A Monster Life Ch. 76-78

The commander stared at his subordinate for a moment, then the last members of the party disappearing around a corner, and returned to his desk. 'Someone throw away the beer and order a new vat of wine!'

The party stopped at a large square with folks distracted enough with their activities to take much notice of them. Ulric stepped off of Harry and pat Susi on her head, who stayed on the seat. 'Are we good, Val?'

Valdys pulled an artefact from a pocket enchanted by dimensional storage magic. 'Yes, it's somewhere around here.'

Elzbieta stretched herself and her protruding bosom distracted the few curious men gazing from a little distance at the odd construction and trying to figure out what to make of them. 'We'll have to snoop around again?'

Valdys returned the artefact to her pocket. 'Unless we find a better way. I removed the names we discovered at Havenno but there's still many left.'

Yingshien looked around at the people on the square, and those who met her intense gaze quickly returned to what they were doing. 'Can't we just ask everyone here?'

'That would just alert them all the more to us.' said Ulric. 'At least now we can simply pass ourselves off as an adventurer party travelling around without suspicion.'

She raised an eyebrow as she looked at him.

'Okay, okay, less suspicion. As long as we can keep our real goal hidden and not alert whoever has the artefact.'

Once again, the same pairs went around keeping eyes and ears open as they looked out for names, and the others stayed at the golem bikes to keep an eye on their possessions and preparing the next meals.

***

Rachael looked around casually at a few weapons from a specialist blacksmith while Handil discussed business with the owner of the shop. She kept an eye out for anyone nearby while examining a dagger, and kept her retracted staff loose in her belt in case she needed it fast. The sudden appearance of the black and brown canine next to her startled her.

Tarrence peered inside the shop through the door opening, hummed in slight disappointment when he took a quick survey of the inventory and saw nothing of interest, and walked away. He had noticed the subtle change in the Safo's stance and her quick glance at the Ruza inside, and thought she might not be such a bad bodyguard when it came to regular opponents, while she would be dead at his hand before she even realised it.

Rachael cursed inwards. If the canine had been an assassin sent after her, she would have had a hard time fighting him. That is if he wouldn't have ambushed her in the first place. She hoped the troll enemies had no idea who she was, and she planned to do more training during the trip to prevent future surprises like this one. Handil stepped outside of the shop and noticed the tension in her girl. 'What's wrong?'

Rachael sighed and put the dagger back in the weapons rack. 'Nothing much. I just realised I need to be more vigilant. I'll have to work on it while we're travelling.'

Handil slid her fingers between Rachael's and squeezed her hand. 'We'll work on it together. I need to be able to support you as well when it's needed.'

Rachael gave her a soft smile. 'All right.'

'But now we'll have to work on finding a good place to eat. I'm hungry.'

Rachael giggled along with her lover. 'Let's hunt.'

They walked down another crowded street when Rachael noticed the broad figure in a black cloak standing next to an elf woman in black dress, and stopped. Handil looked at her, then up ahead. 'What is it? Trouble?'

'I'm not sure.' Rachael said. 'The one in the cloak next to the elf might be the one who helped me pack our animals back in Havenno.'

She pulled Handil with her into an alley, and observed the elf leaning into he canine's side. Handil watched them for anything that might be suspicious. 'You think they might be the ones going after you?'

When Ulric turned, they only saw his muzzle just under his hood. Rachael wasn't sure what to make of the combination of the two vastly different species seemingly close to each other. 'He is a demon, but it seems he's with that elf, so it would seem a coincidence that they're here as well. But there is something mysterious about him.'

'Maybe it's better that we leave for the next city soon.' said Handil. 'Just to feel more at ease.'

Rachael nodded. 'I don't want to cut your business here short thought.'

Handil squeezed her lover's hand gently again. 'Don't worry, the dealings here are just some minor opportunities which I can always pick up later again.' she said, and they moved through alleyways back to their friend's house outside the city.

***

Muni walked quickly up to Tarrence, who was browsing potions at a pharmacy. 'They're here.'

Tarrence picked a bottle with a poison mark on the label. 'That was to be expected.'

Muni leaned back against the table with wares and folded his arms. 'I just saw the human rogue walk along with some pig orc woman a few streets back.'

