Ravs Are Rarely Wrong: The Kinowenn Chronicles Vol III Page 24

  “Likewise,” he responded, also rising. “Come again soon.”

  “I’m not sure that would be the smart thing to do.”

  “Obviously not. Sometimes smart and necessary are mutually exclusive,” he smiled.

  Lucy could feel his intensity reaching towards her, enticing her to stay. He’d promised to let her go, and he would if she wanted to, but she had to want to first. If he could, he’d take away her desire to leave. She was an asset he wanted badly.

  “You don’t have to leave.”

  “I should.”

  “It’s a pity you love him so much,” he smirked.

  “On that matter, you and I disagree,” Lucy smiled and disappeared back into her own dreams.

  Chapter 33

  The next few days passed in a flurry of activity. Maya and Justin worked with Dulcie. Lucy helped when she could. Either Taran or Maya was with Joss at all times. He was busy overseeing everything from soldiers and supplies, to arguments with ministers, to missives to possible allies, to discussions with spies about possible plots. Joss and Justin worked together discussing the larger picture and battle strategies, arguing the pros and cons of certain geography on which to make a stand.

  Dulcie had made a lot of progress in such a short time. They had a much easier time training her once they discovered using elements was her key. She still had a hard time using any weapons besides the daggers. Gavin had tried training her. She was either naturally clumsy or had a lot of fear and a gigantic mental block when it came to using weapons. He hadn’t had much luck teaching her anything useful. He felt badly about it, but working with other, more eager, recruits soothed his ego. Dulcie could follow Maya’s movements with her fan, but as soon as she unsheathed the concealed knife she lost all confidence. Lucy talked to Taran about it and they decided to try to teach Dulcie the Elven method of hand to hand combat. Dulcie showed, if not an immediate aptitude, less of an aversion to this style of fighting than anything else.

  Taran and Lucy patiently led her through the moves. They tried to make it seem more like a choreographed dance than a fight. Lucy thought learning the moves and making them an automatic reflex would work in a pinch. Lucy came up with an idea. It made Dulcie work on multiple skills at once. She surrounded Dulcie with a translucent cloud. Then, she had Dulcie follow a fight sequence, projecting air with all her motions to move the clouds. Dulcie enjoyed the exercise immensely. It was fun, made her work on multiple skills, and included a useful visual aid.

  “It seems she has an aversion to hurting others,” added Taran. “She’s doing magnificently with the cloud combatant.”

  They watched as Dulcie moved fluidly and chunks of clouds shot out in different directions.

  “Most of us have an aversion to hurting people. I’m trying to train something into her that will develop into a reflex if she’s attacked. She may not want to hurt anyone, but I’ll wager she’s not a victim either. When I was attacked, I burned them with fireballs. I’m hoping she uses a method that will be easier for her to live with,” explained Lucy. “In times of stress, instincts take over. If these movements and using air to strengthen her blows is instinctive…”

  “And if she’s terrified at the time, her adrenaline and magically enhanced blows will be effective enough to save her,” finished Taran with a nod. “I hope you are right.”

  It was harder for Lucy to work on subtlety with the clouds, but it was good practice for her. She did not have the inherent elemental affinity Dulcie did. It was much easier for Lucy to move something solid. Even so, she made the clouds counterattack forcing Dulcie to dodge, duck, spin, and strike. Again, Dulcie did well with the exercise. Lucy was sure it had something to do with not facing an actual opponent. Clouds couldn’t hurt her and she couldn’t hurt clouds.

  When she had time alone, Lucy had no problems keeping busy. She knew they would be leaving soon to try to recruit other races in their fight against the Shadow Weavers. She wasn’t sure when the nightmare army would leave the keep or how long their trip would take. This might be her only chance to magically enhance the weapons and armor of the Lerramorre soldiers. So, she spent a lot of time with the smiths and armorers. While listening to the Elves and helping spell items for them, she had learned it was best to spell armor or weapons during their creation. The spells lasted the longest and performed the best. Lucy studied how the smiths and armorers worked, figuring out how to magically enhance their efforts. Arrowheads were the easiest. As they cooled in their molds, she could smooth them out and infuse them with accuracy without being in anyone else’s way. She was also able to provide the tips with more penetrating power and, hopefully, the ability to go through minor magical shields. She had no idea what kinds of powers some of the creatures they would be facing possessed. She decided to ask Justin about that later.

