A Dragon's Tale Ch. 50

"No, she said she would pray for me until it was gone." Sarah corrected. "She said it was a 'silver lining' to a very bad problem."

"Ah, okay." Lady Ekthros said. She sounded like she was happy, but Sarah couldn't shake the feeling that she wasn't.

"Is there any news of Ethan?" The innkeeper's daughter asked.

"Sadly yes." Lady Ekthros grimaced. "I recently got a carrier pigeon from Ivernia; he slaughtered almost three dozen Ivernian soldiers in the last week."

"Three dozen?" Sarah felt her jaw drop. "How?"

"I'm still waiting on all the details."

Sarah thought about that for a moment. Ivernian soldiers weren't known for being honest or good men. While it was impressive that Ethan had killed so many of them, it didn't necessarily make him a bad person because they were often so corrupt.

"That's a lot of soldiers; did he attack a garrison or something?" Sarah finally asked. She didn't trust Lady Ekthros to give her an accurate answer, but she was interested inhow the lady answered.

"No." Lady Ekthros shook her head.

"Then, did they attack him?"

"Yes." The other woman admitted, but then added. "But only because he broke their laws rather severely."

"How?"

"He attacked some officials and caused a riot from what the letter said."

"What kind of officials?" Sarah asked.

Lady Ekthros hesitated a moment before answering. "A Reeve."

"Hmm." Sarah resisted the temptation to smile. If the Reeve that Ethan attacked was as corrupt as the rest of them, that made herless inclined to think that Ethan was guilty, not more. Even more interesting was the hesitancy with which Lady Ekthros had revealed additional details. That hesitancy seemed to be a reluctance to provide the whole story; to give an accurate picture.

She wouldn't have noticed that before.

Now she did.

"Ivernian Reeves are usually corrupt though." She finally said. "And how did three dozen Ivernian soldiers catch him? He can fly and he has an airship."

"The local duke sent two airships to bring him to justice after he attacked the Reeve."

"Oh, so they attacked him while he was on his airship with his family?" Sarah asked. The more she learned, the more Ethan came off looking good, not bad.

"Remember why that family is with him though." Lady Ekthros replied darkly, then took a bite of her oatmeal.

The innkeeper's daughter nodded slowly, remembering that the lady had made it sound like Ethan was compelling his wives to stay with him. She thought about that for a moment, but she just couldn't see it. His wives had seemed too happy with him and he seemed too happy with them. It was possible his wives were being compelled of course, but seemed unlikely.

"But I don't know for sure that he's compelling them." Sarah replied. "You gave me one explanation -- and it makes sense -- but doesn't the Book of Light say that you should hear both sides of a case when rendering judgment?"

"It does, but that could be dangerous." Lady Ekthros said when she had finished chewing. "Remember that he was looking into your mind."

Sarah smiled, again wanting to see how she might respond to something else. "Oh, that's not a problem. I went to see the court mage and he taught me how to shield my mind. Ethan can't see into my mind anymore, so I really would like to hear his side of the story." She hesitated a moment and then decided to add something else. "Do you think I shouldn't hear Ethan's side of the story as the Book of Light commands?"

Lady Ekthros eyed her for several long seconds before speaking again. "If you think you can do it safely."

"I don't know, but I'd like to try." She said, mostly because she wanted to see how the other woman would react. It was almost fun to say things that made it look like she was heading in the exact opposite direction that Lady Ekthros wanted her to.

"I would be very careful; he's armed and extremely dangerous."

"But you said he was trying to recruit me right?" Sarah asked, again mostly needling the lady. "That means I should be safe as long as he thinks I'm still willing to join him."

Again, Lady Ekthros eyed her for several long seconds before speaking. When she did speak, there was something different about her tone. Sarah couldn't place it, but despite the lady's cheerful disposition and happy expression, something about tone felt almost...

Menacing?

Lady Ekthros looked into her eyes. "You should be careful Sarah; knowingly consorting with necromancers is a capital offense in Narlotten."

There was something in her tone that sent a slight shiver down Sarah's spine. It didn't sound exactly like a threat, but she couldn't shake the feeling that it was one. Something in the lady's dark gray eyes just seemed... seemed... She wasn't sure, but it was slightly unsettling whatever it was.

