• Published 2nd Jun 2015
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The Dusk Guard Saga: Beyond the Borderlands - Viking ZX



Blade Sunchaser is a griffon on the run. Six days ago she was in a jail cell. Now, she's out, and she’s got a job to do, a job with a payoff bigger than any she’s earned before. And she'll do whatever it takes to see her mission through.

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Chapter 4 - Wanderer

Ruffian’s Wharf

For a split second, time seemed to slow around Blade as the minotaur's warhammer descended, his command to attack still echoing around the small home. She could feel her breath in her chest, every muscle in her wings, even each feather on her neck twitching as her senses narrowed, zeroing in on every detail she could see. The minotaur’s straining tendons, the eager looks on the faces of the ponies behind him … the weapons held in their mouths and hooves. Then everything exploded into motion, the Bloodhooves letting out a loud cheer as their leader’s hammer slammed into the side of Hain’s couch, crushing the arm and cracking the wood into splinters.

But Hain was already on the move, his wings sweeping forward and launching him back, away from the melee. Blade didn’t give him a second look. She was already leaping forward, the couch sliding back beneath her as she slammed into the minotaur's chest, raking his exposed chest with her talons. Her dull, trimmed talons.

Blasted—! The minotaur’s arm caught her in the side, knocking her off his chest, and she flared her wings as the first of his followers swept through the doorway behind him. Never trimming my talons ever again, she thought as the minotaur stepped forward, swinging his hammer in a lazy, lateral motion. She ducked under the blow, bunching her wings and limbs close to her body before diving forward once more towards him.

He saw her coming, her dull talons extended, and laughed, not even bothering to shield himself with his arm. Her first strike glanced harmlessly off of his tough hide. A minotaur’s skin was tough enough against a sharp blade, and her strikes hadn’t even left marks. He began to laugh again—only to let out a scream of pain as she drove her other talons into his right eye. There was a faint popping sensation beneath her blow, and then she jumped back, ichor streaming from her claws as her opponent stumbled backwards over his own teammates, clutching his head with one free hand.

Serves you right, Blade though as she landed in front of the kitchen. Taking me on claw to claw. The ponies that had followed the minotaur in seemed stunned by the sudden wounding of their commander, their eyes glancing between her and the still screaming minotaur. They didn’t seem shocked though. If anything, they looked … angry.

With another roar, the ponies began to stream into the room, blades of all shapes and sizes held high as they began to spread themselves across the floor, forming a ring around her.

“Seriously, guys,” she said as one of them lifted his hoof, which had a sort of curved, razor-edged blade wrapped around it. “Your buddies in the bar started that fight.” The pony grinned and darted toward her, several more of his buddies closing in around her.

“Right.” She shot upward, her wings and rear legs carrying her over the heads of her attackers and bringing her down behind them. A blade stabbed out at her and she rolled her body to one side, flaring her wing to conceal the motion until her attacker’s blade had already met air. The pony’s jaw slammed shut as she brought her fist up in a quick uppercut, hard enough that she could hear the clack of his teeth as they ground together.

Another blade was coming for her, and then another. A pegasus had taken to the air, waiting just outside of the fight’s range in case she tried to escape. As she countered another attack, ripping a club free of a pony’s grip and flipping it an ally’s head, a grey bundle of fury descended on the airborne pegasus. The pony fell from the air as Hain’s claws cut into him, his talons flashing in the lamplight.

“Yaaaah!”

Blade looked up and then ducked to her side, shouldering an oncoming pony out of the way as the minotaur she’d wounded charged back into the fray, his warhammer cracking the floorboards where she’d just been standing. She lashed out with one rear leg, catching an attacking pony in the elbow and sending him stumbling to the ground, then jumped back into the opening she’d made as the minotaur lifted his warhammer again.

“Nice to see you again,” she said, dodging to the side as the brute’s massive hammer swept towards her once more, crashing into the backrest of one of the couches and tipping it over backwards from the force of the impact. “Having a little trouble with your aim?”

