Elf-Made Man

It was almost Sevennight, and Summer was wearing her favorite red dress, while playing the crowd like a fiddle. She enjoyed the attention, but more, she enjoyed the challenge—juggling different groups of people, avoiding conflicts (or causing them when needed), orchestrating dinner, drinks and entertainment for all the working people of the town with extra coin, keeping her ear out for news and her eye out for talent. There were always a few new faces, enough to threaten to disturb social balances and call for her skills.

The mood was darker than usual; this week, things had gotten progressively worse. There was something wrong with the guard, but they weren't talking. She had tried to investigate, but broke off when her instincts told her to. She wasn't sure what would have happened if she had gotten dragged into the Guardhouse, but she was confident that she didn't want to find out.

She cut the price of dinner for the evening to see if that cheered up the mood of the crowd, and it seemed to help a little, but a lot of people were calling it the only good thing to happen that week. Everyone was irritable and on edge. Four people had been brought to the Temple that day after encounters with the guard, and apparently the Temple was short-staffed for healing for some reason, which certainly didn't help.

Not long before sunset, one of the street urchins came running in the front door. Piper's yellow mop of hair was more ruly and kempt than usual; she must have taken a bath recently. The girl made a beeline for Summer, and she frowned. Delivering a message to someone in the tavern was one thing, but for their usual business, she was supposed to use the back entrance.

"Piper, you should go in the back door."

The girl shook her head vigorously. "Not today! I have a really important message for you."

She crouched down to be close to eye level with her. "What is it?"

Piper shook her head again. "It's secret stuff. We gotta do it in private."

Summer raised an eyebrow, and Piper reacted to the imminent scolding by crouching down and taking off her shoe, of all things. But then the girl straightened up and revealed a half-gold piece in her palm, before closing her first quickly. "Someone needs your help."

Summer felt both eyebrows go up, and her soul started whirring with speculation. "Come with me." She straightened, turned and signaled Valner that she was going to her office for a moment. The bartender nodded, and she strode swiftly towards the door in the back. With the ease of long practice she dodged the cooks and barmaids and turned down the short corridor that held her office.

The moment she opened the door, she went to look for Piper, but the girl had darted through the opening the moment it was large enough and jumped up into one of the visitors' chairs just as if she were a regular client, instead of an urchin who occasionally swept the floors for a few coppers. Well, something has her feeling confident. Playing along, Summer swept behind her desk and sat down.

"All right, Piper, what's this all about? Who hired you?"

"The elves."

"Not Tom Walker?"

"No, Miss."

He gives the elves that kind of spending money? Or they're raiding their master's purse. "And what is the message?"

"They need you to find someone to go rescue him. The half-gold is for you, and they said they'll pay a gold to the people who do the job."

"Rescue Tom Walker? Where is he?"

"He's in the jail, Miss."

Interesting. "And why is he there?"

"I dunno. But he's scared and the elves want him out of the jail tonight. They can't go out because people will attack them."

"Just out of the jail?"

"They also gotta bring him to the Temple. They said that's really important."

Sanctuary? Wrongful imprisonment? Does he need time to appeal to higher authority?

"All right, anything else?"

"Well..." Piper suddenly looked reluctant.

"Piper, what else did they say?"

"Nothing! It's just..." The girl heaved a dramatic sigh. "Fine." She reached into her tunic and pulled out a necklace, which she removed and placed on the table. "They didn't say so, but whoever does the job probably needs one of these."

Curious, Summer reached for it and lifted it up, turning it to catch the light. She stared at it and blinked twice.

It was an Amulet of Protection from Demons.

Oh, shit.

Summer's soul raced. There was the Temple's odd declaration of an unscheduled holy holiday and their attempt to buy up nearly all the food in town for a day, serving the food inside the Temple instead of out on the plaza, which would have made more sense. The sudden, irrational anger of the town guards—all the guards. And she'd heard that a couple of people had paid Grangus Steelfire a visit. The slight evasiveness she had picked up from Tom Walker. The difficulty getting healing spells at the Temple the past couple of days. And now, Piper had an Amulet of Protection from Demons.

Shit. Why didn't Philip—? She caught herself, wincing inwardly. Why didn't Sesca warn me?

