The Companions of Tartiël (16 page)

“Wiser words were never spoken,” Wild muttered, and he followed everyone else back into the alleys. Astra led them at a slower pace back the way they’d come.

“A copper for your thoughts, Master Kaiyr,” Caineye said.

Kaiyr, walking with his arms tucked into the opposite sleeves, nodded. “The man was lying to us. Nay, that is not the right word. He knows much more than he let on. And I do suspect that his story about the murders was a lie, but it tells me that he does know about their power. His reaction was most telling.” Kaiyr glanced up at motion higher in the alley, but it was just a woman hanging clothing on a line strung between the buildings. “It would be prudent for us to speak as little about this as possible and to take great care in the future to avoid encounters with such people until we learn more about them. Lady Astra, do you know anything about this?”

She pursed her lips thoughtfully. Once more, Kaiyr tried reading her expression, but her reactions yet betrayed no sign of untruth. “You know, I think I
have
seen that symbol somewhere before, but I just can’t place it,” she mused as they turned a corner and headed down an empty side street. “Damn it, I wish I could remember where the hell I’d seen—Kaiyr, look out!”

Kaiyr had not noticed the thugs approaching at a distance from behind. Astra pushed him aside, but the tiny nymph’s weight did not move them both far enough out of harm’s way. A bolt fired from a crossbow grazed Kaiyr’s right arm as he was knocked aside, and as he grimaced and glanced down the alley, he heard an ominous, wet thud of a bolt hitting home.

Wild let out a cry of dismay that turned into a battle-shout as he pulled out two daggers and darted down the alley toward the thugs, Vinto following with a bark. Kaiyr did not watch the pair’s pursuit, instead turning his attention to Astra, who sagged against him briefly before beginning to slide down, limp. Caineye stepped over to help the blademaster lower the nymph to the ground, and as they did, they both saw the metal bolt embedded high in her right side.

“No,” Kaiyr breathed, clenching his free hand into an angry fist.

Astra looked toward the source of the word with glazed eyes. “You know,” she said distantly, “I think I’m going to faint.”

Her head fell limp, and Caineye caught it. “Master Kaiyr,” the druid said sternly, snapping the blademaster from his surprise and shock, “hold her while I try to save her. I need to get this arrow out of her chest before my spells will do her any good.”

Regaining his composure to an extent, Kaiyr did as the druid directed while the sounds of the halfling’s and wolf’s pursuit faded down the quiet street. He laid Astra’s head on his lap and kept her still while Caineye worked the bolt out of her flesh, doing more damage as he pulled barbed projectile out. Blood spilled from the wound, instantly soaking her clothing.

“Will your spells be enough?” Kaiyr asked. Caineye glared up at the blademaster, but at the elf’s honest expression, he paused.

“I don’t know. I can heal cuts and bruises pretty easily, but something this deep…. If I can stabilize her long enough for us to get more help, it will be enough. We can use the gold from that accursed robe to pay for help.”

The blademaster reached into his sleeves, pulling out three small vials filled with a light blue liquid. “I have these, if they will be of any help.”

Caineye nodded, and when Astra took a ragged, pained breath, he snatched them from Kaiyr’s hands. “Perfect. Let me do this, now.”

Kaiyr inhaled deeply and silenced himself as Caineye set to work muttering prayers over the dying nymph’s form. Mystic energies swirled about the druid as he called upon the forces of nature to bring rejuvenation to the creature of fey beauty before them.

Slowly, Astra’s injury pulled itself closed. One of her ribs had been shattered by the blow, but Kaiyr could see the shards realign themselves just before the overlaying tissues sealed the wound. The bleeding slowed noticeably, but it wasn’t enough.

“Hold her head back and open her mouth,” Caineye ordered, tearing out the stoppers from all three vials with his teeth. Kaiyr did so, and Caineye wasted no time in pouring the contents of each vial down into her mouth and rubbing her throat with his hands to induce swallowing.

Then, after a few tense moments in which both Kaiyr and Caineye tried to come up with something more they could do for Astra, the rest of her flesh sealed itself up tightly, and her ragged breathing calmed, becoming more restful. Caineye blew a sigh of relief, and upon seeing that, Kaiyr followed suit. “We should take her back to the inn,” the blademaster said. “Can she be moved?”