"I'll be careful." Sarah said, and she meant it. Suddenly, poking the proverbial dragon that was Lady Ekthros didn't seem like such a good idea.

"Good." The lady smiled at her. "I would hate for something to happen to you."

Disturbingly, this smile also reached into her eyes.

Sarah swallowed, nodded, and then gave her a slight curtsy with a smile that she didn't quite feel. "Enjoy your breakfast."

"We should get together for lunch." Lady Ekthros said, her expression still happy but her eyes were hard, cold, and calculating. "Soon."

"Okay." Sarah nodded, then slipped out of the room and closed the door behind her.

Whoa.

She breathed a sigh of relief.

For some reason, right at the end of that conversation, it had felt like... like... She couldn't put her finger on it. Something about Lady Ekthros's expression, or body language, or something about the look in her dark gray eyes; one of those -- or perhaps a combination of them -- had been deeply unsettling for a moment.

Before this morning, she had still held some lingering doubts about Lady Ekthros.

Now she didn't.

Without reading minds, she was as sure as she could be that Lady Ekthros wasn't a good person. She was sad about that, but it did make her smile for one simple reason; it meant that Ethan almost certainlywas a good person.

She smiled.

Her smile faltered for a moment when she remembered that she was betrothed to Rindrin. The blacksmith was a good man, but he wasn't... well, he wasn't Ethan. She would marry Rindrin and be the best, most faithful wife she could possibly be. Even if...

She slowly shook her head.

She took a deep breath and started heading back towards the kitchens. Nothing could spoil her good mood today. And since she was now reasonably sure that Ethan was a good man, she was going to take his advice. He had told her about one of his childhood heroes who had said: "With great power, comes great responsibility."

She was determined to find Amy before the end of the day and start helping her with her bullying problem. She was pretty sure that she could find the girl if she started asking the cooks in the kitchens. If that failed, she could ask the maids she encountered while working. Someone was bound to know.

She started humming again as she walked towards the kitchens, occasionally doing a dance step or two as she went.

* * *

"What about this one?" Beth asked, holding up a belt that almost exactly matched the color of Alana's hair.

"Um..." Rachel hesitated, looking like a fish out of water.

They were in a shop that specialized in ladies' wear. The unanimous consent of the ladies was that clothes shopping came first, and the blonde was glad because she hadn't been clothes shopping properly in soooooo long. Shara and Lyra had taken them to an upscale tailor which had examples of their wares on display, though of course they wouldn't be in town long enough to buy a dress because it would need to be fitted and then sewn.

"It's nice." Rachel said, but her tone sounded quite unsure.

"Okay, how about this one?" The blonde held up another one.

"Maybe?" The redhead had only given it a glance and then she looked down again.

"Beth, can I talk to you for a moment?" Alana said after looking at Rachel's reaction.

"Sure." The blonde followed the wood elf to a corner of the shop.

"Beth, I appreciate what you're trying to do -- and I must admit that I like the idea of Rachel and I wearing belts that match each other -- but you're making her uncomfortable." She glanced at the redhead, who was standing with one arm at her side and the other arm crossed across her front. Her head was slightly bowed, her shoulders somewhat hunched, and she was hiding her face with her hair a bit.

"Okay, sorry." The blonde grimaced. "I just think you two are so cute together."

"Thanks." Alana smiled sheepishly.

"I'll stop." Beth said. "But I still think it's a really cute idea."

Alana's smile became wider and more sheepish. "Me too."

Beth went over to Rachel. "Hey, I'm sorry I've been pushing."

"It's okay." The redhead had a small, half-embarrassed smile on her face.

"Good, because you and Alana areso cute together."

"Thanks." Rachel smiled sheepishly.

Out of the corner of her eye, Beth saw Tee pull out another chocolate-brown belt. She caught the Fey teen's eye and subtly shook her head. Tee mock-pouted for a moment, then saw Rachel, nodded, and put it back. Once people stopped teasing Rachel about the belt thing, Beth noticed that the redhead brightened up considerably after only a few minutes.

They spent perhaps another twenty minutes in the shop, after which Shara said that the shop which sold double-enchantable cloth should now be open. The blonde followed her fellow wives out of the shop, noticing as she did so that there was a man on the street watching them. She looked directly at him and he averted his eyes.