Summer schooled her face to show nothing, and focused on the child in front of her."Where did you get this, Piper?"

The child was a hard worker and a talented pickpocket, but her acting skills left much to be desired. Summer only had to wait a few moments before the girl gave up and said, "I got it from the elves. They were all wearing them, and they had a box of them, so I...borrowed one."

"Do you know what this is?"

Piper shook her head, biting her lip. "Something to protect you from something?"

"That it is." The child had excellent instincts. Summer considered, then pushed it back to her. "You should keep wearing that. I know where to get my own." The Temple must be producing them frantically, and I can...extract one or more for my needs. She considered the challenge of the job, and the reward. There really wasn't any choice, though.

"I'll see to it. The job will get done. You can tell the elves that."

Piper hopped down at once. "Great! Thanks, Miss Daring! I have to hurry up and do the other two things."

"What other two things?" Summer asked, and the girl froze. She could practically see the child thinking, I shouldn't have said that.

"I need to go warn somebody, and then I need to go get something." Nicely vague, girl.

"Better get going then, it's almost sunset." Much as she wanted to know more about Piper's errands, she could always just ask the elves when she went to collect payment. It was going to be a busy evening. Summer felt her heart beating a bit faster, and despite the seriousness of the situation, she couldn't help but smile a little.

Let's see...Kyle would be good, and he'll probably bring Warren and Miles...

∘ ⛥ ⛯ ⛥ ∘

Still in her red dress, Summer covered the short walk to the Temple in a few minutes. She was quickly shown to an office after making it clear that she needed a brief but urgent meeting. She was a notable enough person in town that she didn't expect to be kept waiting long, and she was right. Only a minute later, Camilla Deepwell walked in and sat at once.

"Hello, Summer. What can I help you with?"

"I need to borrow two Amulets of Protection from Demons."

Camilla froze. "Where did you—?"

"I have my sources, and no, it's not common knowledge yet. You must be extremely busy. Two amulets, and I'll be out of your hair."

"Dare I ask?"

"Better you don't know."

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Camilla shook her head. "You're going to get caught one day."

"Only if I want to," Summer answered with a grin. "Besides," she laid one hand on her chest and declared innocently, "All I do is help people talk to each other."

"Uh-huh." Camilla sighed. "Wait here."

She left quickly, and returned before Summer had time to get impatient. The Priestess drew two amulets from a pouch and handed them over.

"Thank you."

"Be careful, Summer."

"Always."

∘ ⛥ ⛯ ⛥ ∘

Summer put in enough appearances to keep the Wandering Ax running smoothly, but delegated a fair bit to her better-trained staff. She checked over gear, and went over and crouched down at Kyle's table where he was drinking with friends. The view down her dress helped draw his attention, and once she'd given him an eyeful she covered herself with one hand, pretending modesty while letting him think he was getting more glimpses "accidentally."

"How would you like to make a few silver tonight?" she asked him quietly.

"What do you need?" Kyle asked with a grin he probably thought was mysterious and clever.

"I'd like to see a little fun get out of hand along the east end of Crafter's Row in an hour or so."

"Oh?"

"Three silver each, for you and some friends to start some roughhousing, enough to get people to call the guard on you."

"Five silver."

"Four."

"Done! I'll bring a few guys. What do you want to happen when the guard show up?"

"Don't kill anybody, but the longer and the more of them you keep busy, the better."

"In an hour?"

"Or thereabouts." Summer passed him ten silver. "Half in advance. I'll take the rest off your tabs."

"Done. Who are we helping?"

"You don't need to know that, Kyle. I just pass the word." Summer paused. "I can tell you, you're helping the good guys this time." She gave him a wink and stood up, surveying the room before going back to her rounds for a bit.

∘ ⛥ ⛯ ⛥ ∘

Summer slipped away to her office and locked the door, flipping the little magic timepiece on her desk. Then, she took off her dress and hung it carefully on a hook for later. She paused a moment to finger the fabric sadly. Philip, you old scoundrel, I'll miss your work.

She opened a trunk, and started putting on her gear. First, a wrap to conceal her bust. Then, the black leathers. Next, she carefully confined her striking golden hair beneath a cap set firmly in place. The weapons followed; she checked each of them carefully before tucking them away about her person. An amulet's cord went around her neck. Finally, her black and gray mask, tied carefully, and Daring was ready.