Tarrence nodded. 'See if Gigacks can say anything more on where the artefact is, and if not, tail whichever of our friends you encounter.'

'Right.' said Muni, and he left while Tarrence picked a few more potions for his inventory and contemplated a new plan to thwart their opponents.

***

Ulric and Elzbieta were the last to return to the square and join the others for a quick bite to eat, and sat down in the circle around the various plates of food. 'So, we could only mark a few names on the list of people who came here from Havenno, and scratch less of them who don't seem to have the artefact.'

Valdys leaned back against one of the capri. 'It'll take a while before we really narrow down the list. If we don't scratch the name of the one who actually has it from the list in the meantime.'

He nodded and ripped a piece from his meat. 'It's a risk we have to take.'

'Speaking of risks,' said Conchim. 'Some people had a particular interest in our transportation. They only watched from a distance though, but I didn't like their looks.'

'I wouldn't be surprised if there were people plotting to steal one.' said Valdys and looked at Isazea. 'After all, you made some remarkable golems, Isa.'

Isazea blushed. 'But it was all our wolf's idea.'

Ulric chuckled. 'No, I only described the basic workings, you are the cute genius that made it all work with this world's technology.'

She blushed even harder while Yingshien sat up straight. 'I won't let anyone steal anything while I'm there to protect it.'

Iphigenia pat her shoulder. 'Relax. Anyone who dares will be in for a surprise.'

'Speaking of surprises now, they're on the move again.' said Valdys when she checked the artefact.

Ulric stretched his back. 'That cuts our meal short. Let's ride out.'

***

After a long drive along the main road to another city, the party stopped just before dark at a large inn with two rows of small houses at the back, and a fenced off field where travellers could set up their tent for a small fee and spend their rest without worrying about dangerous wildlife. Not everyone made use of it since several tents stood on the other side of the road, and it was at the edge of that field where the party parked and set up their camp.

The weather was good enough to not need to set up a large tent, and after a quick meal, Ulric and the girls crawled together to sleep. Yingshien looked at Tipper, who shrugged, then at Ulric. 'Shouldn't at least one of us stand guard?'

Ulric yawned. 'No need. Stay awake if you really don't feel like sleeping, otherwise enjoy the rest and don't worry.' he said, and closed his eyes and let out a comfortable sigh.

Yingshien watched Tipper roll up in her blanket, and huffed. 'All right, but don't say I didn't warn you when some of you might have to walk later on.' she said, and laid down to shut her eyes.

***

Stalis nudged his friend Rabis as they sat at the back of the field, and gestured at the capri with his head. 'They must be fast asleep by now.'

Rabis stretched and pulled his dagger from his pack, and stuck it under his belt. 'I thought they were seasoned adventurers, but they're just tourists if they think they can sleep safe and sound without keeping an eye on their valuables.'

They sneaked through the shadows along the edge of the field to the back of the capri, and crawled towards some cover near the closest two. Rabis examined them. 'Do you have any idea how we can ride these?' he whispered.

Stalis peeked over the two capri at the others. 'It can't be that hard. Instead of reins, there's these sticks to steer them into the direction you want them to go.'

'But how are we going to make them walk, or even run?'

'I guess like any other animal, give it a good kick with your heels. Now, go and mount it.'

Rabis crawled closer but froze when he heard a soft and low growl. He looked back at Stalis. 'Did you hear that?'

'Hear what?'

Rabis listened for a moment, but all was quiet. He crawled closer and stopped at another growl. He looked back at his friend again. 'This.'

Stalis crawled forward. 'What are you talking about?'

Another short growl came from the capri.

'That. Did you hear that?'

Stalis shrugged. 'It's probably just that big mutt snoring. Hurry up and mount one.'

Rabis hesitated a little, but convinced himself that Stalis was correct, and he just misheard things. After all, that party had no animals with them apart from the bloodwolf, and he saw it slept next to the canine guy. He moved up close to the capri, and swung his leg over the seat.

He cried out when it bucked and growled, and drove off fast at once.

Stalis's heart stopped when two other capri turned towards him and growled menacingly. The expressions on their faces predicted the worst. 'Oh shit.' he muttered, and ran.

Ulric and the girls sat up, just like the other adventurers on the field. He grinned at Yingshien. 'See? Told you not to worry. They can take care of themselves.' he said, while she watched one thief desperately holding onto the bucking capri, and the other thief running for his life from the two other roaring capri.