  She also concentrated on swords. While they were cooling in their final bath while the metal was still hot, she concentrated on sharpening the edges and spelling them to stay that way. It saved the smiths grinding time and would help in battle. Battles were not normally won in a morning. Lucy wanted soldiers’ swords to remain useful and sharp for days.

  Lucy spelled breast plates to be impenetrable. She wasn’t sure how many hits the spell would last through or what impenetrable entailed. She tried to make the spell strong. A normal sword couldn’t pass through. She had Gavin try. What about magical, poisonous claws on a nightmare creature? She wasn’t even sure how to test that so she did her best and tried not to worry too much about it. Lucy worked on helms as well. She spelled them to be dent and concussion resistant. It probably wouldn’t help if a gigantic boulder smashed a soldier, but it should keep him alive and able to fight after taking the average mace blow to the head.

  Basically, Lucy tried to come up with ways to reduce injuries and casualties. Their army wasn’t that large, so anything she could do would hopefully help. She spelled greaves, pauldrons, and vambraces to give the soldier wearing them extra endurance. She spelled gorgets to remain cool, as knights in full armor had the potential to overheat. She strengthened chainmail and leather armor as she found it. After all, not all the soldiers would be clad as knights. As arrows were being fletched she added luck. She checked bowstrings and spelled them for longevity. If she found an item that might be used in battle, no matter how minor, she tried to enhance it to help or potentially save whoever used it. Not everything was being forged new. Many items were being repaired, polished, or sharpened.

  Lucy didn’t limit her efforts to people either. She spent time in the stables. She wasn’t a healer like Justin, but if she worked hard enough, she could sense if a horse was hurt somewhere that the men caring for them were likely to miss. As she touched each horse to check for pulled muscles or other ailments, she also instilled strength, stamina, bravery, and health. She spelled horseshoes to remain attached and avoid catching stones. She tried to give each horse a shield of some kind, strong enough to block arrows at least, but she wasn’t sure how many it would be able to block before it was worn away. Her magical energy sustained her shields. Horses did not have the ability to sustain the ones she put in place. They still did not know when the nightmare army would descend upon them.

  When Lucy wasn’t spelling weapons and armor, she focused on what she thought of as ‘cauldron work’. She studied the land between Lerramorre and the mountains, wanting to be familiar enough to navigate it without the aid of maps or individuals. She shared the locations and visuals of anything she thought Kinda might find promising as potential trap locations.

  Lucy also worked hard untying any Shadow influences she could find. There was plenty for her to do; tendrils of evil were everywhere. She concentrated mostly within Lerramorre itself. She untied everything she found. Some people seemed more susceptible to the lure of the Shadow Weavers. There was one shady character who she untied at least three times. She wondered if there was a better way to deal with him. Sometimes, she followed the cords back, cutting side strands as she went, until she sta
rted to feel menace. She wasn’t sure what to do if she got too close to the source. She didn’t want to end up in a situation she was grossly unprepared for when there was so much she could accomplish at her current level. She knew she was making a difference when Maya mentioned it felt better and went on to explain there didn’t seem to be a malevolence hanging over them anymore. Lucy was glad to hear that. Sometimes, after working for hours, she wondered if all her effort mattered.

  Lucy extended her work to the different inns they had visited during their travels. It didn’t take long to check an inn and the clientele tended to change on a weekly basis. Her favorite inn to check was the one Wisp had taken them to. Naturally, she couldn’t change the disposition of those who frequented it, but she could take away any outside, nefarious influence. Being so close to the mists, almost everyone at the inn had a thread of some thickness. She figured some of these people were frequent and widespread travelers and anything she could do would have a far-reaching effect. A bandit might remain a bandit, but he’s far less dangerous acting on his own than doing the bidding of a Shadow Weaver.