He let out another almost deafening bellow, the floor vibrating with the force of the roar, and then stepped forward. More ponies were pushing through the door, and the ones she’d knocked aside were getting up once more. I can’t let them push me back into the kitchen, she thought as she stepped to the side, the warhammer missing her by a good several inches. Pain flared along her side, and she lashed out with one set of claws, forcing an earth pony with a bloodied knife to fall back. If get in the kitchen I can’t lift off and can’t maneuver. And then it’s going to be over.

“Ennius!” Hain’s loud cry cut through the room as another hammer blow came at her, smashing into what was left of the other couch and breaking it apart. She could see the minotaur’s muscles starting to swell, his body bulking as he swung again. Blood was running down his face from the mess, painting hard to see tracks on his red pelt.

“Ennius!” Hain called again from somewhere above. “What are you doing—”

“Save it, you old windbag!” the minotaur shouted back even as he swung the hammer again. “You’ve been a blight on this town long enough. You should have joined your cowardly friends in their eyrie so you could at least die with them, but you’ve had your warnings!” He swung the hammer again, his shoulders swelling as his innate magic reacted to the fight. Without some sort of offensive magic fueling the battle rage, he wouldn’t be much tougher, but he’d still be harder to kill.

“Last chance, Ennius,” Hain called from the loft. The ponies pulled back, giving her a moment to breathe, and Blade ran her eyes over the crowd, gauging the number of attackers against her own capacity.

In a straight fight with some space, I’d have a better chance, she thought. But there’s at least a dozen of them plus the minotaur. This close, all it takes is a lucky blow, and they’re close enough they’d get it. She glanced at her side, eying the thin, red line of blood that was soaking through her coat. This isn’t a fight I can win right now. Not in tight quarters, with my talons clipped and useless. She gave her head a little shake. Clipping her namesake talons short to avoid being spotted by the Guard had seemed like such a good idea at the time …

“Last chance to what, Hain?” Ennius asked, the griffon’s name coming out like a sneer as he waved his hammer. “Watch as we kill your little friend?”

Not gonna happen, Blade thought, eyeing the minotaur.

“Last chance to leave before I get exceptionally angry,” Hain said, his voice cold. “And for the money, if I had to guess, I think I’d put my reeds or bits or what have you on your target down there before you and your friends. After all, she’s got an eye for combat.”

Ennuis growled at the insult, hot breath steaming free of his nostrils. “I have the entire crew of the Manticore backing me,” he said, a low growl carrying his words. “You’re sheltering a fugitive from the cult.”

Blade felt the feathers on the back of her neck stand on end as he said the words. I’m a fugitive? For coming here? Apparently Hain thought as much of the minotaur’s choice of words.

“A fugitive?” Hain said. “Seems to me she just got here. Pretty handy in a fight too, judging from how she whipped your boys. And I’m betting she can get up here before any of your bilgewater friends can stop her. We’d have the superior positioning, and I’m betting you’d run out of crew before we got tired of killing them. So get, before you let all the warm air out of my place.”

Ennuis let out a snort, his one good eye glaring in Blade’s direction. “Maybe so,” he said, nodding and lowering his warhammer. His crew was shooting him nervous glances now, their weapons wavering.

“They say you used to be a master tactician,” Ennuis said, and Blade couldn’t miss the smug tone in his voice. “Looks like you’ve lost your edge.” He turned, lifting his hammer in the air. “Everyone out, boys! Old Hain wants us to leave.” He let out a chuckle as the ponies surrounding him began to fall back.

That’s not a good sign, Blade thought as the ponies picked their way out the door. She watched the big minotaur as he took a step back, his free hand idly wiping at the blood that had leaked across his chest. I don’t like that smile.

“You’ve made your point, Hain,” Ennuis said, a low chuckle rolling out his mouth. “You’ve planned ahead. So please, don’t let me or my ponies keep you.” He stepped towards one side as if to grab the door handle, but then paused.

