(Outside the labyrinth.)
On the way back to his tent, Elmerin did some shopping at the various stalls. Assorted potions, food, a few throwing knives, gear to care for various weapons. His spear was still good, just needed some maintenance.
The merchants always had a few stalls around the labyrinth, selling goods at a markup in exchange for the adventurers not having to travel the two days to Cothmore and then back to resupply. But now the stalls were practically cheek and jowl; some of the merchants must have traveled through the night to get here. That meant they'd likely used potions on the livestock pulling their wagons; Elmerin grimaced. Used incorrectly, that would leave the animals sick once the potions wore off, which would have the merchants pestering the healers. Grumbling a little about it, he headed back to the Death Eagles' area.
He frowned when he got there. A small two-person tent had joined the assortment, and at six meters distance was far too close to his own tent for his liking.
"That's Drysia's new tent," Kaada offered helpfully as he popped up, staying just out of reach of Elmerin's elbow. "She asked if she could hang out here, since most of the existing campsites are filling up pretty fast."
Apparently merchants weren't the only ones hurrying out here. "Alex isn't worried about Cothmore coming calling?" While the danger now was minimal, due to the distance and the guild holding the only means of fast communication with Cothmore City, in coming days Lisko would be hearing a lot that would truly infuriate him.
"The current order from Elis is to let the royal guard know if anyone from Cothmore shows up, especially if it's someone like Doscel or a ranking servant." Kaada smiled brightly. "Apparently the royals are very interested in talking to the Cothmore people, besides Lisko himself."
The 'innocent' grin looked out of place on Kaada. "I bet Lisko will think he can cover this up regardless."
"No bets." Kaada looked around shiftily. "You know what I heard? They're currently trying to keep a lid on it so any spies don't know."
"What?" Elmerin headed toward his tent.
"They found where the Lustvines were being farmed. And-" he glanced around and lowered his voice "-there's this really heavily barred door right by there. Magic guard markings and everything. They're trying to open it, but they have to disable the magical traps first."
"Wait, the door's intact?" Elmerin ran over the images in his head. "Didn't the Lustvines break it down?"
Kaada shrugged. "Guess they didn't have time. They were tangling with you and Drysia, messing with the Red Dragons, and then they got shredded by Epic and Daylight."
"By Kalshi…" The mild oath was somewhat muffled as Elmerin rubbed his left eye. "Kaada, there's slaves behind that door. They're bound by illegal obedience tattoos, they can't escape on their own. Go, tell Rammeld or Elis, they have to get that door open quickly. And there's physical traps as well as the magical ones -poison needles at the least."
Kaada stood back and studied Elmerin. "Well, you do still look like shit. Get yourself some rest. Kres is off with Reeka -she's showing him how to fletch arrows, last I saw. Be back whenever!" Kaada waved over his shoulder at Elmerin and trotted off.
His hand still to his face, his eyes closed, the images crowded his mind.
The door, toppled and broken.
Lustvine females among the slaves.
The slaves, dead or dying, as the Lustvine viticula struggled their way out of the victims.
Two adventurers accidentally brushing against parts of the door and setting off the poison needles before they'd realized they were there.
A touch to his arm brought him back to the present.
"Looks like a hell of a vision." Drysia's touch on his arm was gentle. "You back?"
He jerked away from her. "I am. Just thinking about things changing."
Drysia's eyes narrowed as she studied his face, looking unaccountably irritated. "Are you still up to doing my back?"
"I'm fine. Let's get that done." Motioning for her to follow him, he strode off to his tent without waiting.
Inside, Drysia pointed to the pattern on the walls where they met the ceiling. "I've been meaning to ask, isn't that the sideways-eight symbol of the Edwards?"
"It's a Mobius strip. And yes, they put that on all their stuff."
"How much did this tent cost?"
"I got a deal. Are we doing this or not?"
"Fine." She tilted her head flirtatiously. "Do I get a look at your bedroom this time?"
"Pull your shirt up -do not take it off- and lay down here." Elmerin pointed to the pile of cushions and floor mats to the right of the door.
