. Kaiyr and Caineye stood before their cells’ respective doors, also ready to shove hard.

Surprised shouts and the ringing of steel on steel echoed down the hallway as Astra engaged the unsuspecting prison guards. The others tensed, even more ready to spring as soon as the moment arrived.

The locking bars slid back into the walls, and before the now-loose doors could swing open on their own, Kaiyr and Caineye charged through them and into the hall. Wild kicked open the back door with his foot, but before he could do anything else, a hand grabbed the edge of the door and wrenched it open.

With a surprised shout, the halfling sprang back and drew one of his daggers. Kaiyr hissed at the halfling and motioned for the short rogue to retreat toward him. As the halfling complied, Kaiyr ducked back into his cell after motioning for Caineye to stay back.

Two soldiers rushed in after Wild, their swords drawn. With a battle cry, they came at the little man. But as they passed Kaiyr’s cell, a blade seemingly made of glass slashed out, gashing one of the soldiers’ arms. At the same moment, Caineye cast a spell and launched a bolt of fire right into the face of the other soldier. Neither one went down, but they both realized their doom as Kaiyr jumped into the hall, joining the fray.

Together, the trio made short work of the two prison guards, and as soon as the second one went down under a flurry of strikes between Kaiyr and Wild, the blademaster’s soulblade winked out of existence. “Let us flee this place,” he intoned, turning for the door.

Caineye and Vinto followed, but Wild spun and ran the other way. “I’m going to check on Astra,” he said, “I’ll meet up with you later.”

Kaiyr opened his mouth to argue but then clamped it shut. “Let’s go,” Caineye said, and the two of them dashed out of the prison and down the dark, nighttime alleys.

Back in the prison, Wild met up with Astra just as she was easing the constable’s corpse to the ground. No less than seven bodies littered the floor, and the tiny spatter of blood on the nymph’s cheek, the only blood on her, was not her own and could have been mistaken for decoration.

As Wild entered, she slid her rapier, crackling with magical energy, back into its sheath. Scowling at Wild, she growled, “I thought I told you to get the hell out.”

Wild shrugged. “Just wanted to see if there was anything to steal.” He looked down. The constable lay dead on the floor, his hands grasping at a precise wound in his ribs. Reaching down, the halfling divested one of those fingers of a gold ring, and he took a moment to inspect the inscription on its face. “Ooh, a ring of station,” he said, sliding it onto his own finger, next to the ring he’d taken from Cobain the other day. “Now I’m a priest
and
a constable!”

*

“You have got to be kidding me,” I groaned. Xavier rolled his eyes with me. Matt just grinned.

“The worst part is,” Dingo said, “it’s really going to help him with Bluff checks to the point where he’ll barely need to make any, unless he meets with any personal friends of the people he originally stole these rings from.”

“I’m going to make that one of Wild’s vices,” Matt added. “I’m giving him an unhealthy fascination for rings.”

I shrugged. “Dingo’s right, though. They’ll actually be really useful. Just don’t forget to only show the ring you intend to.”

“Yeah,” Matt agreed. “It’d probably be a bad idea to be wearing rings saying I’m a priest of seven different gods and maybe the king of three countries.”

“That’d be hilarious,” Dingo replied.

“Okay,” I said. “So, about that D&D game we were playing…”

“Right, back to the story,” Dingo agreed.

*

Astra’s frown turned into a smile at the sight of Wild taking the constable’s ring. “Great minds think alike,” she said, jingling a few small pouches of gold she’d taken from the bodies on the ground.

“I’m just borrowing it until he wants it back,” Wild said innocently. “Got their equipment?”

“Yep,” the woman replied with a chuckle. “Let’s go before anyone makes a stink.” On a higher floor, someone began ringing an alarm bell, and it tolled out frantically in the night. “That’d be our stink,” she said. “Let’s go.”

Nymph and halfling darted out into the streets teeming with activity. Both of them scurried into the shadows and made their way to the northwest path leading out of Viel.

Kaiyr stepped out from the bushes along the road. “You are here. Excellent. Let us away.”

“Yeah,” Astra agreed, “I heard them calling for a manhunt. We’re going to be pursued. Let’s get into the woods.”

The idea was a wise one, and it saved the group from an unnecessary—and potentially lethal—confrontation as a score of riders thundered by, mounted on deinonychus—

*

“Deinonychus?” Matt snorted. “Seriously?
Dinosaurs
?”

I couldn’t disagree. “Dude, dinosaurs in D&D? That’s probably the lamest thing I’ve ever heard.”

Dingo threw up his arms. “What? Dinosaurs are cool!”

“I’ll bet you wanted to be one when you grew up,” Xavier muttered.

“He probably still does,” I said to him in a stage whisper, grinning.

“Besides,” Dingo went on, ignoring us, “they’re in the
Monster Manual
, so they’re built into the game.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that they’re lame,” I said, and Matt nodded his agreement. Then I sighed. “But whatever. So, about that D&D game we were playing.”

Dingo just sighed. “They’re
cool
,” he muttered.

*

The mounted soldiers stormed by in a swarm, and the party watched as they turned northward when the path split.

“Strange,” Kaiyr remarked. “They already know of our involvement at the abbey. Why would they not search there first?”

“And they’re not combing the woods,” Caineye added.

“Do they think we’re dumb enough to stay on the path?” Wild chimed in.

Astra shrugged her shapely shoulders. “They
are
a bunch of dumb shits, you know.”

“Well, yeah,” Wild said, scratching his head, “but still, I kind of feel insulted.”

The party traded shrugs with each other and slipped silently through the forest. They arrived at the abbey and were welcomed back in by the wererat acolytes. The men were relentless in assuring the returned trio and Astra that rooms were ready and chores were done for the day.

