I am not well rested. I spent the night caring for two patients, one of whom was in a critical state, and worrying about being attacked by dinosaurs. That is not a recipe for restful slumber. It hasn’t been a useless sacrifice of my sleep, though. He is out of danger and she has even regained conciousness and is now back to a working condition. But she gives us no clue. She speaks only Greek, which none of us do, so even if she knew who sent the beasts attacking them, which I doubt, as dinosaurs rarely state their employers in my assumption, she cannot tell us. Not that she is stupid. She has managed to tell us he name – Klymini with lip rounding on the first vowel – and the few ingredients we gave her cannot explain the amount of stew coming out of the kettle she outright conjured, let alone the superb taste. She did not even startle when I made a flame appear out of a rock, so she can either sense magic or has been told whom she would be sold to.
While their leader is watching the approaches to our caves by some mystical means I am talking to the elven girl, asking her ?I could make a travois to pull him. It would slow us down, though. And it would be loud and make us immobile. It wouldn’t be ideal for his health either.“. She is biting her lower lip. That is quite distracting. Are they that well trained or is she a bit rattled?
She replies ?I doubt this attack was specifically intended for your delivery. If it were, whoever ordered this, would have either finished them off or would be among the dead. I believe they encountered stragglers of a troop intended for someone else.“
Hildegard is not content with that answer. ?How do we know that this troop was not going for your people in the first group?“. The elf hesitates. I am a bit cranky after such a night and say a bit louder than usual ?Speak up. If we are fighting somebody who attacked your people, you better tell us all you know about that enemy. I am not going to pay you for information needed to fight for you.“. Her eyes grow brighter and she replies ?The centipedes are available from a multitude of sources, but that beast is one of those used by Gaia’s people. We don’t trade in them. They price them so high that you can get genuine magical beast for a comparable price. I don’t know much about them.“ Hildegard sends her a scornful look. The elf adds ?Really. Novelty items do not make for repeat sales. It is much better to sell goods for consumption. Better yet to sell stuff that creates its own steady demand.“ I laugh out loud. I get strange looks from three sides. ?That is the best explanation for selling addictive drugs I’ve ever heard“ I chortle out.
Though my suspicion is kindled ?In that case why do you have hearth witches on sale?“ The question seems to delight her. She responds ?You are wondering why the witch does not speak our language. Precisely because there is no point in training them. We sell them as quickly as we get them. The market is just flooded right now. Too many fools do not consider that in the long run a hearth witch is valuable beyond her … obvious skills. Wintalf knows Greek.“ She points in the direction of their unconcious fighter. Hildegard cast an unreadable look at me before she quickly directs her gaze at the ground.
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Great. I would admire the political skills this elf is showing much more if she weren’t practising them on us. ?Very well. I will consider this an attack on both of us and I think we want to camp here until I get Wintalf back on his feet. By the way, I am not going to charge you for healing. But – and that is a big question – we need to know what your people will do when we do not arrive.“ I concede. She clears her throat ?I guess we will have to assume that our enemies are heading for Naples, meaning that our and your companions have noticed them the hard way. Which means that the question what your people will do is also answered.“. I nod.
Zewrepa is pulling her hand out of some kind of six-legged frog’s brain case in jerks, trying not to cut it on splintered skull bones. ?This is no vertebrate brain“ she remarks. The headman of the armed band that has joined them, Sergeant Malone, responds in the local language, Zewrepa wearing the translation ring taken from his dead captain ?Do you often handle vertebrate brains?“. ?Yes. We are trained in the basic anatomy of our enemies.“ answers Zewrepa. She informs the rest of the group of their conversation.
Anjali’s voice is strained ?Does it matter? Where do we go?“. Zewrepa hums a calming tone and answers ?Right now it does not. We need to get to the docks before the turning tide lets the docked ships leave, as they will do for sure. All that lightning at the wizards’s HQ and the temple square makes that certain. Yet the nature of our enemies determines whether we can anchor off the coast to wait for Peregrinus or we need to sail for another harbor as soon as possible.“
Zewrepa turns to Sergeant Malone ?What did they tell you about the reason the guard was called to the gates?“ He answers ?We got no reason as far as I know. As we were mustering a snake monster jumped from a roof and got the captain on the neck. Both arteries were cut immediately. Blood sprayed everywhere. I figured that the enemy was already inside the walls and even between us and the guard’s HQ. I ordered a retreat to the closest gate. The contingent of the guard posted there knew nothing. They also thought that the enemy got into the city by treason, so they did not let us into the gate house or a tower. We left through the gate they closed behind us and we met you.“
This calls for a great traditional song. If the elves want to risk entering the city to evacuate their embassy, so be it. She has not signed up for that. She starts into the Song of Crumbling Walls and points at the foot path around the walls leading to the docks.
Wintalf knows nothing. He takes over the watch. I ask the elven leader ?Can you send a message to your people?“ He grunts ?No. Contrary to rumors even we are bound to the basic rules of the underways. We are out of communication. We either need to flee or go onwards, likely into a battle.“ ?We go on. I am not abandoning my people.“ I answer.
End of Book One
