Rise of the Serpent (Serpent's War Book 2) (12 page)

Corian raised an eyebrow. “Well, that’s a good start. For both of us then.”

Namitus nodded. “It is. Come, let’s find out where we need to go. I suspect things are going to get interesting very soon.”

They turned and walked into the tavern side by side. Gor and the others sat at one of the many empty tables, drinks before them already. Namitus moved to the spot that Amra had made sure was available beside her and took the full cup she handed him. He sniffed it and smelled the warm ale. A moment later, it was washing the dust of the road out of his mouth.

“Any word?” he asked.

Gor nodded. “Gone. To the south, some ruins.”

“Inhabited ruins or...”

“Yes, of a sort,” Gor said. “Old signal towers line many of the hills so they can warn of threats. Most are broken down, but some remain. One of those they’ve gone to clear out.”

“Clear out?”

“Taken. A pack of weres.”

“Weres?” Amra asked.

“Shapeshifters,” Gor said. “Men who turn into wolves, rats, cats, bears, and other beasts by light of the moon.”

“Saints,” Namitus muttered. “Such thing is common down here?”

“Common? No,” Gor answered and took a drink. Namitus had no idea if it was water or ale, but the scowl on Gor’s lips hinted at the former. “But there are several packs that roam the hills and forests. Mixed packs, at that, though usually a bear or a wolf leads them.”

Namitus took another drink. “I’ve heard of this curse, but never known someone who has it. Isn’t it spread by being bitten by one of them?”

“It can be,” he said.

“Can we wait until they get back?” Allie asked.

Namitus considered the question and then shook his head. “I think not. Time is against us.”

“They have potions here that are said to protect a man from the bite of a were. As long as they’re drank before the first full moon comes.”

“Do they work?”

Gor shrugged. “I think so, but I’ve never tested one myself.”

“Sounds like it’s worth it to me,” he said.

The bartender emerged from behind the bar with a platter. He brought it and set it on the table next to theirs, and then delivered plates and bowls filled with steaming meat and stew.

“No barmaid?” Namitus joked.

The barkeep looked at him and shook his head. “You’ve brought more women than Rosekeep has seen in a fortnight.”

Namitus winced and paid the man for the food. “If it helps, you do a fine job. I imagine you’d look good with a barmaid’s skirts on, too.”

The barkeep chuckled and studied one of the odd coins before he bit it and gathered his platter.

“You’re so odd,” Allie said while staring at Namitus.

Namitus grinned and bowed his head. He lifted his hat and then sat it back on his head.

“The hat doesn’t help,” she added.

Amra snickered and shot him a quick look before she turned on her stew and dug into it. Namitus did likewise with his and watched Gor set to devouring a plate of steaming venison steaks. Conversation fell short while they ate. It had been days since a proper meal had filled their bellies.

“I think the hat looks good,” Amra whispered after they pushed their bowls back and began to relax.

Namitus smiled and then turned his attention to the others. “It’s early enough yet. Shall we ride on?”

A chorus of groans was his answer.

“I recommend it,” Gor said, vetoing the others.

“Why?” Corian asked. He caught Namitus’s look and softened his tone. “If these lands are so dangerous, is it wise to risk it?”

“You heard the barkeep,” Gor said. “No women in a fortnight. We’ve got three of them, all young and tender looking.”

Namitus nodded. “The sort of men in a place like this are the men who like to take what they want.”

Gor set his cup down and wagged his finger at Namitus. “That, sadly, is the truth of it. The difference between the men in this keep and the weres is that the shapeshifters will admit they’re part animal.”

Corian pushed his stew back and glanced around the table. “Well then, let’s saddle up and be on our way then?”

Namitus smirked. Maybe the elf had some merit to him after all. Maybe. He suspected he was running out of time to find out, so maybe giving him a little more rope was the way to go. Either he’d tie it off and help them all, or hang himself with it.

Chapter 11

“Namitus!” Corian hissed.

Namitus turned in his saddle enough to look back. He raised an eyebrow, confused and instantly wary by the young elf’s tone.

Corian pointed to the ground. “Tracks. They look recent and I’ve not seen their like before,” he continued in a loud whisper.

Namitus looked at the tracks and nodded. He saw them, now, but might never have noticed them if not for Corian. “Good eyes,” he told him. “Just the one or...?”

Corian looked around, his eyes narrowing as he began to wave his finger. “Several,” he said. “I can’t be sure, but they all look fresh. The grass would have popped back up and covered the marks in the ground otherwise.”