Kaiyr waved them away. “Go. Get some rest,” he told them. “I, for one, am hungry despite the hour.”

Caineye nodded, and Vinto gave a quiet whine. “Yeah, they weren’t exactly keen on feeding us. Probably had something to do with them wanting to kill us for doing the world a favor.”

“The world lets no good deed go unpunished,” Kaiyr agreed gravely. Then he brightened. “I, on the other hand, reward good deeds with a hot meal. Let us dine. Lady Astra, you are welcome to join us at our table.”

Astra pursed her lips, but her expression was otherwise unreadable. “All right.”

As Kaiyr prepared the midnight meal, Wild and Caineye sat down with Astra. “Did you find what you were looking for, or do what you wanted to do?” the druid asked Astra.

She shrugged uncomfortably. “Sort of. It’s really complicated, and you don’t really need to know about it.”

Caineye returned the gesture. “If it’s something we can help with, I know that I, for one, would gladly aid you, since you are a creature of nature.”

Astra frowned. “So you noticed.”

The human pointed to himself, smiling wryly. “Druid.”

“Touché. Well, it’s my own business, and I’ll advise you to keep your nose out of it,” she said without rancor. “The things I do are far too dangerous for you to know about.”

“She was probably stealing all sorts of fun stuff,” Wild said with a wink at Astra.

She smirked. “Something like that.”

The table fell silent, and the three plus wolf were left listening to Kaiyr’s noises in the kitchen. At length, Caineye said, “So, Astra. We are with you in this. What is our next move with you? Where are we going next? Have you found out anything more about Sayel?”

The nymph frowned. “I don’t really see the need to tell you that.”

Caineye and Wild traded a meaningful look. The halfling spoke next. “Uh, I really
do
see a need to know how the hell we’re supposed to help you. Good gods, lady, you won’t even tell us what Sayel did to you.”

Flames of anger smoldered in Astra’s violet eyes. “Why should I trust you with that kind of information? It’s a private matter!”

Wild frowned as Kaiyr emerged from the kitchen, bearing a tray with five plates. “Uh, isn’t it obvious? We’re on your side.”

Astra scowled at him, then turned her mean look on Kaiyr as he gently set a plate of food in front of her. The two of them locked gazes for a moment. “And I should trust you because you said that? You’ll need a better reason than that.”

Kaiyr knew the question wasn’t really aimed at him, but he fished around for an answer anyway. Finding none, he just shrugged. “I made dinner,” he said simply.

*

The game ground to a halt as all four of us shook with laughter at the sudden, silly statement. It didn’t help that what I’d said was true.

“‘I made dinner!’” Dingo cackled, ecstatic. “I’m writing that one down as a ‘D&D quote!’ Oh, you’re killing me.”

“Nice one, Jeff,” Matt said, giving me a thumbs-up. Xavier congratulated me on the game-stopping statement, too, and we finally got back to the game.

*

Astra stared at Kaiyr in shock, as though his robes had just mysteriously disappeared from his body. He returned her stare with a perfect deadpan. Finally, the woman looked at her plate, a nervous giggle escaping her pretty lips. “Well, I guess I can’t argue with that.”

“Indeed,” Kaiyr said, returning to setting places. The last plate he set before Vinto before taking his seat. “Lady Astra, I want you to understand that you have my most sincere promise of aid and protection, should you desire it. But in order to aid you, I need to know what challenges await us. I will not allow myself to be led as a bull by the nose. If you cannot offer us more information, more power to act, then I am afraid even I must revoke my hand.”

Caineye nodded. “Master Kaiyr speaks for me, as well, Lady Astra. We need to know what we’re up against.”

Astra glared at her plate as though it had somehow betrayed her. But her anger deflated, and she blew a sigh. “All right. What do you want to know?”

Wild spread his hands. “How about we start with who Sayel is and what he did to you?”

She pursed her lips, ready to start another tirade, but then, clenching her fists, she forced her anger away. “Fine.” She continued to stare at the table as she spoke. “I don’t know who Sayel really is. I’ve never seen him. But my brother, with his dying breath, told me who had killed him. I don’t know why Sayel killed him. I don’t know what he got out of my brother’s death. All I know about Sayel is the description I gave to you: green-tinted armor, long hair, and a sword of translucent gold that appears in his hand at will.”

Kaiyr bowed his head, and then locked gazes with Astra. “For what little it may be worth, Lady Astra, you have my condolences for the loss of your brother.” She scowled at him, but the expression was short-lived, or she could find no hidden motives behind the sincerity of his stare.

Astra decided to impart some knowledge of her own accord, then, and Kaiyr took it as a sign of the beginning of some trust between them. “As to where we’re going, I’ve been doing some snooping around. I picked up on some rumors that someone fitting Sayel’s description was seen in the north, somewhere in the direction of Is’den.”

“That is quite a journey,” Kaiyr said. “And by ‘description,’ I sincerely hope it is one with a much more accurate picture of Sayel than I make.”

The nymph’s scowl returned. “Of course it is, Blademaster. I have reliable sources.” Flipping her black hair petulantly, she snatched her fork from the table, speared a morsel of potato on it, and snapped it into her mouth in a nonverbal statement that the conversation was over.

Not one to let wounded pride go without a bandage, Kaiyr responded in a gentle voice, “My apologies, Lady Astra, for my last comment. It was out of turn. In any case, I thank you for trusting us with your knowledge, despite the painful memories such discussion caused.” He set fork to plate to continue eating but paused. “I shall prepare a bed for you tonight, and you may wish to bathe in the spring out back. We have determined that it has powerful healing properties. Let the water soothe and heal you, and rest easy knowing that I will watch over your slumber.”