“But before I go, let me make up for letting in the cold,” Ennuis said. Blade flared her wings as the minotaur’s arm snapped upwards, the hammer held high. Then he brought it down on the side of the stove, smashing the metal handle and cracking it right off. With another thrust of his weapon, the stove tipped, crashing over and sending burning logs bouncing across the floor. The couch caught almost immediately, flames rushing up the sides and eagerly spreading across the dry wood.

“There we go,” Ennuis said, laughing as he backed out of the door, his hammer held at the ready. “Keep warm!” The door crashed shut behind him, but not before Blade heard the minotaur’s voice ring out once more. “Burn it to the ground, boys!”

A rousing cheer echoed from outside the house, muffled only by the thickness of the walls and the sudden roar of the glowing flames. She jumped forward, catching one of the blankets that had been lying across the other couch and throwing it over the quickly spreading fire, stamping with her front legs.

“Kit!” Hain called from above. She looked up and saw his head shaking back and forth. “Leave it,” he said as the fire began to spread out from under her meager covering, eagerly running up the walls. A bookshelf, full of papers and bound covers, proved a welcome fuel source for the flames, and the flames began to climb upward, jumping from shelf to shelf.

“Leave it?” Blade asked, taking a step back as the blanket grew hot under her claws. She could already feel the heat of the fire spreading across her face; hot, hungry and dry.

“Leave it,” the griffon repeated. “And get up here.”

She took to wing as he turned, her side stinging as the heat of the flames washed over the thin slice she’d gotten during the fight. Smoke was already beginning to thicken near the peak of the roof, and she kept herself low, kicking her feet off of the base of a beam as she ascended into the loft.

It was simplistic, though cozy looking. A large, circular nest dominated most of the floor space, the blankets forming a concave sleeping space welcome to any griffon. A dresser sat on one side, its top bare save for a small combat harness and sheathed knife. Blankets covered the rear wall. Hain himself was tugging at one of them, pulling it down.

“Hain,” she said as he tugged at one of the blankets. “The fire—”

“The house was lost the moment you came here, kit,” Hain said, tugging the blanket down and revealing the bare wood behind it. “There’s nothing to do now but make a run for it.”

A pang of guilt flashed through her chest, and she looked over the edge of the loft. The fire was still spreading. “We could stop it,” she said, glancing back at him. “Toss me that blanket—”

“No,” Hain said, shaking his head. “It’s already done. Don’t you hear that?” He cocked his head to one side and Blade did the same. Faint thumps were echoing through the walls. “They’re throwing firebombs at the outside of the house,” Hain said, turning back to the wall. “My home will be ash, one way or another.”

“Then we’d better get out of it,” Blade said, stepping forward as Hain tugged down another blanket. Then he crouched, running his talons over the back wall.

“Already ahead of you,” he said, drawing the tip of his claw along the base of the wall. A small, thin strip of wood began to peel away beneath his talon, revealing a faint crack. “Why do you think I gave him the idea of setting the place on fire?”

“You … What?” The air was getting hotter, dry against her throat.

“The cold comment, kit,” he said, pressing both talons against the wall and pressing it slightly. It gave, sliding back, and he eased off, glancing at her. “They’re always excited to set fire to something anyway. My home was burned the moment you decided to speak with me. Don’t feel bad.” He stepped over to the dresser and began putting on the harness. “They’d have come for me before long anyways. At least you tipped their hand in the matter.” The harness in place, he attached the knife in its sheath, next to his shoulder with the handle facing downward, and then reached into one of the dresser drawers and pulled out a small bit-bag.

He stepped back and gave the home one last look. The air was thick with smoke now, and Blade could feel her lungs trying to compress, to cough the burning haze back into the air. The floor beneath her was starting to get hot, and the fur on her haunches felt like it was going to singe before long.

“All right,” he said, bracing himself against the back wall once more. “As soon as I push this out, we need to be moving. Get across the rooftops and drop onto the next street. No flying. If they have watchers, they’ll see us.”

“They might see us anyway,” she said, and Hain nodded.

