Mud and Magic Ch. 12

Hilgrun is dead.

Seeing these three words, written by my own hand, only drive home how big of a loss her passing really is. I've only been away from the village for a few months but in this short span of time, so many people have lost their lives. Our parents, Gran, Missy and Lissy, the brothers, Dara, Daffyd, everyone else at the village -- and now Hilgrun as well.

And the worst part of it? Celeste was the one to kill her, according to Thurguz. Can you imagine it? Our friend Celeste! The always friendly, helpful cleric of Mercy became a vicious killer. I'm still struggling to understand her reasons for doing it.

I don't yet know what happened to her, what reasons she had for killing Hilgrun. She had a brutal run-in with Faedal as you know but that can't be all his doing. And not only did she kill Hilgrun, she also gravely wounded Zentam, the dwarf merchant. Once I've finished this letter, I'll see if I can talk to him. He seems to have information vital to unlocking this mystery.

How is your new home treating you? Here's hoping your first few weeks won't be as tumultuous as mine have been. I can't imagine a whole monastery full of paladins and their squires to be too exciting. Once things have calmed down, I will come visit, if that is all right with the abbess. There are so many things I want to tell you and my hand already is cramping up, so these tales will have to wait until we see each other again.

Stay safe. I'll be thinking of you.

Your brother,

Rhys

Rhys put the quill aside and shook out his hand. He critically inspected the words scrawled onto the scroll. This does not look like the letters in the 'Tales Of Orran.' Reminds me of something a spider might have produced. But until I can tell Mirrin the whole story in person, this has to do. He stoppered the inkwell and left the scroll to dry. Rhys rose from his desk and stepped into the corridor.

"Jussst the man I was looking for," Chassari said, claiming his arm and melting against him. She breathed a kiss onto his cheek. "Do you have a moment?"

He smiled at her. "I think I can spare some time. Unless you plan on springing a reunion party on me."

The serpent-woman maneuvered Rhys towards the door of her room. "The idea has crossed my mind. And Lishaka's too. But we've heard your eulogy and then I had a better idea. Why not postpone any orgiesss until Celeste's ass has been ssspanked? Or whatever just punishment she deserves?"

She opened her door and guided him over the threshold. "I have a present for you, sssomething you might find useful."

"I feel so horribly spoiled at the moment," Rhys said. Chassari busied herself at the foot of her bed. A veritable heap of items had been piled up, ranging from a metal-shod trunk to bales of clothing and boxes and tins. "What is all this stuff?"

"Jussst a few things I brought from home to pamper my friends with," Chassari said. She picked up a small wooden chest and presented it to Rhys. "Here. For you."

He took it and had a look inside. On blue silk, a reinforced leather bracer waited. "Some kind of arm guard? What does it do?"

"To demonssstrate its powers, you will have to put it on," Chassari said, beaming. "Humor me."

"Sure. Which arm? Or is there a second one?"

"This goess onto your non-dominant arm, for reasons you will soon underssstand," Chassari said, plucking both of Rhys' daggers from their sheaths.

He fastened the bracer around his left wrist. It went halfway up his forearm. Thin metal ridges divided the surface of the bracer into four wedge-shaped sectors. The leather was etched with strange symbols.

"You don't plan on throwing my blades at me, do you?" Rhys asked. "If you do, let me cast-"

Chassari shook her head. "I'm just holding on to them for the moment. Does the bracer fit?"

Rhys moved his arm and rotated his wrist. "Yes. Snug without hindering hand movement. Unless I make an ass of myself, this won't interfere with spellcasting at all."

"That'sss a relief." She handed him a dagger. "Now tap thisss against the bracer."

Rhys took the weapon and touched the blade against the leather. Some irresistible force pulled, leaving him no choice but to relinquish his grip. A moment later, the dagger was gone. No, that's not quite true. It's ... on the bracer now? There was a lifelike, albeit smaller, representation of the dagger, like a metal ornament which easily fit into one of the spaces between the metal ridges.

"The next one," Chassari said, passing the second dagger to Rhys. He again touched it to the bracer. Nothing happened.

"You might want to try an empty ssspace," Chassari suggested.

Understanding dawned. "So there are four spaces on this bracer?" Again, the weapon was sucked from his hand as he touched it to the bracer. Now there were two dagger ornaments on it.

Grinning, the serpent-woman produced a wand and a scroll. "Two more gifts to go with the firssst one."