  Lucy returned one afternoon to her room planning to spend some more time untying darkness, but she found the room already occupied, and not by Justin. A woman in gray leather perched casually on the windowsill. She was the most lethal person Lucy had met, and that was saying something, considering the caliber of her acquaintances. Lucy immediately strengthened her shields and cautiously entered.

  “Wisp,” she greeted the visitor with a nod, not taking her eyes off her.

  “Lucy,” Wisp nodded back with a ghost of a smile on her face.

  “Are you here for me?” asked Lucy conversationally.

  “Yes, but not in the way you think,” Wisp did grin this time. “I promise not to kill you today. Please, sit and talk,” she gestured to the table close, but not too close, to the windowsill. “Besides, I work on contract. You’re Lerramorre’s battle mage. People around here see you as everything from a magical savior to a lucky charm. With a possible nightmare army approaching, no one wants you dead.”

  “But someone here wants someone I know dead?”

  Wisp nodded. “I decided, after listening to the rumors and the undertones of this fair city that I had better check with you before assassinating anyone. I don’t fancy the idea of killing one of your friends.”

  “Or Gavin’s?” asked Lucy.

  Wisp shrugged. “A man is replaceable. A talented mage looking for revenge is not on my list of approved adversaries.”

  “Who were you sent to kill?”

  “Someone named Maya. Apparently, my employer thinks she’s too close to the king.”

  “I’m glad you checked with me first. She’s a very good friend. She also killed the last assassin. I’d prefer it if you didn’t kill her.”

  Wisp nodded.

  “Does that mean you have to return payment?”

  Wisp nodded again.

  “What if I paid you to return the favor?”

  “You want me to kill someone for you? You can’t manage that on your own?”

  “I’m sure I could, but I’m thinking I’d like to send a message. What if you kill whoever ordered Maya’s demise and leave the payment on the dead body?”

  “Is sends the message it is fatal to arrange Maya’s assassination and Maya, or whoever wants her alive, has eyes and ears everywhere,” responded Wisp.

  “Good, that’s the message I’d like to send. It might make future plotters apprehensive. We have enough to worry about around here. Are you interested?” asked Lucy.

  “Afterwards, I disappear and no one knows what happened to the assassin either?”

  “If that is your wish. You’d be welcome here,” offered Lucy.

  “I appreciate the offer, but no thank you. You have an army coming this way. I don’t mind killing, but I like the odds to be in my favor. I like to pick the time and the place. Now seems like an opportune time to travel east for a few weeks. Really far east.”

  Lucy smiled. She dug around in her packs until she came up with a small pouch of gold. She handed it to Wisp.

  “Is this enough?” she asked.

  “It is, but I think I’d rather have a different form of payment. I’d like you to owe me a favor,” said Wisp handing the pouch back to Lucy.

  “I may get killed by the coming army,” said Lucy, accepting the pouch.

  “True. I may get thrown off a horse and break my neck tomorrow. I’d rather know a mage owes me a favor in the future than have a pouch of money today.”

  “I accept the terms of our agreement,” said Lucy, holding out her hand. Lucy wasn’t sure she wanted to owe Wisp a favor, but it seemed the most expedient way to help Maya. Besides, first she had to survive the coming Shadow Weavers and after that Wisp actually had to find her and collect. Lucy would worry about that later.

  Wisp smiled, shook it, and turned to climb out the window.

  “Don’t you want to know who sent me?” Wisp asked as an afterthought.

  “Not particularly,” shrugged Lucy. “It’s someone who wants my friend dead. That’s all I need to know.”

  “You’re very dangerous, Miss Mage,” Wisp said with a half-smile and jumped down.