“So no—” A cough. “No flying, clear?” He pressed his shoulders up against the wooden outline. “Follow me.”

The square opening popped out of place like a window from a frame, a rush of cold air sweeping over her, ruffling her feathers as the pressure changed. She bolted forward, following Hain out of the gap and onto the roof of the next home over even as the flames behind her erupted in the presence of fresh oxygen, roaring to new intensity as they leapt free.

The wooden tiles were slick under her forelimbs, forcing her to spread her wings slightly for balance as they rushed across the roof towards a distant gap. The moon was still low on the horizon, but it was full, the faint silver light bathing everything in a dim glow and highlighting the silver-grey of Hain’s plumage.

A distant shout caused her to glance back, only to see a pegasus arcing through the air in their direction. “Hain!” she called. “Contact rear!” There was a meaty thunk as a crossbow bolt dug into the roof a few feet away, quivering.

“Get low!” he called, dropping and sliding on his belly over the edge of the roof. She followed his example, skidding across the wood and down into the street as another crossbow bolt shot past her head, whistling through the air. “Move!”

More shouts were sounding out behind them as they tore down the street, another crossbow bolt ricocheting off the frozen ground. They were moving down the street at high speed now, the buildings blurring past them as Hain ran for the nearest intersection and took a left. She wanted to fly, wanted to take to the air, but Hain was … Well, he knew what he was doing.

She hoped.

White hot pain cut through her flank as one of the crossbow bolts hit home, sinking deep into the muscle, and she bit back a scream of pain, gritting her teeth. “I’m hit!” she called, forcing herself to stay moving despite the tearing pain.

“A little further!” Hain called. “Keep moving!”

He’d better know what he’s doing, she thought as she pushed herself forward. Her right haunch felt as if it was tearing itself apart, the muscles fighting against one another. It must be barbed. Hain angled for a covered alleyway between two buildings, a small, dark gap against the wooden facade of the buildings. It’s working its way further in. Another bolt snapped off of the ground, shattering as the wood gave away. Up ahead, Hain ducked into the alleyway, safe beneath overlapping rooftops.

She spread her wings and lunged just in time, two bolts hitting the ground where she had just been. The end of the bolt in her haunch rapped the side of the alley as darted under cover, and she bit back another scream, her breath coming out in a strangled growl as her flank erupted in fire.

“This way,” Hain hissed, his voice low. He waved at her from out of the darkness, ushering her further into the alleyway. “This is part of the original layout of the town. These alleys are a maze in the dark. They won’t find us without burning half the town down.”

“And they won’t do that?” she said, her words coming in a rush as she fought to push the burning pain down. She could feel the tip of the bolt grating against her bone, scraping across her hip like a claw across a blackboard.

“No,” he said, shaking his head as he moved further back into the alleyways, taking turns seemingly at random. “Not without leave from Pyre.” Yells echoed down the hallway behind them as their pursuers began to follow them.

“Now what?” she asked, her voice low. There was a faint, throbbing pain starting in the back of her head, bringing with each thump a dizzy feeling that told her she was losing blood. The bolt must have done more damage than she’d thought.

“Now,” Hain said, his face barely visible in the near perfect darkness. “We get you to a doctor and lay low for a day or two.”

“While being followed,” she said, biting back another screech of pain as the crossbow bolt bumped against something once more. “Can we do that?”

“It’ll take us a few minutes to get there, but we can from here,” Hain said. “Follow me.” He turned and began moving through the darkness once again, his footfalls soft against the dry ground.

Behind them, the sounds of pursuit grew fainter as Hain led her through the maze of alleys, taking directions seemingly at random. Several times she was forced to duck low as they crawled beneath a gap that had been closed over, her belly sliding across dirt that hadn’t been touched in who knew how long. The throbbing sensation behind her head was growing more insistent, though the dizziness had peaked. A careful probing of her side showed that the flow of blood had mostly stopped, but with the bolt still in her, there was bound to be more damage occurring.