"Kendra." Beth whispered.

"I saw him, and he's not the only one." The dragon huntress whispered back. "Hang on." Without looking suspicious, Kendra sidled over to Octavian and the two guards he had had with him to protect the royal family.

Beth looked around on the street, trying to see where the other fellow that Kendra noticed was. She didn't see anyone or anything that looked suspicious, but then she didn't have any experience.

"Come on ladies, the shop is this way." Octavian said, making a somewhat abrupt right turn.

Beth frowned.

She didn't remember the shop being that way from what Shara and Lyra had said, but the two women were following Octavian anyway. The blonde swallowed and walked a little closer to Kendra while trying to ignore the sinking feeling that had just appeared in the pit of her stomach.

* * *

*Ethan, I don't want to alarm you, but I think we're about to have company.* Kendra thought to everyone as she continued to pretend that nothing was wrong to mislead those observing them.

*What kind of company?* He replied, dread in his tone.

*Exactly the kind you're worried about.* The former Aldmiri replied. *I've seen at least three people scouting us so Octavian is taking us towards a guard outpost, just in case.*

He didn't reply.

He didn't need to.

She could feel what he was feeling and knew exactly why; she would be feeling the same in his position. He was hundreds of miles away and even flying at top speed it would take the better part of a day for him to reach them. He couldn't do anything to help them and Kendra would feel exactly as bad as he was feeling if she was in his position.

*It's not as bad as last time.* She clarified for his sake. *They don't look to be armored and we have Octavian and two of his men with us.*

*And I have my travel bow and six arrows.* Alana added. *That's at least six dead men if someone tries something.*

*At least?* Beth asked.

*At least.* The wood elf confirmed grimly.

*What Alana is trying to say is that--* Kendra's eyes widened. "LOOK OUT!"

She dove forward as she drew her sword, barreling into Alana and knocking the wood elf aside as she raised her blade to parry the surprise attack that had come from a nearby alley. She barely managed it, and only then because of her strength-enhancing vambraces.

But this was different than the last time.

This time their attackers weren't wearing chainmail armor from head to toe. The two swords met edge-to-edge and Kendra put her other hand on the pommel to increase her leverage and twist the man's sword slightly out of position. He saw it coming and adjusted his footing, but Kendra used that against him. She put her thumb on the flat of her blade and whipped it around with only her wrists in what Ethan had once called 'helicopter style' to execute a Zwerchhau strike.

The man wasn't ready to react and paid for that with a cut deep into his skull. Kendra drew the blade along the cut to make sure it didn't get stuck in the man's cranium and then turned to take stock of the scene.

It was bad.

Alana was still getting up, though she had been forced to roll to avoid another one of their attackers. Their attackers numbered slightly under twenty. Six of them had managed to separate Shara and Lyra from the pack, though Octavian and his two men were guarding them. Those six seemed less interested in attacking and more interested in pining the swordsmen down.

The same wasn't true for the other dozen.

They had charged from various shops and other locations, trying to surround her fellow wives; they didn't seem interested in talking or taking prisoners. Four of them had just been blown back by Rachel and Kendra had dispatched one, but the other seven weren't playing.

Thankfully, they hadn't all arrived at once. It seemed like Octavian's abrupt change of direction had forced a last-second change of plans and half of them weren't even in range yet.

*Selene, catch!* Kendra thought to everyone as she kicked the dead man's sword towards the Brazilian woman. The blade slid along the ground towards her and she stopped it with her foot by stomping on it and then scooped it up. Rachel used another air-ram that gave the caramel-haired beauty just enough time to pick up the sword without being skewered. Like last time, the two warrior women formed up to the front and rear with the other wives in the center to protect them.

Beth dove to the ground and lay there unmoving, but she didn't look hurt. Taloni flew upwards, and fast, but fortunately they didn't have any archers this time. Unfortunately, these men were a whole other class of opponent than the sloppy Ivernian soldiers who had attacked them in Dotmier. They had the look of professional mercenaries or bounty hunters and skills to match. Thank Illuminar that they weren't wearing chainmail armor; they wouldn't have stood a chance if they were.

The six facing Kendra immediately parted into two groups and dashed to get around her and she couldn't stop them all. Alana had just pulled out her bow, but both her and Rachel's backs were turned as they tried to help Selene, who was in desperate need of help.