“What’s that mean?” Amra asked. “Are we following someone else on the road?”

“Someone with clawed feet,” Namitus said. He felt her stiffen behind him and slide her hands farther around his sides. “Several someones.”

“Should we wait?” she asked. “Let them get ahead of us?”

Namitus turned back and motioned for Gor to ride up next to him. “You’re sure this is the way to the ruins?”

Gor shrugged. “It’s been a long time, but I think so. Another hour’s ride, maybe less.”

Namitus nodded and said, “Then we’re all headed in the same direction. Let’s hope we make it before the Vultures are being eaten by vultures.”

Gor snorted. “A pack of ratkin won’t take them.”

“Ratkin?” Amra asked.

“Cross a goblin with a rat and that’s what you get,” Gor said. “Furry and nasty little beasts.”

Amra’s face twisted in disgust.

“Then let’s be ready. If we can take them from behind by surprise, we might build some goodwill with the Vultures.”

Gor snorted again but kept his counsel to himself.

“Too late!” Corian cried. The elf sprang from his saddle, startling his horse even as he landed beside it.

Namitus watched Corian and then turned to see what the elf had reacted to. Snarls and squeaks announced a rush of brown shapes scrambling towards them on two and four legs. Several had short swords and daggers. A few bore small wooden or metal shields.

“Stay on the horse!” Namitus snapped over his shoulder before he lifted one leg and slid off to land on the ground. He drew his scimitar and turned to face the small horde rushing them. Gor moved to Namitus’s right, giving himself room enough to swing his axe. Allie rushed to the right of Gor as the first of the ratkin running on four legs reached them.

The ratmen leapt, gnarly fingers with sharp talons extended. Namitus heard grunts and curses from his companions. Metal struck flesh with the wet slaps and muffled cracking of bones. The storyteller spun and cut, hewing one ratkin’s arm off near his shoulder before another grabbed onto his leathers from behind and tried to yank him to the ground.

Namitus staggered on his feet, struggling to keep his balance at the same time he tried to knock free the ratman trying to trip him up. Squeals and blood filled the air. A second ratkin crashed into his leg and forced his knee to buckle. He fell to his knee and one hand. He chanced a wild swing with his sword and felt resistance, but a second wave of four more of the ratkin were swarming him already, weapons raised to carve him up for dinner.

Namitus cried out as the ratkin on his leg bit through his leathers and into his hip. He punched down at him, pushing the vicious creature back enough so Namitus could draw his dagger and plunge it into his neck. The ratkin scrambled back and ran away, teetering and crashing into a sword-wielding ratkin.

Allie screamed from nearby. She wasn’t crying for help, but it was a scream in itself. Namitus swung his sword in front of him and tried to regain his feet so he could look. The ratman clinging to his back climbed higher and sank his teeth into Namitus’s shoulder. His armor kept him safe from the short but sharp teeth, but it was only a matter of time.

A sword swung in, forcing him to forget Allie and react out of instinct. He blocked the blade but the parry left his scimitar out too far to recover. He sucked his belly in and threw his hips back, causing a thrust from the other side to snag his leather jerkin and throw him even more off balance. The ratkin on his back climbed higher, adding more weight to his shoulders and tipping him forward.

Namitus clenched his teeth and grunted as he tried to keep himself on his knees. He threw a leg forward and pushed off it, forcing himself up onto his feet. He swung his sword again and turned, keeping the armed ratkin at bay a precious second longer. Talons scratched the back and side of his neck, promising only seconds, if that, remained for him.

The desperate rogue thrust his left hand back over his head. He stabbed his dagger into the ratkin twice and let go of it. The talons dug deeper into his skin, but now he had his fingers dug into the wiry hide of the ratman. He took a step and threw his head and shoulders forward, tugging on the ratkin at the same time. The ratkin slipped free and tumbled over his head, but not without catching Namitus’s cheek with a hand and leaving scratches down the side of his face before he hit the ground.

Namitus stumbled back and waved his sword again. A shield smashed into his hip, numbing his leg for a moment. He twisted and lashed out, only to have his scimitar deflect high off the dented metal rim of the shield. A sword thrust in and poked through his leather pants, drawing a line of fire on the outside of his calf.

Namitus kicked back, balancing on his bruised hip. He heard a squeal as his foot connected. He swung his sword across, forcing a ratkin to leap back or be hacked in half, and saw the little bastard that had been climbing on his back trying to crawl away.