My luck with healing lately isn’t going to help me if I can’t get this bolt out, she thought as Hain turned once more. “Are we almost there?” she asked, keeping her voice low.

“Almost,” Hain said. “We actually haven’t gone that far. The alleys around the center of town are just really long if you don’t want to risk the street.”

“I’d rather not,” she said.

“Me neither,” he said. There was a rustling sound as he drew his talons across the wall. “But we’re here.” He knocked twice, then four times, then twice again, the sound echoing down the alley.

“Doctor?” she asked as she heard something shift behind the wall. Bright light lit the alley, a thin but growing line as someone pulled back a sliding door. She blinked back tears as her eyes tried to adjust to the sudden brightness.

“Better,” Hain said, crawling through the small opening and motioning for her to follow. “An alchemist.”

“A what?” she crawled through the gap after him, pressing her left side up against the rough wood and twisting her body as to avoid catching the crossbow bolt on the outer edges. “How in the skies did a zebra end up all the way up—?” Her words trailed off as her body dropped unceremoniously onto a rough wooden floor and she twisted her head back to see the dull-orange coat of the pony pushing the hatch shut behind her. “You’re not a zebra,” she said.

“No,” the earth pony replied, pressing his shoulder against the hatch and securing it with a click. He stepped away from the hatch, nodding in her direction as he turned towards a massive set of heavy, metal filing cabinets. “And you’re injured.”

“Well, yeah,” Blade said, picking herself from the floor and moving away from the entrance as her eyes adjusted. “That’s one reason why you’d see a doctor, at least in my book.”

The earth pony paused for a moment as he stepped up to the metal cabinets, then nodded his head. “Pretty good reason,” he said. Then he turned and put his shoulder up against the side of the cabinets.

No way he’s going to move those, Blade thought, eyeing the pony’s lean body. He can’t seriously be—With a faint groan, the mass of metal began to move, the faint rumble underfoot a sign that it was indeed as heavy as it looked. Maybe heavier.

I stand corrected, Blade thought as the cabinet slid back into place over the entrance she and Hain had just entered. Or, I guess, lay corrected, she thought as she glanced downward at herself. Still, he’s got some serious muscle on him. That thing looked big enough I wouldn’t want to move it.

She took a quick glance around the room they’d entered while the pony continued to move things around, thoroughly covering their entrance point—As well as our escape point if things go bad, Blade thought, glancing at Hain. Then again, if he’d thought this far ahead …

She was lying on the floor of what looked like a storage room. For records of some kind, if the files were any indication. Medical files, she guessed further as her eyes passed over some of the medical equipment racked along the shelves on the walls. Doesn’t look like there’s been much call for that, she thought as her eyes alighted over several of the plastic-wrapped pieces of equipment. Or maybe they’re just backups. That would explain what they were doing in a back room instead of being out and used.

Unless this pony isn’t a doctor, she thought, glancing towards their new ally where he was putting the finishing touches on his concealment of their entrance. There was something about the way that he moved, something that was just … off.

Or maybe I’m just suffering from a lack of blood. She glanced back at her haunch, finally able to get a good look at it now that she was somewhere well lit. Yeah, that looks like a pretty bad hit.It was the kind of hit that would take a week to heal with magical assistance, longer without, a searing gash in her flesh that ran across almost half of her hip. That sucker must have a nasty arrowhead. And with an injury like that … This mission’s off to a great start.

“Well!” The earth pony’s calm, almost cheerful voice pulled her away from her thoughts, and she looked up to see him standing next to her a friendly but concerned look on his face. “Can you walk, or do you need some assistance?” he asked.

“I can walk,” she said, pushing herself up and ignoring the lance of fire that ran across her haunches. “You got an operating room, doc?”

The pony shook his head as he trotted out of the room, his off-white mane swishing back and forth. There was still something odd about it—and him—that she couldn’t place her talon on. She took a quick look around the room, looking for Hain, only to realize that he’d already slipped out of the room while she’d been gawking like a fledgling.

