NOVEL NEXT Sacrifice – Chapter 17: A Treacherous Road
Twirling through the air with a smile on her face, Aperio flew eastwards. It did not take her long to find the road Ira and the others would be travelling on, the cobblestone parting the sea of green easy to spot. She flew higher this time, up past the lower puffy clouds and into the higher layers of white that blanketed the world. Dipping joyously in and out of the upper edges of the clouds, she gave no thought to the droplets of water that clung to her form. The air was thin this high up, but Aperio did not find herself struggling for breath. The sense of joy that flying brought almost allowed her to forget her questions and the inevitable confrontation with the nobles in Ebenlowe. Not that she feared them.
She was not completely certain that she would be able to beat them in a fight, but everything she had seen thus far led her to believe that she would do fine. Maybe I should ask Laelia to fight me? The woman did want to fight her and a friendly bout would probably not be something she would reject. That would, however, require Aperio to actually ask. Ignoring the disgust and simple sensation of wrong when asking questions was a lot harder to overcome than the one that told her catching swords and breaking walls was fine, completely normal. For her, at least.
The sound of hooves clattering against stone directed her attention downwards. Below her she was able to spot a carriage moving at a steady pace along the road, and sitting on the drivers seat were Ira and Laelia. Just Thaddeus inside then? It did not really matter who drove and who was inside, Aperio had simply not expected the old man to be the one actually doing it.
The mere fact that she could see them from her position just below the clouds brought her back to her time awakening in the Void; there she could also see the tiny orbs Gods-know how far away. I have wings, magic and can break walls with my fist now. Why not have eyes that don't care about distance? While the changes did make her question if she was actually still herself, they were remained welcome. Anything that ensured her freedom would be.
Not quite wanting to fly down just yet, she followed the carriage until the sun was rising once again. Aperio simply did not know what to do when she joined them. Asking them more questions seemed like the best thing but, judging by who sat where, the only one she could reasonably sit and talk to was Thaddeus. Last time she had tried that, it had not turned out so well. There was also the fact that she might have injured the man, which she didn't quite know how to process. On the one hand, she did not feel anything for the man. No pity. No remorse. Nothing.
She did not really care about them, not past the fact that they could provide information for her, anyway. Most of her interactions with their kind were ...less than pleasant. Viewing these Humans as people who did not want to cause her harm was harder than she thought. On the other hand, she did want their help and wanted to avoid appearing as cold-hearted. Though I probably am. That her voice caused them discomfort or even pain was certainly not helping her image. They probably think I do it on purpose as well.
With a sigh she swooped down. For now they were her only source of information.
She was closeing in on the carriage when she noticed the tell-tale shimmer of blade in the thick of the woods. She stopped her descent to take a closer look. Hidden behind the trees she could see a few Humans in various armours, mostly leather and chain mail. Members of their party? While Aperio did want more contact with people – hopefully her own kind as well – she most certainly did not trust any random one she would meet. For all she knew the ones hiding could have been planted by Ira to attack her when she joined them. Not that he would know when I would do that. She decided to observe first; the way the two groups of Humans interacted would hopefully give her enough information.
Once the carriage had passed a few of the hidden Humans, one of the ones wearing chain mail stepped out onto the road. Aperio could already see Laelia standing up and putting on her helmet. Not their friends then? Aperio considered going down to intervene. None of the Humans looked stronger than the mages – not that that meant much – but she decided to see how the paladin would fare.
Maybe if she loses hard? They did help me after all. Having them die at the hands of what she now assumed to be bandits after they had helped her felt almost as wrong as asking questions. What is up with that?While she could see them in more detail than she had ever thought possible, Aperio could not hear a single word they said. Not that she needed to, the way the hidden Humans moved were enough of a hint to proove her assumption. Laelia grabbing a spear from somewhere on the carriage and jumping down just confirmed it.
The speed of the paladin surprised Aperio, but so did her ability to follow the movement. Not that it should, she was able see the world perfectly fine when dashing around at ludicrous speeds after all. The bandit on the other hand seemed to be surprised as he was quickly dispatched by the charging paladin with a stab to his heart. So his armour was useless? She made a mental note to try to get her hand on that spear later if she could. Maybe it would be capable of cutting her skin.
Another bandit was dispatched when Laelia threw her spear into the forest, nailing him to a tree. Only after two of their men had already died did the others spring into action. A burning arrow was shot at the carriage but harmlessly impacted a shimmering blue barrier that had formed around it. Taking a quick look at the driver's seat confirmed Aperio's suspicion; Ira stood there staff in hand, eyes closed, mumbling something. It didn't look complicated, but neither had light magic. I wonder if I can do that. Then again, do I even need to learn it?
Her attention went back to the paladin as she engaged two of the leather-clad bandits. The way the woman took a half-step to the side or simply leaned one way or another to dodge her two assailants was mesmerising. Aperio knew their movements to be fast, she could see the others moving at a more normal pace after all, but they still seemed slow to her. Almost sluggish. The same had happened when the mage had thrown a fireball at her, almost like time had slowed down just so she could step aside. She knew now that it wasn't time slowing down but rather her going faster than anyone should be able to.
A smile graced Aperio's face as she saw Laelia swatting an arrow out of the air before taking care of the last bandit attacking her. Before the corpse hit the ground the paladin was already on her way to the archer that had dared to shoot at her. The woman dropped her bow and stumbled backwards as Laelia's armoured form appeared before her. If Aperio had not seen her actually move, she would have thought the woman to have teleported.