Caineye chewed his lip for a moment, widening the tear in Astra’s clothing to inspect the damage. “I think so. It’s mostly healed now, thanks to those potions you had. I’ll have to remember to stock up on those when it’s safe to do so. Can you carry her?”

In response, Kaiyr gently lifted the unconscious Astra in his arms. He glanced up at the alley walls, as well as up and down the cobblestone passage, seeking danger. When none presented itself, he nodded to Caineye. “Very well. Let us go. What about Vinto and Master Wild?”

Putting his fingers to his lips, Caineye let out a shrill whistle that carried far and echoed loudly in the alley. He waited only a few moments before Vinto reappeared around the corner at the far end, where the pair had chased off the thugs. The wolf had picked up Wild by the seat of his pants and was now carefully trotting toward them. Wild had a few choice words to say about this, but Kaiyr ignored the halfling’s complaints and started down the alley and toward a busier street. “Enough, Master Wild. We do not have the time to chase those men. Our priority is to get to safety and then find passage away from this place. I shall stand vigilant by her side upon our return.”

The others nodded, and Vinto put Wild down. With Astra in his arms, Kaiyr swiftly led the way back to the relative safety of the inn.

XII.

“So, wait,” Matt said, scratching his chin. “I’m a little confused. How did Astra, the one who broke us out of jail and fought all those other people practically by herself, get taken down by a single crossbow bolt? A dee-ten is not enough to take out someone of her level. I mean, if she’s a nymph, she’s already got at least thirty hit points or so. Even on a crit, it wouldn’t be enough to knock her out.”

I grinned and answered in defense of Dingo. “It’s just a plot event. I do it all the time. The big, strong ally gets offed by someone the characters eventually defeat.”

Dino nodded his agreement.

“Fair enough,” Matt said.

“So,” Dingo said, “what are you guys doing now?”

I spoke first. “I’m going to stand watch over Astra while she recovers,” I said. “You two can take it easy, since I don’t sleep. I only wish we had a way of communicating, in case anyone else shows up to kill us.”

“I’ll lock the door and windows,” Matt offered. “I’ve got some supplies, plus a couple strong locks.”

“I’m going to go buy a bunch of
potions of cure light wounds
,” Xavier said, flipping his character sheet over to the inventory page. “I’ll leave Vinto with Kaiyr for extra protection, with the command to guard Astra. Jeff, do you need anything while I’m out?”

“Who’s Jeff?” I asked, grinning.

He just rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Fine.
Kaiyr…
Master
Kaiyr, do you need anything while I’m out?
”

“
Actually, yes
,” I said in my deeper Kaiyr-voice. “
I shall need those potions replaced, and I am afraid I have Lady Astra’s blood on my robes. Take this.
” I extended one arm in a gesture of giving. “I hand you three hundred and fifty gold, which is pretty much all I have left.”

“We just got gold, don’t forget,” Matt reminded me.

“Right. But we haven’t divvied that out yet. So, I give you that gold with the instructions to buy three
cure lights
, a bolt of blue silk, a bolt of white silk, and a half-bolt of tough, black silk for my new robes.”

“Kaiyr the seamstress,” Dingo commented with a snort, drawing chuckles from the other two. I gave them all my best mock-angry glare.

“Dingo,” Matt said, “You know he does this because nobody else will sew his dresses for him.” He shot me a mischievous grin, and we all laughed again. I’m pretty sure I chucked a d20 at him at some point; dice often flew around the room when we were playing.

After a few minutes’ more worth of banter, Dingo steered us toward the game again. “All right, so Caineye heads out to go shopping. Wild?”

“Ah, I’ll go with him,” Matt said. “I need to buy a few more things, too. Oh, and should I book us a flight out of here?” He looked at me.

I pursed my lips, thinking. “Not yet, I don’t think. I don’t want to bring Astra as luggage. Besides, she’s probably safer even here, rather than on an airship. But it wouldn’t be a bad idea for the two of you to ditch your usual clothes and go in disguise.”

*

Wild turned around and flipped open a wooden box replete with jars of skin foundation of all colors, false hair and teeth, and numerous other supplies for disguise. When he faced Kaiyr again, he wore a pair of lens-less, thick-rimmed, black glasses with an obviously false, pudgy nose and a wiry, black beard attached to them. “You mean like zees?” he asked in an exaggerated accent. When Kaiyr just stared at him, the halfling chuckled to himself and took the glasses off. Caineye offered an accompanying laugh. “I’m just trying to lighten the mood. Give me a few minutes, and you won’t recognize me or Caineye.”