Blood loss, she told herself, gritting her teeth as she took her first few steps forward and her head started to throb once again, more insistently than it had before. Now that the adrenaline was beginning to wear off, she could feel the effects more acutely.

The earth pony was speaking now, responding to her question, and she pulled her attention back as he finished up his sentence. “—a doctor,” he was saying as she followed him into a short hallway. “I mean, I guess I kind of am to everyone around here, but that’s just because I’m filling in for the last doc.”

“So you’re not a doctor, then,” she said, eyeing the blue flask on his flank that was his cutie mark. No, she realized. It wasn’t a blue flask, it was a flask with blue liquid in it. For whatever difference that makes with marks. “So are you a scientist then?” Her brain felt like slow moving sludge as she dredged up some of the names that she could see overlapping. “Biologist? Veterinarian?”

“No,” the pony said, rounding a door and stepping into what looked like a combination doctor’s waiting room and laboratory. “Like Hain said, I’m an alchemist.”

“You’re the alchemist?” Blade asked, squinting for a moment in confusion. Blood loss! some part of her mind sang. She ignored it. “Aren’t alchemists usually zebras?”

“They are,” the pony confirmed as he hopped up next to an elaborate collection of glass vials and tubes, his hooves darting out and twisting at various nozzles and paraphernalia. Hain was sitting on the far side of the room preening one of his wings, clearly settling after the run they’d just made, but she could see his eyes watching her.

“But,” the pony continued, “as you could probably deduce from the Erlenmare mark on my flank, and all the various vials and whatnot I’ve got around here—” He gestured with his hoof, pointing towards both the glasswork he was sitting in front of and a large cabinet along the wall that was full of all sorts of colored mixtures in various bottles. “It’s by no means a talent confined to the Plainslands.” He spun around on his seat, something about the motion still looking abnormally fluid to her eyes, and pointed a hoof towards an old, slightly musty-looking examination table. “So, take a seat, and let’s get that bolt out of your leg before it gets any worse. And before someone comes looking for you.”

“And if they do?” she asked as she crossed the room and climbed atop the low table, wrinkling her face at the musty smell the padding gave off. She was right. It was definitely old.

“Then we hide,” Hain said, his voice low. “Don’t worry, kit. I’ve had this planned for a long time. Even before the old doctor passed away.”

“What happened to him?” Blade asked, looking in his direction. Bright light poured across her flank as the earth pony lit a light—a proper magilight, not an oil lamp—and aimed it at her haunch.

“The cult killed him,” Hain said, plucking a stray feather free of his wings and placing it to one side. “He refused to go along with their policies one to many times.”

“A few years later I showed up,” the earth pony said, resting on his hind legs and eyeing the bloody mess on her flank. “Trust me, they’re not that fond of me either.”

“What do you do about it?” Blade asked as the pony darted over to his cabinet and began picking up various vials.

“Work on dredger ships and stay out of the way, mostly,” he said, setting a few corked bottles on his back. “I take my pay in ethereal crystals. It’s why I came here in the first place, actually.”

“The ethereal crystals?” she asked, confused. Her head was still throbbing.

Ndiyo,” the pony said with a grin, setting the multicolored bottles on the counter next to her with an adroit level of skill before darting over to a large sink and picking up a few metal utensils. “I need them for …” He stumbled, frowning. “Let’s just call it a personal project.” He shook his head and trotted back across the floor. “By the way,” he said. “My name’s Alchemy. Most of the sapients around here just call me Al, though.”

“Wow,” Blade said, her voice dry. “I’m Blade, but, uh, pretty easy to figure out your special talent, huh?”

“Actually, no,” Alchemy said, shaking his head as he spun a metal cup up into his hand and uncorked a potion. “Though mostly that’s just because as a colt everypony called me ‘Mixer’ on account of all the trouble I got mixed up in. Half the ponies I knew as a kid couldn’t even remember my real name.” A scent like raw meat wafted into the air, tickling at her nostrils as he poured a small portion of the livid red potion into the cup. There was a faint hissing sound as it met the metal.