She checked the timepiece. Eight minutes. I'm out of practice. She shook her head in mild disappointment, then doused the light in her office. She opened the shutters and climbed out the window, closing the shutters again behind her, all silently.

What would Daring do? she thought with a hidden grin. She set out about her night's business.

A lot of the rooftops in town were unsafe to walk on. Others were stable, but noisy. The safe pathways were few and Daring used them sparingly, but sometimes they were the best option to travel unobserved.

She froze when she spotted a hint of motion along another rooftop, one that she wouldn't dare climb herself except in direst need. The dark figure was small, and they were picking their way slowly across a roof that likely wouldn't hold Daring's weight. They gave no sign that they had seen her, so, after a couple of minutes of watching, she moved on, leaving the other to their business.

She reached a good vantage point and settled down to wait. It seemed to take longer than it should have, but eventually she heard the whistles of the guards on patrol calling for reinforcements. She watched as four guards somewhat lazily walked out of the Guardhouse and broke into a rough jog, heading north towards Crafter's Row.

Two on patrol, one at the gate, two at the Keep, and four reinforcements. Three left, including Captain Forester.

She dropped almost silently to the ground, crouching to absorb the landing. Gliding over to the rear wall of the Guardhouse, she listened below the window slit. She heard nothing. She shifted to take position just around the corner from the entrance.

Daring pulled out a trick kerchief, twirled it in her hand, and let fly. It struck the post holding a rock light, and the black cloth wrapped tightly around it, dousing the light. A second kerchief smothered the other light, and the entrance to the Guardhouse was plunged into relative darkness. She silently mimed clicking her tongue. Sloppy. I almost missed the second one.

She walked up to the door, pulled it open slightly, and tossed in her next trick, closing the door quickly. She heard the muffled whump of an alchemical burst, and then a yell. Those are expensive, she groused. She counted to three, took a deep breath, then yanked open the door and darted inside, blowpipe already rising to her lips.

The guard on night duty was Kigran. She aimed at his neck and fired a dart. He was already moving, and she caught his cheek instead. She wanted to curse; it would take a few extra seconds for him to lose consciousness that way. She dodged his first swing, lifting the keys from his belt at the same time.

With a quick burst of speed, she dashed down the hall to the cells. She saw Tom Walker right away; he was rising from a prayer position, looking curious. Without saying a word, she threw the keys at him. Gods bless the boy, he didn't shout any questions, and almost immediately rushed to pick them up.

Meanwhile Daring spun around the corner, drawing her twin batons as she did so. She coiled herself to strike, and waited, listening to the charging footsteps behind her. Taking the gamble, she jumped into a kick, aiming for where Kigran's knee should be when she got there.

She guessed right, and the guard stumbled when his leg didn't do what he expected, while Daring recoiled and landed neatly on her feet, lunging forward at once with batons swinging. The hard raps on his skull were only meant to stun him for a moment. Kigran staggered, and she danced back out of his reach when he tried to grab her. Any time soon would be good...

Kigran sank to his knees, then fell forward. She kicked him lightly on his way down so that he wouldn't land directly on his face. Good night.

With singleminded focus, Tom was trying keys on the lock until one went in and turned with a clank. He shoved the door open. Daring pulled out the second amulet and threw it at his chest. He caught it, looked at it, and then quickly put it on, eyeing her. She held up three gloved fingers, glanced down at Kigran's unconscious body, and lowered one finger.

Tom nodded, flexed his fingers and made fists. He stepped out of the cell, then looked to her for direction. She gestured for him to go first. The young man charged up the hall towards the front desk area, and was already trading blows with another guard before she even got there, close on his heels.

Some people are a pleasure to work with, Daring mused.

She loaded another dart carefully and took a breath before entering the lobby. Captain Forester would be around here some—

Her body arched as she yanked her head to the side, the crossbow bolt whistling past her cheek. Her soul was aflame with excitement at the near miss, and she smiled. This is when I feel alive. She was about to shoot a dart at Forester, but sensed that the man would be able to block or dodge. Instead she cut in on the dance between the grappling men and shot the guard in the neck at point-blank range. Daring bolted for the door to the street, curious to see whether Tom would have the wit to follow quickly. She reached for the door handle, and flinched.

