Jebidiah's Change Bk. 01 Ch. 05

The single remaining guard from their entourage quickly apprised the new soldiers of the situation, calling for healers and more soldiers to come. He led half the new group back to the scene of the battle. The other half stayed with Jebidiah's group and led them quickly to the Academy grounds entrance to find a healer for Henna and Polly. With the immediate danger past, Jebidiah's heightened awareness came to a crashing end and he nearly dropped Polly as his strength ebbed. Dana steadied Jebidiah with a worried look as several new figures wearing healer's robes ran up to them.

Jeb laid Polly on her back and Stern laid Henna on her side, the bolt still embedded in her back. The healer's hands glowed red and the light passed into Polly and Henna but nothing happened. They tried a few more spells with no other results. Another healer arrived then wearing the insignia of a surgeon and examined the girls then shook her head. "I'm sorry they are past our abilities now." Joy shattered, falling to the ground in heaving sobs. Crystal leaned over Polly, placing her head on her chest, crying out her grief. Tenner just with a lost look, tears heavy on her cheeks.

Jedidah felt cold inside. He couldn't allow his emotions out yet, throttling them down until the danger had fully passed. Dana's face was a storm cloud and she turned as if to follow the group of soldiers back to the scene of the battle. "Dana," Jeb said. She didn't acknowledge him at first, not until the third time he called her name and grabbed her arm. "You can't go back there Dana."

"I need to kill something." she growled. "They slaughtered us like sheep."

"I know." Jebidiah said "but they were after us. When the soldiers get there, they will run instead of fight. If you go and they see you, the fighting will continue and more will die. We need to find out who they are, make plans, then and only then we kill them all. Every last one of them."

Another large group of mounted soldiers led by a Paladin passed them on the road heading onto the Promenade. Some wizards and healers rode with them. Jebidiah realized Stern was weeping. In all the years he had known Stern he had never seen him weep. It finally broke him. His tears fell as he sank to his knees beside Crystal and Polly. Crystal turned and hugged Jebidiah, they cried their grief together.

Several hours later, somewhat rested, healed, and fed, they sat in their new dorm room in the Academy. There were guards posted outside their rooms again, much like their last room at the Keep. Unlike the last one, this dorm was more like a suite. The main room had ample couches and chairs to comfortably seat around twenty. It included a large stone fireplace and hearth. Several nice tapestries depicting different scenes within the Academy hung on the walls for decoration. A large double doorway led into the dining area and kitchen. Another large fireplace and hearth were in there with a cooking pot set up. Two hallways led off of it lined with sleeping quarters, showers and the latrine, an exercise room, and finally a training room complete with target range. Their dorm area was larger and better furnished than most estates.

Jebidiah sat on one of the couches and much like the day before held Crystal in his lap. Joy leaned against one side and Dana sat on the other holding one of his hands. Charlene and Tenner sat together with Stern on another couch. All were quiet, dealing with their grief. Charlened had not said a word since the battle. Most pods lose two or three members to the Dark or Lost during the Tally but they are prepared for it and do not witness their friends passing. They had lost two of their members in front of their eyes, violently, while under the duress of combat. None of them were prepared for that kind of trauma.

The entry door opened and in walked Princess Stephanie and her quiet wizard companion. Again the wizard was not introduced. "Your Highness" Jebidiah said in greeting, causing the others to look up. The girls all rose and knelt but Jebidiah was too exhausted and stayed where he was seated. The Princess sounded tired as she said "Please rise. I am sorry for your losses and I do not want to intrude on your mourning but we need to talk."

"Your Highness," Jebidiah said sadly "though your presence pleases me, please do not take offense when I point out that our days run badly after we have these discussions."

"It does seem that way. The Change went wrong, your Tally, Crystal's divination, assassins in the Keep, an attack on the Royal Guard on the Promenade in view of the Keep. You normally read about such a list as the highlights of a reign, not the activities of a couple tenday's time. The Crown feels like they are failing you and I am here to offer our apologies along with our condolences and assurances that our full resources have been enlisted to stop these attacks."

"How bad was it cousin?" Dana asked. The Princess faltered in reply.

Finally the wizard spoke. "Forty-three of the guards are dead or wounded. Fifty-seven civilians as well and at least thirty of them are full casualties, not including your friends. We recovered ten of the attacker's bodies. The survivors escaped with the rest of the bodies they could carry. The witness accounts are scattered and most of the attackers were invisible so full numbers are impossible to determine. We do know there were at least twenty of them. The best news is we won."

"Four of ours died for each of theirs." Jeb thought out loud "that is a horrid win."

The Princes replied. "From all accounts so far, your group was responsible for stopping at least five of the attackers. Even though untrained, your group had an incredible impact on events. Jebidiah, your directions led your people away from the primary points of attack every time you intervened.

"But why?" Joy quietly asked "Why do they want us dead? What did we do?"

Just then, as if prompted, the answer popped out of Jebidiah's internal Calculator. "They want me." The answer startled everyone.

"Why do you say that?" the Princess asked.

"It is not who I am but what I am, or rather represent. 'Check your premises.' he said."

"I still don't follow." said Stephanie.

"Comlain said that Axteus would get his mayhem and disorder. I think this all qualifies. If the Crown is putting full resources into finding an attacker that puts us on a war footing. Comlain said 'Lashan will have his wars'. The Crown should prepare for a full war regardless of these attacks. 'Those who follow the Light must answer our call'. I'd say being the messenger makes me their call. If you are aligned with the Dark, what better way to cripple the opposition than killing their only known line of communication with the Divine. It shows you are strong and your enemy is weak. It's what I would do."

