The Exarch & the Errand Girl Ch. 08

Just as it seemed like she'd have no choice, and he'd be on her, fire erupted from the side, wreathing the red headed man's face in flame. Siara rose up from behind the table, guiding the spell, which sputtered and died as the knife cut through it, the flames seeming to turn to liquid and melting into the air.

Still, the man was distracted by the flame, just long enough.

Rouran slashed at his knee with the axe, and to her surprise, cutting down a man was not that far removed from felling a small tree. There was the familiar jangle up her arm as the blade cut into something hard, and then she pulled back for another swing.

The giant went down on one knee, shouting his pain out, and just as Rouran was going to swing again, she realized what Yvain had meant.

The turning of the blade was awkward at best, her aim clumsy and misjudged as she swung the side of the axe towards the man's head, now lowered to a far more achievable distance as he knelt on the floor. Still, it proved to be just hard enough, even though she did not get it clean across his temple. The strike sent him tumbling down, laying him out with a grunt, and then he didn't move.

For a long still moment, Rouran was sure she'd killed him, before her eyes managed to make sense of the darkness and she saw his chest slowly rising and falling with each breath he took.

The shaking cold feeling she remembered feeling after she'd killed the Dragon Clan warrior back in her village began to seep into her, and she took a great heaving breath, then couldn't help herself and continued to gulp air. She settled to the floor, the axe clattering down next to her.

"Rouran, are you harmed?" asked Sorcerer Siara, kneeling next to her.

"No," gasped Rouran. "I...I just...I can't..."

"Still, still," said Siara, placing a hand on Rouran's back between her shoulder blades, rubbing in a soft circle. Rouran was surprised to find the action calmed her somewhat, although the cold and the shakes didn't dissipate much.

Siara looked over at the prone man and smiled.

"You did well, Widow Metil."

"I don't think so," said Rouran. "I just hit him with an axe."

"You kept your head, you acted quickly, you acted wisely," said Siara. "There are many people who would not have done as much."

Rouran only shook her head, unable to give a voice to her protests. She hadn't even given it a thought before acting, and now Siara was calling her wise. Hard to say she'd kept her head when her head had been empty.

Siara appeared to take her silence for agreement, because the next thing Rouran knew, the Sorcerer was weaving a spell, crafting a horn of air.

"Mistress Heldi," Siara said into the whirling vortex of the horn. "Please come quickly, with Sorcerers and the Guard. We're in Ur's Quarter, and we've apprehended a conspirator. However, Sergeant Wair is injured, Widow Metil is in no state to continue fighting if there should be trouble, and the man we've captured was armed with jade. If his fellows return, I do not know if I can take them alone."

Rouran did not hear any response, but Siara broke the spell anyhow. She waved her hand, snapping her fingers in quick succession, and with each snap, a candle or lantern in the room lit itself, bathing them in light.

It took what felt like ages for Mistress Heldi to arrive. To Rouran's great relief, a phalanx of Guard axemen arrived, each carrying shield and weapon at the ready.

"Who is he?" asked Heldi, after she'd seen the man safely in custody of the Guard.

"No idea," said Siara.

"The apprentice, do you think?" asked Heldi.

"Could be," said Siara.

"No," said Rouran. She felt remarkably better now, with the time to steady her nerves. "Look at his hands."

Heldi frowned.

"I did not have a chance to examine his hands, Rouran."

"Well, they weren't scared or burned or roughed in any way. He must be from a wealthy family," said Rouran. "He's not a physical worker."

"He looked suited for it," said Heldi.

"He was certainly skilled enough in a fight to disable Sergeant Wair," said Siara, gesturing to where a Sorcerer had their hands on Yvain's head, attempting to repair whatever damage he had suffered in the scuffle with a spell.

"Will he be all right?" asked Rouran.

Heldi and Siara exchanged a knowing glance, and Rouran blushed at its implication.

"Yes, of course," said Siara.

"Anyhow, that doesn't mean much," said Rouran, trying her best to ignore the heat radiating in her cheeks. "Sir Tau is constructed in much the same way, yet he still has the same softness to his hands and skin."

"And how would you know of Sir Tau's construction and skin?" asked Heldi, cocking an eyebrow.

Rouran blushed deeply again.

"I...I see him, sometimes, outside of meetings of the Noble Council, accompanying Lord Cail," she said.

"You've certainly found a more enjoyable way to pass the time waiting for the Noble Council to finish than I have," teased Heldi. Her face became serious, and she looked around the room.

"You did well, Rouran, from what Siara tells me. You saved the lives of all three of you."

"I did not do anything worth praising," said Rouran.

"Rouran, someday, soon, I hope, you will learn that modesty will get you only so far, and then you will have to own your decisions. You chose, this night, to fight. And because of you, not only are you, and Sergeant Wair, and Sorcerer Siara all here to see another day, but we are closer than ever to seeing the face of our enemy."

Yvain was stumbling to his feet, one of his fellow Guards laughing and patting him on the shoulder as he rose unsteadily. Rouran and Siara both glanced over at him, and Heldi immediately noticed, turning to look where they were.

She smiled, then turned back.

"We will take this man back to the Guild Rock," she said. "The Guard will secure the house. In the meanwhile, perhaps you two would like to make sure that Sergeant Wair makes it back to his quarters unharmed. Siara, you should probably tend to whatever minor wounds the medics have missed in focusing on his mind."

"Yes, Mistress," said Siara.

"Thank you, Mistress Heldi," said Rouran. She and Siara gave each other a look, then hurried to chase after Yvain, leaning on the shoulders of the Guards carrying him back to the headquarters on the Hill.