Ice and Fire! she swore.

The Captain had slammed the bar on the door. How is he so fast!? She rapped her batons for attention, then pointed one at the man. Forester drew sword and dagger in a flash and advanced on her. Their weapons blurred together, making a loud staccato beat as her instincts moved faster than she could think.

In two heartbeats it was obvious. I'm outclassed. I knew he was good, but his speed in inhuman! It took both batons to hold the sword at bay even for a moment, leaving the dagger against her armor and reflexes.

"DOWN!" Tom yelled behind her.

Daring dropped, accepting the slash on her arm and hoping it was worth it. The bar for the door sailed through the space she had just occupied and hit the guard Captain cross-wise on the temple. He had ducked just as quickly as she had—which was absurdly fast—but he was taller. His head rolled back to soften the impact, and he didn't lose consciousness, unfortunately.

Daring took the chance to disengage, leaping backward to stand beside Tom, who was shoving the door to the street open.

"I'll hurt your women before I take them!" Forester roared.

Tom hesitated for an instant, but Daring shoved him outside, and the big man let her. Outside, she skidded on a patch of sand for a step, then got her feet under her and sprang forward into a sprint, south past Market, heading for the turn onto Temple Road. She ran a block before risking a glimpse back.

She was faster than both of the men, but Forester was gaining on Tom Walker. Damn it, how do these amulets work? He didn't touch me. Is that because he couldn't or wouldn't? She considered turning and fighting, but honestly thought that Forester would win, even against both of them, even if he couldn't lay hands on them. She considered tricks for slowing Forester down.

Daring kept running until she was sure Forester would catch Tom before either reached her current position. She skidded and slid to a halt, working clasps on her belt frantically. In a moment her next weapon was in hand, and she started it spinning as she ran to the side, hoping to get a shot at Forester's legs without catching Tom's.

She whistled and threw. Tom dodged at once without looking, and due to positioning, Forester jumped and let the bola pass under him. She had aimed to create space between the men, but instead, Walker stepped closer, and his arm became a blur. There was a loud crack.

It would have been a knockout punch if Forester hadn't blocked, but he did, crossing his arms to take the blow rather than try and fail to parry it with his weapons. He could have hurt Walker badly or even killed him, but the price would have been getting struck unconscious. Still, without contact with the ground, the Guard Captain had his feet taken out from under him, landing on his back.

Tom didn't press the attack, thank the gods, and resumed running towards her. She let him pass her before following. They ran all the way to the corner of Temple Road. After watching Tom swing wide to take the turn at speed, Daring threw a small jar at the spot where he leaned the farthest. It shattered on the cobblestone, splashing oil over the ground, still out of view from their pursuer.

Then she put on a burst of speed to take the lead again. A few moments later, a loud thud behind them made her glance back. Captain Forester had slammed against the closest building pretty hard when his foot slipped. Grinning behind her mask, she turned to watch Tom.

He was wheezing like a bellows, but hadn't slowed much yet. Unfortunately, the Temple was at the top of a small hill, and even her legs were feeling it a little by the time they approached the plaza. Daring pointed at the Temple with a baton as she ran, checking to see that he understood, before letting him get ahead of her again.

If I have to stop to slow Forester down, keep going. The job was to get Tom Walker to the Temple. After all this, she hoped the man would have the will to cross the threshold.

She heard Forester blowing his guard whistle, calling for reinforcements. He knows where his men are, and didn't waste his breath until he was in range. Then she saw motion ahead, off to one side. He has more people in town who will answer his whistle than just the guards, she realized.

A dark figure was crossing the plaza, moving to cut Tom off or tackle him. Wishing she still had her bola, Daring hefted one baton and hurled it at the figure's legs. She knew as soon as she released that it would miss, and hurled the other after it. This one struck true, and the attacker tripped and sprawled in the dirt before reaching Tom.

"STOP! IN THE BARON'S NAME!" Forester bellowed.

He knows he can't catch him in time without help. Seeing that Tom was clear, she focused on keeping ahead of the guard Captain, and as Tom ran up the steps to the Temple entrance, she was right on his heels.