  Wisp thought she was dangerous. Lucy stood in the middle of the room, pondering that for some time. When an assassin thinks you are dangerous, is it time to take a good, hard look at yourself? She had just sentenced an unknown someone to death in a rather cold-hearted way. She had killed before, but always in self-defense. She wasn’t the aggressor. She wasn’t a plotter or a schemer. She usually didn’t operate in the shadows. She felt her sense of hard-earned balance shifting. That wasn’t good. Neither was sentencing someone to death. Even if she felt it was justified, she didn’t know who it was. Lucy didn’t feel sorrow, but perhaps guilt. She would have rather killed the man in a fair fight. She would not have even thought to send an assassin after someone a year ago. Who was she becoming? Instead of focusing on rationalizing, Lucy tried to concentrate on balance, keeping the blue feeling Chester had helped her achieve. After a few minutes of quiet, she remembered the many demands on her time. It was time to turn to one of them.

  Chapter 34

  Allies began to arrive. Not all of them were willing to accept Joss’s leadership, but most had worked with Justin at some time in the past and were willing to defer to him. As Joss focused his attentions on Lerramorre and its people, Justin focused on the new arrivals. He kept the groups informed and neutralized rising hostilities. Too many dominant personalities in one room often led to arguments rather than constructive results.

  Tishanna and Ferra arrived with four companies of cavalry and one company of archers, more Elves than Lucy was expecting. She could tell Justin was pleased. They preferred to make camp outside the city. The city and its walls felt too confining and unnatural. This also allowed the Elves to conduct themselves as they wished. It kept the citizens of Lerramorre curious, but out of conflict. Some time was spent each day riding to and from the Elven encampment for planning purposes. Lucy added what spells she could to the Elven archers and weapons, although many of them already had their own minor enhancements.

  “Fallon wanted to come but thought it better to stay behind,” explained Tish. “She’s trying to use her influence to have the Elves send reinforcements. I think she’ll win, too.”

  Lucy smiled. She was glad to have Tish and Ferra so close. She flew out most mornings to participate in their early stretches and sparring. She still had much to learn, and the more she learned, the better she could train Dulcie to be. Joss talked with the head Elven archer and arranged for his small group of female archers to train with them. Elves were more accepting of female archers, even if they were human. Then again, the Elves camping outside the city had volunteered; they were already less prejudiced than some of the others.

  A group of ten Dwarves showed up one morning looking for Kinda. No one had been expecting them and anyone who had seen a Dwarf fight was glad to see
them, even if they could have hoped for more.

  “The council is still debating the seriousness of the possible threat and how many to send,” Dwather explained to Joss. Dwather was a gruff, older Dwarf. His dark hair was streaked with gray and there were age lines on his face as well as battle scars. His weapon of choice appeared to be a wicked looking halberd taller than he was. He was shorter than Kinda and almost wider in the shoulders than he was tall. Lucy assumed he knew how to use his low center of gravity to his advantage. “If you have more information, it might help.”

  “I was going to travel there shortly with Lucy to provide proof and further explanation,” supplied Justin.

  “That would be good. Meanwhile, my friends and I enjoy a good fight. Also, since they are coming from over the mountains, we hoped an advance guard might be sent to set surprises for our guests.”

  “There will be indeed,” said Kinda entering the room with a smile that was warm and somehow conveyed menace at the same time. “It’d be better to have another tricky mind along on this one. I’ll take two clever minds and eight faulty ones.”

  “Faulty are we? I can knock you around until you’re one of the faulty ones,” threatened a female Dwarf who had biceps thicker than Lucy’s thighs.

  “Admit it, Tharliss, you’re here for the fun, not the thinking.”

  “That I am, but that doesn’t mean I can’t think when it’s important,” defended Tharliss.

  “When was it last important?” asked Dwather.

  “Fifty…sixty years ago,” shrugged Tharliss.

  All the Dwarves laughed.

  “Come see my maps and plans,” invited Kinda with that warm, evil smile.

  Lucy breathed a sigh of relief when they had left. She hadn’t seen many Dwarves, but so far they seemed to take up a lot of space despite their short stature, had a gruff sense of humor, and were overly willing to fight. They usually had enough armor and weapons to meet with Gavin’s approval, which had the side effect of also causing them to clank when they moved and smell like metal. She wasn’t sure how she felt about traveling with Justin to meet an entire mountain full of Dwarves.