Rhys inspected the items. The wand had runes etched into the handle. They read "Lightning Strike." As with the daggers beforehand, the wand was sucked from his hand and... onto the bracer.

Carefully, he cracked the scroll open and read the first few lines. "Summon Earth Elemental" it read in neat, meticulous script. Underneath, the creator had left instructions on how to handle the scroll, the most important being "familiarize yourself with the words before speaking them out loud." As with the items before it, the scroll appeared on his bracer the moment it touched the leather, filling the fourth and final spot.

Rhys held out his arm. "A finely decorated bracer. Now what?"

"Now comesss the good part," Chassari said. "Open your hand and will one of the itemsss into it."

"Just like that?" Rhys held out his right hand in front of him, palm up. "Scroll."

The requested item appeared out of nowhere, teetering dangerously between his fingers. Rhys grasped the scroll before it could fall to the floor. "This is... marvelous," he muttered, returning the item to the arm guard. "Dagger."

The weapon appeared in his hand hilt-first, ready for a quick stab. "Thank you," Rhys said, stashing the dagger on the bracer. He hugged Chassari and planted a kiss onto her lips.

Her thin tongue darted into his mouth before she slid from his embrace. "You will never be caught unprepared. Unless you forget to put it on, of course."

"What are the bracer's limits?" he asked. "I can't store a greatsword on it, can I?"

"No. The items should not be bigger than a dagger or a wand. Your collapsssing staff might fit, or a potion bottle, but anything larger probably won't." Her eyes sparkled with mirth. "And now get out of here before I go back on my word and have my way with you right here and now." She grinned wickedly. "I'm aware you put my... training to good use recently."

Rhys sighed. "Borna already told you?"

"It was pretty obvious sssomething happened between the two of you. Usually, Borna is impossible to fluster but now? Blushes, half-spoken sentences, odd glances -- she is clearly trying to cope with sssomething she's never faced before. And sssince it was you, her and that dark elf together for over a week, figuring out what could have happened was a sssimple deduction exercise." Chassari sat down on the bed and eyed Rhys from under half-closed lids. "Will you tell me?"

"Maybe," he said. "If time permits."

"Your adorable blush only confirms my suspicionsss," Chassari said. "I can't wait to hear all about it. And teach you more, if you want."

"Once this is all over, Chassari. I really have other things on my mind than sex." Rhys turned to leave.

She sighed. "You are right. This is not the time for idle amusement, as much as it pains me to admit it. See you, handsssome."

It's not like you didn't have your fun, Rhys thought. I really need to talk to Lishaka about my vision involving you, her, the catgirl and the dark elf. He closed the door to Chassari's room and strode briskly along the corridor. But then, do I have any right to complain about her doing other people? It's not like she has sworn an oath of monogamy. And I haven't exactly been faithful to her either. His messy tryst with Borna was still like a burning flare in his mind, causing a surprisingly sudden stir under his loincloth.

"Rhys? Rhys!" The melodious voice of Astra'il pulled him from his thoughts.

The graceful dark elf came out of the Common Room, waving.

"What can I help you with?" He stopped. Astra'il was garbed for a journey. Someone had given her a warm cloak and she carried a backpack over her shoulder. "You're leaving already?"

"Don't be mad at me. I thought you and Borna would need a bit of time to sort things out here and I don't want to impose on your master's generosity too much."

"I don't think Thurguz would mind. As you may have seen, there's enough space-"

Astra'il placed a hand on his cheek. "If it were up to him, I'd immediately join the cause. But I don't know if I'm quite ready for such a commitment yet." She let the backpack slide from her shoulder and hugged Rhys. "I've spent so long living as a hermit, having such responsibility thrust upon me is... scary."

He raised an eyebrow. "You charged headlong into a mass of zombies!"

Astra'il chuckled. "It is easy being reckless when you only have to worry about yourself. I don't want anyone to get hurt should I mess up." She fell silent. "Also, I feel like I disappointed everyone."

"Because of the failed Resurrection?"

Astra'il's hair brushed his cheek as she nodded. "That too."

"You did everything in your power to help. There is no shame in that. It's not your fault Hilgrun didn't come back."

"Are you certain? I seem to have a lousy success rate when it comes to bringing back the dead. Isaya didn't return to me either when I tried. Maybe I'm doing it wrong. All the more reason to find my sisters and learn. It's only a few hundred miles to Storm Harbor. Thurguz told me there is an enclave of Moon Maiden believers there."