Wild spent the next twenty minutes working on himself and Caineye. Both of them removed their armor to aid their disguise; none of them had removed their gear since arriving here. With a pair of wigs and some minor facial adjustments, the pair was ready to go. At Wild’s directive, they slipped from the room with a final wink at Kaiyr, locking the door behind them.

When they left, Vinto let out a seemingly exasperated sigh and put his head down on his paws, closing his eyes. His furry ears twitched at the same noises that Kaiyr’s ears did.

Astra lay in the bed Kaiyr had rented for himself, her skin pale and clammy but her breathing slow and rhythmic. A bowl of pink water rested on the bedside stand; Caineye and Kaiyr had gently set about cleaning up as much of the nymph’s blood as they could. Kaiyr had apologetically given the innkeeper several extra gold to buy new sheets.

The blademaster knelt on both knees with his back to the bed, his eyes lightly closed in meditation. His expression did not stay serene, however, his brow slowly furrowing into a frown of intense thought.

Kaiyr replayed in his mind the few moments before Astra had taken the bolt meant for him. No matter how he looked at it, he knew he would have died had it not been for her uncharacteristically self-sacrificing action. Even with his new armor, a heavy metal bolt fired from the large crossbows the men wielded would have blown right through his armor and buried itself deep in his heart. It would have been a quick death, at least, but that thought was not comforting.

He could not believe that he had failed to notice the men at the end of the alley, and Kaiyr berated himself for letting his guard down.
I am yet a failure, Father
, he thought to himself.
I was right; you should not have sent me into the world yet. I am not yet worthy of the title of Blademaster.

He should have sensed the attack, like he had seen his father do on so many occasions, sparring while blindfolded to display just how sharply one’s warrior senses could be honed. Kaiyr’s instinct was not as acute, and he cursed himself for it, because every time he watched the scene unfold again in his thoughts, he changed it slightly, inserting the barest of reactions he could have—should have—made that would have kept them both out of harm’s way.

Half an hour later, sounds of Astra stirring roused Kaiyr from his restless reverie. He heard her open her mouth to say something, but her throat was too parched to make any noise.

“Lady Astra,” Kaiyr breathed, rising and standing over her. She motioned weakly with one arm, and though the motion held no meaning, it was obvious what she needed. Kaiyr picked up a mug of water he had set there earlier for just such an occasion. “Please, my lady, do not sit up by yourself. I know not how extensive the damage is.” He helped her into an elevated position so she could drink, propping several pillows behind her to keep her upright. Silently, he aided her in drinking the water, guiding the mug in her shaking hands.

Astra drank slowly. “Thanks,” she croaked when she was done, letting him take the mug away. Vinto rose and sat down by the nymph, licking her hand. “Hey, there,” she said, scratching his ear in response.

“No,” the elf replied in an anguished tone as he returned to her side, “it is I who should be thankful, Lady Astra. You saved my life nearly at the cost of your own. And so my life is yours.” He knelt on the floor before her and bowed so low that his forehead touched the floor. “Please accept it in recompense for your sacrifice.”

She waved her hand, this time with a little more vigor. “Oh, stop it. You’ll make me blush.” Despite her jovial tone, her voice quavered and cracked. Kaiyr did not move. Vinto looked up at her and let out a growling bark. Astra let out a sigh, wincing. “All right, all right. I get it. You owe me your life. It’s mine. Whatever. Stop licking the floor; it’s dirty.”

Kaiyr lifted his head. “My lady, I was not….” His voice trailed off when he saw her amused smile. “I understand, my lady.”

“You’re so predictable it’s cute.” Astra smiled and glanced around the room. “Where’d Wild and Caineye go?”

“They are out purchasing supplies. We used all of our healing potions to keep you alive, my lady.”

“You might want new clothes, too,” she replied, nodding at the bloodstain running down the elf’s robes. “I think you’ve got some of me on you.”

Kaiyr’s lips turned up into a ghost of a smile. “I know, my lady. Master Caineye will return with cloth, that I may sew a new set.” She reached for the water, and he rose and returned it to her fingers, making sure she could hold onto it by herself before letting go. “We should leave Is’thvern as soon as possible, Lady Astra. As soon as you feel capable, we will take the first airship away from here.”