The rogue took two steps forward, ignoring the fire in his calf, and kicked the ratkin in the side hard enough for him to hear the beast’s ribs popping. He spun around, his sword leading the way. He startled two ratkin that thought to stab him in the back with his abrupt maneuver. They hesitated, their weapons extended, and had their number reduced by one when Namitus’s scimitar cut halfway through the head of the first ratkin it met.

He spun back around, sending a message to the creatures that surrounded him that they had to be faster if they hoped to flank him. He hacked away at them, cutting off fingers, hands, ears, and even one tail. Little by little, he whittled them down when he couldn’t strike a mortal blow. He was panting and dragging his feet by the time he looked up and saw that the ratkin that remained were either running away or bleeding out.

“Namitus! Are you okay?”

Namitus turned in time to be tackle-hugged by Amra. He grunted and staggered back under her weight.

“I hope so,” he squeaked. “Or you’d have just finished me.”

Amra pulled herself back from him and clamped her hand over her mouth. “Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t—there were so many! I had to fight some off too! Did you see me?”

Namitus held up his hand to stop her. “Are you all right?”

She nodded. “I hit them a few times and kept them back—there was only two.”

Namitus smiled and turned. Jillystria was helping Corian reclaim his arrows and Gor was checking the ratkin and finishing the ones off that hadn’t died. Allie looked around as though she was searching for something. Her eyes landed on Namitus and Amra, and she raised a hand to wave. Her eyes sharpened and she shook her head, and then started towards them.

“Anyone get a count?” Namitus asked.

Gor grunted and lifted his head to look around. “Two dozen? Maybe thirty?”

“Saints preserve us,” Namitus muttered. He chuckled and added, “Well, I suppose they did—we’re still here.”

Gor frowned. “The flea bitten vermin try to overwhelm with numbers. No skill or tactics, just a rush,” Gor said. “If we’d had some time or defenses, they’d not have even been able to get close.”

“I’ll take the help of the saints any day,” Namitus said. He spied his dagger on the ground and bent over to snatch it up.

Gor snorted and went back to dispatching the wounded vermin.

Corian and Jillystria walked over to them. “I lost half my arrows,” Corian reported. “No harm other than that.”

“I’m okay,” Jilly said. She turned and nodded to where the horses were gathered and admitted, “I stayed with the horses and Amra stopped the two that thought our horses would be easy pickings.”

Namitus chuckled. “Seems to have worked just fine. You’re unhurt and we still have our mounts. Keep up the good work!”

The elven woman blushed and nodded. Allie stepped up to her and squeezed her hand briefly, earning a smile.

“We should get going. The sun’s high enough we can get there before dusk,” Namitus said.

“You were hurt,” Amra said. “I saw them fighting you.”

Namitus glanced down at his leg. It burned less and itched more, thanks to the drying blood on his skin. “Just a scratch,” he said. “Oh, and one of them bit me.”

“Where?” Gor asked.

Namitus blushed. “My…hip.”

Allie’s eyes widened. “Oh no! Didn’t you say that a bite from one of these could spread some sort of disease? Turn you into one of them, or something?”

Gor chuckled. “These are ratkin, not weres. A shifter turns from man to beast, usually at night save for the oldest and most powerful. Ratkin are more beast than men. Usually they have giant rats with them. This group must have had a special purpose in mind.”

“Oh.”

“I’m safe,” Namitus said. “Now come, let’s ride. We may have fought off the ratkin, but other monsters might smell the blood and come looking for dinner.”

Amra’s eyes widened. She turned and hurried to the horses, beating the rest of them in half the time.

They rode into the pass ahead and slowed again. Corian held out his hand and studied the ground, moving to the front slowly and then dismounting. He walked back and forth and kept moving ahead, prompting them to follow him slowly. Jillystria grabbed the reins to his horse to keep it from wandering away.

“They were staging here,” Corian said. “Not waiting for us. I’d say we surprised them almost as much as they surprised us.”

“We’re closer than I thought to the ruins,” Gor said.

“An attack against the Vultures?” Namitus asked.

Gor grunted. “Maybe. They wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“They were waiting,” Corian said.

Gor nodded. “An attack from multiple fronts, maybe. Attack at dusk?”

Namitus nodded. “Maybe. We should hurry.”

Gor grunted. “If there’s a battle to be fought, our best bet is with the Vultures on our side, not mistaking us for foes.”

Corian remounted and, without another word, they rode out. Namitus’s eyes swept the hills and bushes around them. He saw nothing that disturbed him, but could not shake the tickle on the back of his neck that told him they were still being watched.