"I- I didn't manage to properly thank you for your help. For putting me back together. For fighting by my side and getting me back home safely," Rhys said.

The dark elf disentangled herself from him and held Rhys at arm's length. "There will be ample time for enjoying you and Borna. I won't be gone for long. And you don't have to remind me that I failed in properly aligning your knee."

"That... that's not what I meant. Besides, with the Disjunction stone suffusing my body at the time..."

Astra'il silenced him with a finger to his lips. "Also, you brought us here, not I. It was your Teleport. If you should thank anyone, it should be Haloryth. Her ring and her otherworldly wisdom did more than I ever could." She claimed Rhys' hands and kissed his knuckles. "You still have my ring. Should you miss me, kiss it and say my name. We can talk."

"I will," he said fervently.

Astra'il grinned. "If it makes you feel better, I hereby promise to be back in a year at the latest and then there will be no excuses. You and Borna can have me whichever way you want." She planted a kiss onto his lips. "And now I should really be off. Thurguz said the clear sky won't persist too long."

Before Rhys could say anything more, Astra'il had claimed her backpack and was halfway to the stairs. He shook his head and resumed his walk.

The infirmary was still on the student's level. Idunn sat by Zentam's bed, watching over the motionless dwarf. Rhys froze. Gone was his impressive shock of red curls, replaced with a gleaming skull cap made from the same honey-golden material as Moril's arm and mask. Gone was his beard as well, leaving behind rosy skin and a thin orange stubble. His neck was covered with a collar made from some stone-like substance and his arms and legs were tethered by thick leather straps.

"How is your chest?" Idunn quietly asked. "Is it still rattling?"

"What, did ye go in there with a screwdriver and tighten it up?" A strap creaked as Zentam made a fist. "When can I get up already? There are some choice words I have for that Desire-kissin', backstabbin'-"

"Shh." Idunn placed a finger on his lips. "I can't undo the straps until I'm certain your neck can take the weight of your skull without collapsing. And even then we should take it slowly."

"Can't ye untie at least a hand? Me balls are itchin'."

"And risk that you claw open the barely healed incisions on your chest?" Idunn slid a hand under the covers. "Better?"

Zentam closed his mouth with a click. Then, his eyes moved sideways and a small grin tugged at his lips. "Ye really did it."

"You obviously can't right now. But don't get too used to it. Especially not in front of an audience."

"What audience?"

"Hello Zentam," Rhys said. "How are you?"

The dwarf tried to laugh but it turned into a painful cough within seconds. Idunn dabbed his lips with a clean cloth.

"What does it look like, lad? Let me tell ye, not even a stinkin' red dragon is as dangerous as that crazy friend of yers. Women, I tell ye."

Idunn pointedly cleared her throat.

"Human women then," Zentam corrected himself. "Proper dwarf women don't go around blastin' people off their feet."

"Unless we hit them with a warhammer," Idunn sweetly added.

"What exactly happened to you?" Rhys asked.

"What does it look like?" The leather creaked in protest as he tried to sit up. "Yer friend Celeste cast a spell on me an' kicked me inna tha stairwell."

"But why?"

"How should I know? Ye're the spellcasty type. I only wanted to know why she went around insulting and angering people. The next thing I know is I'm fallin' to me death."

"Looks to me you survived."

"Thank the Forgefather for building us tough like rocks," Idunn said. She made a fist and pressed it against her heart. "But even rocks can shatter if you try hard enough. When Elara and I found him, there were hardly any whole bones in his body. I had to build a new rib cage and neck struts for him, along with half a skull."

"What about Elara's healing magic?" Rhys asked. Then he fell silent. In his case, a prematurely cast healing spell had ruined his knee. It didn't take much imagination to picture what sharp-edged, awkwardly bent rib fragments could do. Rhys shivered at the the bloody vision.

"She kept him alive while I fished his broken bones from his body and replaced them with new metal parts." Idunn said softly. Louder, she said: "You should have let me put you to sleep. The pain must have been horrible."

"I've had worse," Zentam lied, gritting his teeth. "Lad, ye should probably know that she's wearin' a pretty garish bit o' adornment over her tits. Didn't she pray ta Mercy?"

"You're sure it was Desire's hands?" Rhys asked.