Kendra reacted on instinct.

She leapt forwards, screaming like a banshee and hoping to draw Rachel and Alana's attention whilst simultaneously leaping at one of the two groups of three. Two of them went to counter-attack against her while the last leapt at Alana, who was both unprotected and unaware. With her sword and vambraces, Kendra could only block two attacks.

She couldn't save herselfand Alana.

Again, she reacted on instinct. She snapped her sword out, striking the man who had been about to run the wood elf through whilst simultaneously blocking one of the sword blows aimed at her with her vambrace.

She couldn't block the third attack which was aimed at her torso.

She was glad that she had been able to live part of her life with Ethan and her fellow wives. She thought her life might be worth something since she had been able to save a good woman at the end of it. She hoped Ethan would forgive her for dying, and in what she thought were her final moments, she asked Illuminar to comfort him after her passing.

* * *

Ethan had felt the battle start. He felt the rush of panic and other emotions that were nearly identical to what he'd felt when his wives had been ambushed in Dotmier.

But this time he couldn't do anything.

Fuck!

He let out a cry of frustration that ended up sounding more like a roar. He couldn't do anything. God damn motherfucking fucking fuck! There was nothing he could do. His wives were in danger and he couldn't do a damn thing about it.

At the back of his mind, something occurred to him. He remembered Gabriella telling him that Illuminar never interfered unless He was asked to. There was an old saying about there being no atheists in foxholes, and he figured he didn't have a single thing to lose by trying, and he might lose his wives if he didn't.

He could feel the tears forming in his eyes as he looked and thought. *Illuminar, if you're listening, then please; please save them.*

* * *

Rachel wasn't sure why, but for some reason she got a strong feeling that she needed to look behind her. She could've easily ignored the feeling, but it seemed important even though Selene was fighting for her life. Alana had loosed two arrows already with deadly precision which reduced the attackers on that side, but the feeling persisted.

She turned while gathering her mana for an air-ram. Three men were nearly on top of her and one was already swinging a sword. She shot her hand out, fingers spread wide as she released the most powerful air-ram she could muster on such short notice as one of the men chopped at her outstretched hand.

* * *

Alana wasn't sure why, but she got a strong feeling that she needed to look behind her. The feeling had appeared suddenly and while it could be easily ignored, doing so felt like a bad idea. She turned with an arrow already nocked into her bow and saw--

Her eyes went wide as she aimed and released faster than she'd ever done in her entire life. Her arrow hit its mark mere moments before the man she'd hit would've put a sword through Kendra's heart. The dragon huntress was safe and answered her current attacker with two quick blows that put him out of the fight for good as Alana dispatched Kendra's other attacker, whose attack Kendra had blocked with her vambrace.

Thank Illuminar that they weren't wearing armor.

Kendra then turned towards the other three attackers that Rachel had knocked back moments ago.

* * *

Selene couldn't believe that she wasn't dead. Her borrowed sword didn't handle nearly as well as the ones she was used to and the ambush had taken them all completely by surprise, but somehow they were all still alive. Mostly thanks to Alana. The Brazilian woman had seen the wood elf shoot arrows before of course, but she had no idea the tiny woman was so fast.

Selene focused on the four men in front of her, two of which were trying to catch their footing after Rachel's most recent air-ram. She had a split second of 'free' time and used it to open her mental defenses a crack to try and figure out how they were going to--

She smiled.

The man in front of her came in with a vertical overhand strike which she intercepted with the lower half of her blade for leverage... but the man had expected that and she knew what his planned follow-up was. With a slight twist of her wrists, she took advantage of his plan and she angled the blade down and thrust into his throat. The strike might've decapitated him if his neck had been slender enough.

The Brazilian woman jerked her blade out in time to parry the attack of another man and her telepathically enhanced counterattack also put him out of the fight She heard a whistling sound and an arrow hit a third man's eye who had been about to gang up on her. Moments later, the Brazilian woman saw several large pieces of fruit from above hit the last man in front of her.

"Don't you hurt my family!" Taloni nearly screamed from on high as she pelted the last man in front of Selene with some more fruit. That provided a nice distraction that allowed Selene to make a quick cut to the man's neck, ending his life.