Drysia eyed him, frowning, before doing as he said. Elmerin knelt beside her, his knees a good three centimeters from her rib cage. He closed his eyes.
I call upon Telif and Terla
A false oath has been sworn
Has been forced upon this child
Geir and Khedia
I call to you
I ask your aid
To remove the forged pledge
In all your names, Cleanse!
He directed his mana carefully. Unlike healing, cleanse removed anything that it saw as dirt or grime. This could wind up cleaning the surrounding part of the body of waste, knocking the person's metabolic functions for a loop. Not understanding that or how troublesome it could be, or even understanding such functions were a thing, were why a lot of mages couldn't clear tattoos even if they were technically qualified.
At about a quarter of the tattoo being cleared, Kres came in. "What are you doing?" he asked warily, peering at both of them.
Elmerin stopped casting. Small wonder the boy was suspicious. This would be a very strange spectacle to anyone in the guild. "Drysia has a problem with her back. I'm fixing it." Trying to divert, "why are you here?"
"Riyo wants to teach me some spells that work better at night. But it'll be late, so she wants to know if I can stay over at her tent." He held out a note and came over, then looked down at Drysia's back. "Is that the magic mark?"
Drysia started. Elmerin sat back on his heels. "What?"
Kres looked up, concentrating as he tried to remember. "When I was in the village, Granny Agnes and Videl and Girun would have fights when I was supposed to be asleep. Or when they thought I wasn't around. Girun would yell that the magic mark on Drysia wasn't working. Granny Agnes and Videl would yell back that they only had a sketch of Sara-lee's tattoo, and that Girun should have paid for someone who knew what they were doing instead of being cheap."
"Sarali was my great-grandmother," Drysia said softly.
Granny Agnes had been the Tow village's herb and midwife. Videl had been the priest, returned there in his old age. Girun had been the headman. Elmerin felt the mother of all headaches coming on and cast a small Heal.
Kres was looking at Drysia suspiciously. He didn't remember ever hearing a word from her that wasn't sharp or acidic.
"It probably is what they were talking about," Elmerin said. "Drysia doesn't want anyone else to know about this. I'm removing it, and I'd like for you not to tell anyone she ever had it."
The boy tilted his head to the side, thinking. He crouched down by Drysia's arm. "Why are you so mean to me?"
Elmerin, unfolding the note Kres had brought, froze.
The blond adventurer wanted to tell Kres off, but figured that this was a great chance to lessen Elmerin's hostility.
"I'm a messed-up person.
"I'm a messed-up person who's had a messed-up life. I should never have been a mother in the first place." Drysia had her head buried in her arms, so neither could see her expression. "You're better off with Elmerin. Falchan's already signed you over. I'll do it when I get what I want." Oops, that might have been a bit too blatant.
Kres looked at Elmerin. "He didn't take it back?"
"No." Elmerin shook his head. "Today I showed Rammeld the paperwork. He's going to make sure it's filed in a way the Cothmores can't take back. You're stuck with me." He caught the small body as Kres dodged around Drysia and grabbed him in a hug. "Forever, at that."
"Oh, um." Kres pulled away and pretended he wasn't wiping his eyes; Elmerin looked at the note, pretending not to see.
"You can stay with Riyo tonight. Behave for her and the others, and tell Reefka I said she is not to buy you more sweets."
The boy flushed and hid his sticky hands behind his back. Elmerin gently put his hand on the boy's head.
"
As Kres left, Elmerin got back to work.
*******
People in this chapter:
Elmerin
Kaada
Drysia
Kres
Items, magic:
Guard markings: Pentagrams and other inscriptions. There are Defense, Warn, Warding, Strengthening, Shock, and Pain types, among others. Usually draw mana from the environment or embedded magical items such as stones or crystals.
Magical traps: These can be regular traps with a magic trigger or other flair, or spells or enchantments set to go off when triggered. The spell types are usually set in place via inscriptions or glyphs. They can draw mana from the environment or via magical items such as stones or crystals.
Deities mentioned in this chapter:
Kalshi: Of Dark, goddess of torment and pain.
Note:
Viticula is a name for baby/young vines