Muni sniggered while Tarrence's group watched the spectacle from the far side of the field. Tarrence made a mental note to have a talk with one of the golem specialists about this. 'Them owning such mounts is not as amusing as it looks. They could be another hindrance to defeating them.'

Muni grinned. 'Sure, but that's beside the point of seeing those suckers flail about.'

Tarrence looked at Gigacks. 'Is our target still farther away?'

Gigacks checked their artefact and nodded.

'We're going.' Tarrence said, and the party mounted their nasr and rode off while no one paid any attention to them.

***

Rachael kept looking left and right while she and Handil walked down a busy street in Montat, the city that was next on the route. Handil nudged her gently. 'Seeing any suspicious characters?'

Rachael sighed softly. 'Too many. I don't know whom to trust when there are so many demons walking around. At least I don't expect anyone to dare attack us in such a public and crowded place.'

Her foxy girl pulled her into an alley. 'Come, I know a great place where they make little balls of pasta filled with various stuffing. If anyone is following us here, we'd have to see them stick around for a while.'

Rachael chuckled. 'You even think about food at a time like this.'

Handil gave her a mischievous smile. 'I'd rather be eating something else, but for now I'm thinking food.'

Rachael blushed and hit Handil's arm playfully.

When they ended up at one of the city's plazas, Handil led Rachael to a small restaurant serving specialities from one of the countries at the other side of the world, and chose a table in the corner of the cosy terrace decorated with tall potted plants. 'We'll have a good overview here.'

They sat down and the owner, a middle aged woman with her first grey hairs in her black hair, took their order. While sipping wine, the two observed the various people moving about and watched out for a sign of recognition or more than casual attention towards them.

***

Tarrence took an overview of the plaza from the shadow of a corner alley. 'Here's a good place as any to begin. Cast it.'

Behind him, Gigacks held the artefact between high capacity mana stones, and recited the ancient spell handed to him through their new supervisor Seterus.

***

'That's him again!' said Rachael when Ulric drove onto the far end of the plaza with his girls, and parked there.

'What? Who?' asked Handil as she looked up from her meal.

'At the other side, that canine fellow.' said Rachael and squinted. 'With those women riding on whatever those things are.'

Handil saw them. 'What are those indeed. I've never seen anything like it.' Her merchant side kicked in. 'Who made them and how much would they sell for?'

Rachael glanced at her. 'No! They might be following us. There's no way such a group wouldn't stay less than a day in a city, but they show up everywhere we went soon after.'

Handil frowned. 'Yes, right.' she said as she watched a few of them stand close together as if they wanted to hide something they're doing. 'Maybe we should leave again.'

Something buzzed and vibrated in Rachael's waist pouch and she shot back against the wall with her chair. 'What!?'

Valdys, Iphigenia, Elzbieta, and Ulric stepped back at the pulse of blue light and magic bursting from the artefact. 'What happened!?' said Ulric.

'Master!' said Kaui and pointed to the same blue pulse emanating from the other side of the plaza. 'There!'

Four familiar demons sped through the crowd towards it, and they realised at once what the meaning of the pulse was. Ulric tore off his cloak. 'After them!' he snarled, and bolted through the startled people.

Rachael grabbed Handil's hand. 'Run!' she said.

Handil ran after her lover as they headed for the nearest street corner and away from the bloodwolf, but skidded to a halt when the stealthy canine she had seen before at a shop blocked her way along with a succubus armed with a bow. She pulled her staff from her belt and it expanded in length as she squeezed it in the middle. 'You're not taking it!'

Muni jumped at her from the side but she dodged and swung her staff at him. He rolled away and jumped up on his feet with a grin. 'Oohh, she's fast.'

Elyta shot an arrow at the Safo, but Rachael deflected it with a hit from her staff, then panicked when the canine stepped in with his black daggers.

An arrow across his nose stopped Tarrence long enough for Rachael to jump back. He glared to the side. 'Stop them!'

Elyta and Muni blocked Ulric's path while Gigacks launched a barrage of ice and fire bolts at Elzbieta as she shot another arrow at them, and people stumbled and screamed as they ran for safety. Valdys conjured shields everywhere to protect them from the fallout of the fight while Conchim, Caylais, Tipper, and Yingshien pulled away the ones who tripped and fell down on the ground and couldn't move quickly.