Everyone was quiet. "Once again you show an aptitude for strategy," said the wizard.

The Princess nodded. "It is the conclusion the Queen came to as well. I must say Master Overton, after our first encounter I went back over Dana's letters to me with more care to review the sections dealing with you. From what she has written you have always been highly intelligent but none of her observations compared to the clarity of reason and foresight you have shown these last few days. Master Standing told me of the oddness of your eyesight and we both attributed it to Comlain's command to see more, but now I wonder."

Jebidiah answered without having to consider it. "He said I could see reason in the chaos but I needed to see more. Then he said to trust my reasons. Today, during the battle, when the danger grew greatest my concentration and focus... I don't know how to explain it. I wasn't sure at first if someone had cast Haste on me. I was thinking four or five times faster than normal and everyone around me seemed to be taking their time instead of rushing. I just knew things like my thoughts did not need time. It wasn't the first time either. Whatever this thing is, the first I felt something similar was with the assassin. It may be the gift Comlain said he was granting."

For the first time Charlene spoke, albeit quietly, while Stern was trying to comfort her. "I saw you." Stern, normally the least spoken of them all, tried to clarify "Saw who?"

"Jebidiah," she said accusingly. "After Polly was hit with the magic missiles, that wizard targeted his next casting at me. You don't miss with magic missiles. I know enough magic for that. You knocking me behind cover might have made them hit whatever cover was in the way, but I saw what you did. You. You." she started stammering and looked flustered trying to explain "You grabbed them and held them. You grabbed magic. You've been different since you Awoke and now, it's like you are Jeb but you aren't. You grabbed magic! How the fuck do you do that!?"

Jebidiah looked down at Crystal and away from the others. "I don't know what I did to be honest. I was trying to find a way to save you. I couldn't see Henna to help her. I couldn't help Polly, I didn't know enough. I was too slow with them. I had to do something for you and I still don't know what it was." He looked up at the princess and the wizard. "Can we please keep that off the books for now. I don't know what it was, what happened, how it happened, why it happened, or even if it is possible to do it again. Maybe it was just a single Divine intervention. Whoever the mole is, I don't want it getting out."

"What was that?" asked the wizard, suddenly alert. "Why would you say there's a mole?"

"It's like I explained to that soldier with us." Jebidiah answered. "Whoever our enemy is, they knew when we were expected to leave, the path we were taking, the likelihood of what we would do when the obvious trap was set before us, and the fallback plan, troop strength, everything. Someone had to be feeding them information. If they had thought just a little more ahead we would never have survived." As he talked, Jebidiah's voice grew more firm, more confident.

"What would you have done differently?" the Princess asked, curious about this change in Jebidiah's demeanor, "if you were them, that is."

"It looked like they had three teams set up. Team One on the south side of the alleyway that hit us with the fireball, Team Two on the north side of the alleyway for when we panicked and tried to retreat, and Team Three to hit us when we fell back to the Keep. I would have had Team Four watching the cart roadblock in case we were too dumb to not see the trap. And if we did, Team Four would have gone to the next alleyway towards the Academy to prepare for us if we decided against the fallback plan, like I did. They were arrogant. I hope they stay that way, it will be easier to kill them, but I doubt we will see them again soon."

"We gave them a black eye and maybe a few other bruises. I need to speak to the assassin who they sent after me, and soon. Stephane, can you arrange that for me? If I am going to fight back I need more information. I need to shift from reacting defensively to taking the initiative offensively."

The Princess regarded him again. "You mean that. I can see the resolve in your face."

"Yes I do." Jebidiah stated. Then in a cold, calm voice he continued. "I will find them. I will get what I need from them to find the rest. And I will kill them all." The girls all stared at Jebidiah like he had grown an extra nose while Stern nodded in approval.

The wizard let out a low whistle. "That actually gave me chills. You have literally only just entered the Academy and your manner, bearing, and actions so far are such that I can believe you will accomplish what you say. Amazing. There were many who argued that granting you Master status would be a mistake, would cheapen the title for the purpose of political expediency yet now I think we either chose the wrong certification to grant you or did not choose enough of them."

The Princess stood then and walked to the center of the room where they were all seated. "His words mirror my thoughts. I am not sure you noticed with the weight of your grief and anger but you have addressed me as your equal for the majority of the conversation and I only now took notice. Something has changed or is still changing in you. Perhaps you are correct about your being the call to the Light. If you were granted to us by the Divine then we best make use of you. Tell me what you require, Master Overton."

-- Somewhen, Somewhere --

Lashan was not happy. "Suffer me fools for allies." he muttered to himself. He was a massive orc, green flesh bulging with cords of muscle underneath. His size gave him a deep voice and now his muttering reminded him of boulders grinding rocks into pebbles. He sat on his favorite throne, carved from the bones of the fallen, rising into the air on a pyramid of skulls of all sizes, the stairs to reach him composed of stacked femurs.

Another figure appeared on those stairs, halfway up from the bottom. She had become so withered over time Lashan no longer remembered what race she represented, just an old stooped crone with a walking stick. If he were still walking the surface he would ignore her as useless for any purpose. When she spoke, her foul breath billowed out in a cloud as if she were speaking in the dead of winter. "The Gray's players are annoying. They must be dealt with. I hate working with the Elf. We need to eliminate weak players now." She spoke in individual thoughts instead of a cohesive conversation. Lashan grew more unhappy.

"Stop your whining Iztar. Remember, all of us can be replaced. You fucked up trying to remove Comlain's player and when you fucked up there you fucked with my plans and compromised your own player. I brought you here for one thing. Back the fuck off. If you interfere again, not even Dhagbium will stay my hand. This is your only warning. Now leave before I change my mind."