Instead of killing the archer, Laelia dragged her back to the carriage where Ira had, to her surprise, bound the other two bandits. The fight of the paladin had been too entertaining and thus she had missed how he had captured them. I really should ask her for a fight. Though losing to the woman would be ...disgusting, she did not feel like that would happen. If anything I will misjudge my strength and injure her. Though, that would offer the opportunity to try and heal someone.
Shaking her head she started to descend again; if the opportunity arose she would gladly take it. For now Aperio was very interested as to why these people would want to attack their own.
The two friendly Humans were already questioning the surviving bandits when she let herself fall to the ground again. Sadly, she still couldn't understand a word of what they said. Her rather violent landing did, however, attract the attention of everyone around. A flicker of hope shot through the eyes of the tied up bandits, but that was quickly crushed when Aperio approached Ira.
"Why did they attack you?" Her voice was barely audible, an attempt to make it more bearable for the people in front of her.
A snort from Laelia caused Aperio to tilt her head. Was that a stupid question? She hadn't felt the sense of wrong when asking this one, but it seemed that she should really not trust that feeling.
Ira made a gesture Aperio did not quite understand, but caused the paladin to continue her questioning before he turned his attention to the Elf. "I cannot claim to know what your experience with banditry is, but here it is quite common for people of the same race to attack one another." He hesitated for a moment before he continued. "Most of the time all they want is money, but sometimes they are hired to remove ...unwanted people."
Aperio did not answer his implied question, as she had no experience with bandits. All she knew about them was what some of the guards had talked about while she was around and they rarely mentioned what race they belonged to. What she did know was that most of the caught bandits would end up as slaves, though not in the palace.
"What will happen to them now?"
This time Laelia spoke before the old man had the chance. "Take to city, judged by [Judicator]."
"Is that the same one Ira will report the death of the slaver to?" Aperio's voice had turned cold and one of the bandits looked at her with fear in his eyes. Does he understand me? Focusing her gaze on the man caused him to shiver, trying to make himself as small as he could.
Apparently recovered from her vocal assault, Ira responded. "No, the [Grandmaster] will be the one I report to. A [Judicator] from the guard or one of the churches will take care of these people. We just have to take them there."
"That does not tell me what will happen to them."
Ira paled, gripping his staff tighter. "It will depend on the crimes they have committed in the past. They might be imprisoned, or executed."
He looked at her apprehensively, almost like he expected her to be angry at his reply. Aperio's head tilted as she considered his reply. She had no reason to be angry. Human affairs were not hers to meddle in, as long as they did not try to limit her freedom that is. She just wanted to know what would happen to criminals. The Empire simply killed or threw a collar on people they deemed to have broken the law.
"Will you take them the entire way to Ebenlowe?" Won't they need another six days to reach it? To her pleasant surprise the feeling of wrong had not made an appearance after her question. Did it learn that it is useless?
"No," Ira said shaking his head. "Laelia will take them back to the Village and they will take care of it."
At the mention of her name, the paladin turned around, immediately asking the old mage something in their annoying gibberish. I really need to learn that. Their unintelligible conversation grew in intensity, Laelia seeming to take an unwavering stance that Ira was trying to placate, until Aperio could stand it no longer. Taking a step forward caught the attention of the two arguing Humans. "What is her problem?"
At her question, the two turned to face her. Much like the time she had met the two, Laelia seemed instantly prepared for battle. Aperio cocked her head to the side. "Does she want to fight?"
Ira seemed unable to find words for his answer, paling as the two woman continued to stare at one another. Aperio wouldn't say no to a fight with the paladin. Having seen her take care of the bandits had made the idea of a skirmish all the more appealing. It was awfully close to what she had felt when she imagined taking on the house of the noble that had dared to try and enslave her. Why does the thought of a fight seem so exciting?
"Please, she means no ill will. Do not kill her." The old man's voice was shaky, his knuckles white from the strong grip he had on his staff.
Kill her? She wanted to fight the paladin. To know how strong she was, not to kill her. The deaths of the two mages may have been quite intentional, but the way she had achieved those goals was not. Accidentally having something similar happen to the feisty paladin was not something she wanted. The more Aperio considered the woman, the more she seemed to intrigue her. It was strangely interesting that she was always ready to fight, even when it was clear that she feared her opponent. At least, she assumed the quickened breathing of the paladin to be fear. It could be anticipation as well.
Laelia shifted her weight, taking what Aperio assumed to be a stance to better engage her. Aperio looked back at the old mage. "I do not want to kill her." The man was visibly relieved, but tensed right back up when Aperio continued. "I would like to fight her, but I want to talk to your [Grandmaster] first." And not accidentally kill her.
Ira said something to Laelia in their language, his voice still shaky. The woman loosened her grip on her sword and turned to the bound Humans. Once all of them were back on their feet, the paladin started to walk away from the carriage. I don't understand her. When Aperio turned her attention back towards Ira, she saw him holding his breath. The old mage seemed almost desperate, ready to drop to his knees in order to beg her forgiveness. Am I that scary?
Aperio heaved a sigh. She thought she had handled this well, but that was apparently not the case. "Can we continue?"
The question seemed to rip Ira out of his stupor as he hastily bowed and opened the door to the carriage. "Yes, of course."
Stepping inside, Aperio laid her eyes on a very pale Thaddeus. The old man’s apprentice stared at her, seeming almost too afraid to even blink. She did her best to ignore the young man's shaky breathing, as well as the groan of the seat as she sat down rigidly straight to avoid squashing her wings. Her attention slowly sank to her hand as she unconsciously began to slowly open and close it.
That scary?