Tarrence attacked Rachael again and landed a cut on her thigh before dodging a hit from her staff. She bit down hard against the pain and grumbled. 'Handil, move away!' she said, and focused her anger into the concentrated ball that triggered her ability. She let out a low bleat as her berserker blood boiled and her eyes turned red, and she lashed out at her attacker.

Tarrence stepped back for a moment, but responded with a change in tactics and danced around her staff thrusts and swipes, jabbing at her to force an opening while waiting for the poison he used on the blade to begin working.

Handil backed away fast from her furious girl and looked around for way to help her or let them escape from their attackers. An idea hit her when she saw an abandoned stall with animals for sale.

Ulric and Muni growled as they exchanged blows between fist and sword, while Iphigenia and Elyta engaged in their lethal dance of sharpened steel, but Tarrence estimated they couldn't hold out for long when the ones helping the people on the plaza brought them all to safety. He pulled the pill from his pouch that would boost him for a short while, made after he found the very rare ingredients for it in Abana, and swallowed it.

Stinging heat spread down his oesophagus and into his limbs while his agility increased. The Safo's movements became more clearly, and he stabbed and slashed her in the brief moments before her staff could have hit him.

The wounds slowed Rachael down enough for Tarrence to gain the opening to kill her. He stabbed at her when a flock of birds and swarms of insects rushed past in between them.

Handil pulled open the last cage with bats, and directed them with her low animal control ability to fly away straight through the fight. She bolted towards Rachael after the flock and pulled Rachael back when her attacker jumped back and blocked his face in defence. 'Come!' she said as she helped her wounded lover into an alley.

Tarrence stepped forward to follow when Conchim, Tipper, and Yingshien joined the fight. He gritted his teeth. 'Retreat!' he called out, and ran into the shop behind him. His three comrades pulled off one more attack and ran after him into the shop.

Ulric pointed at the alley Rachael and Handil had escaped in. 'Protect them! I'm going after the others!' he said, and ran into the shop.

The many racks in the shop with a variety of household goods lay scattered after Gigacks threw them over with a spell, and Ulric jumped left and right at the walls to reach the back, struggled through the mess in the storage space, then ran out the backdoor and into a small alley. Looking left and right, he smelled that they had split up, and followed the scent of the canine. Ending up two side streets farther, the scent was masked by the strong scents of spices and cooking. Contemplating whether to continue the search or not, the scents caused his stomach to grumble. 'I might have lost them. Did anyone find the other two?'

The girls had spread out but came up with nothing as well. 'Sorry, Wolfie. They vanished.' said Iphigenia as she returned to the square.

Conchim searched the streets from up high. 'I can't see them, hubby. But I do see guards coming from every direction. We'd better leave right away.'

Ulric grumbled as he ran back to the plaza. 'Indeed. Everyone saddle up.'

***

Handil bandaged Rachael's bloody wounds and helped her up on her jok. 'We'll take the paths straight through the country and go to another friend who lives in a remote area. No one should be able to see us or follow us and you can recover there. Just hold on and don't die on me, please.'

Rachael gave her a nod and a tired smile. 'I'm not leaving you, my sweet Handil.'

Handil kissed her hand, then mounted her own jok and led the other along as fast as she dared without burdening her precious beloved more.

78 - Hanging by a Rope

The party had waited for some time at a distance from the city in the early evening while Valdys held the artefact in the palm of her hand, when it began to rotate slowly. 'I have a direction.'

Ulric peered at the mostly woodland landscape into the direction it pointed at. 'They're going through the wilderness, probably thinking they'd be safer there than on the open road, especially in the dark.' He mounted Harry. 'Let's catch up with them before the others do.'

***

Handil kept looking at Rachael while they rode through the trees across land with treacherous cracks in the ground. She contemplated a safer route, but she didn't know if another area was actually safer to travel, and she figured they had already come too far to turn around and risk being found. She had no choice but to trust the rarely used path that they followed and the joks to know where to tread. There was also the worry that any more delay to reaching their destination could worsen Rachael's situation. She didn't dare think of it ending up fatal for her.