"I'm halfway encased in stone, got robbed of me beard, can't scratch me own balls -- but me eyes and me memories are workin' just fine. I know the difference between wings and the cupped hands. Besides, she didn't wear a necklace. The hands were burnt inna her skin. Funny how such insignificant crap sticks with ye when ye're fallin' ta yer doom."

Idunn stood up and walked through the room, plucking a water pitcher off a shelf. "I think we should not rule out the idea that she might have been planted as a disruption. Or an outright attacker. It all happened after Thornton Estates was wiped off the map and she fell into Faedal's hands."

"I am certain she didn't have a brand when I was with her last," Rhys said softly, trying to summon the memories of the morning he had spent in her arms in the infirmary. "And why would she attack us? We're her friends! You tutored her!"

"No reason to be up in arms about it. I am merely trying to find sense in the madness which struck us. This is just one possible avenue of investigation." She sat down again and soaked a cloth. "Are you thirsty?"

"Ye can bet yer beautiful ass on that," Zentam said. "I thirst for revenge!"

"I was more talking about a few drops of water." She placed the cloth between his lips. "Suck."

Zentam noisily suckled at the wet cloth before shoving it away with his tongue. "This is humiliatin'. Give me goblet, damn it. A straw if ye absolutely hafta."

"You are not yet ready for a straw. Or a goblet. Can't have you choke to death after I spent almost a full day putting you back together," Idunn said mildly.

Rhys stood there, forgotten for the moment, his mind whirling. "I- I can't believe you so easily assume she's been sent to hurt us," Rhys said. "You were there when she came back, barely alive. It took her days to even walk!"

"Our opponents are crafty," Idunn dryly remarked. "Didn't you say so yourself? For every move Thurguz makes, Carver makes three? We should not ignore the possibility of all of this being a carefully planned ploy to derail our operations. Or maybe even retaliation for leveling his precious supply camp." She looked up. "You shouldn't let your sympathy for her blind you to inconvenient facts, Rhys. And don't forget -- whatever her reasons, she did kill Hilgrun. She did this to Zentam. If it all was just a mistake, why did she run?"

"Get well," Rhys told the grumbling dwarf. "And I will find out what happened. Why it happened. If only to prove you wrong," he snarled at Idunn. "Celeste would never willingly work with our enemies. Not after what Faedal did to her!" He stormed from the infirmary.

* * * *

Rhys had to run down to the kitchen to find a scrying bowl. His mind was awhirl with conflicting images. Celeste, the caring woman who had soothed my agony whenever Padec had tanned my back for the slightest misstep. Celeste the doe-eyed, kind girl impotently fuming at the injustice Carver's men heaped upon the villagers on a daily basis. Dara would have never shared her bed with an evil person! Rhys rummaged in a cabinet until he found a wooden bowl big enough for what he needed. Then it was back up the stairs. Despite his best attempts, he could not ignore the signs. How she had argued with Thurguz to the point the half-orc nearly hit her. How hostile she had become towards Elara. How suddenly she went from motherly friend to begging for a quick fuck. By the time he closed the doors to his room, his knee thumped in time to his heartbeat and his head spun.

Haloryth hovered close to his bookshelf, head to one side. She turned to greet him when he drew nearer.

"Where have you been?" Rhys asked her, grateful for the diversion. "Haven't seen you all morning."

"You did not impose limits on how far I am allowed to roam when you bound me to the ring," Haloryth said, beaming brightly. "So I took a long walk. My first in about three millennia. The Frostspires are a sight to behold, especially up close. Now, could you do me a favour?"

"Sure. As long as I'm able to."

Haloryth's merry laugh tinkled through the room. "No feats of advanced magic. Yet." She pointed at the shelf she'd hovered in front of before. "Would you mind rotating that pitcher for me?"

"That old thing?" Rhys claimed his father's most prized possession off the shelf and held it at arm's length. "He claimed it's elven made, some kind of plunder from a foray into the elven woods." He snorted in disgust. "Probably a cheap replica he bought in Lordehome to impress his friends back home with."

Haloryth shook her head, ghostly tresses of silvery hair flying everywhere. "It is genuine. Imagine my surprise when I saw it last night. But so many things happened and I didn't manage to investigate further."

Rhys looked from her to the pitcher. "It is?"

"Yes. Look." She swooped in and pointed a slightly translucent finger at the insignia hammered into the silver. "This is the old Sunleaf crest. And underneath is the forge mark of Aunt Jeharlith. Please repeat after me and don't drop the pitcher, please. Sal-lathas."