“Now,” he said, holding the cup out towards her. “This is a blood-restoration potion that’ll help replace that blood you lost if you drink it and enough water. I know it looks and smells a little off, but I need you—” His words stopped as she snatched the cup out of his hoof and downed the entire contents in one large gulp, suppressing a wince at the slimy texture and slightly off taste.

Hain chuckled. “She’s a soldier, Al. A merc. She’s on the clock. She’d pull that arrow out of her own flank if you asked her to.”

“Right,” Alchemy said, nodding and filling her cup once more, this time with water. “Now, the potion reacts with your own processes, so you should start feeling better—”

“Headaches gone,” she said as her mouth went dry. She grabbed the pitcher out of his hooves and guzzled it down. “Now, let’s take care of the arrow.”

Alchemy’s ears twitched, the only sign of surprise on his face that she could see. “It usually takes a bit longer,” he said, moving around towards where the bolt still sat wedged against her hip. “Are you under any effects of a recent healing spell?”

“No,” she said as he picked up another, smaller vial, and popped the cork off. He began drizzling the clear fluid inside it across her flank, where it began to foam, washing away the dried blood that had encrusted across her fur. “The last healing spell I got was about a week-and-a-half ago.”

“Odd,” Alchemy said, running a white cloth gently across her hip and wiping away the bloody foam. “And you’re sure the headache’s gone?”

“Yeah,” Blade said, eyeing the gash. “Rougher, doc.”

“Sorry,” he said, pulling his hoof back. “I can give you a potion for the pain—”

“Not what I meant,” Blade said as Hain let out a chuckle. “Get rough, okay?” She flicked the end of the bolt with one talon to illustrate her point, ignoring the sudden wave of spiky pain that swept through her body as the arrowhead ground against her hip. “I don’t care if it hurts, just get it out and patched up.” She snapped her talons against one another. Hain had left the couch and seemed to be waiting near what she guessed was the front door, his head tilted as if he was listening to something. “And make it fast.”

“Well ...” Alchemy said. Then his head snapped forward, jaws widening and locking around the back of the bolt. There was a sudden, searing pain in her right flank, mixed with a faint tugging sensation that came from inside the muscle, followed by more pain as the muscle tissue parted under the strain, and then the bolt was gone, the jagged, serrated head sliding free of her body with a faint sucking sound. She relaxed her body as the pain faded, staring down in surprise at the grooved dents her blunt talons had left in the metal.

She opened her mouth to take a breath, only to have Alchemy jam a bottle into her mouth, forcing her head back with surprising strength. The potion rolled over her tongue like slimy, tasteless sand, and she swallowed, the grit burning against her throat as it went down.

The effect was immediate, however. Even as he pulled the bottle away from her mouth, leaving her with with a gritty feeling across her teeth, she could feel something burning inside of her, like she’d swallowed a star. The energy slid through her in a gentle wave, expanding outwards from her stomach in a glowing rush. She glanced back at her wounded flank just in time to see the wound itself close up, the skin unbroken as if it had never been cut in the first place. She could feel the fibers of muscle above her hip pulling themselves together as well, binding themselves back together. With a sudden scraping sound, her talons grew out as well, sliding out of her and reaching their full, uncut length in moments. A second later it was all over, and she let out a heavy breath as the last of the energy left her.

“Well,” she said, flexing her talons and admiring the sharp edges. “I’ve got to hand it to you, Alchemy. I’d heard potions were pretty powerful stuff, but that even brought my talons back.” She rose from the table, stretching her wings and watching a few freshly replaced feathers settle into place before looking towards the dull-orange pony and seeing the stunned look on his face. “What?”

“You need to be examined,” he said, taking a slow step back from her. “That wasn’t a regenerative potion. I mean, not a big one.” She glanced over at Hain, only to find him giving her the same look. “That was a minor healing potion. It should have helped the muscle fibers knit together over the next few days. That …” He shook his head, apparently at a loss for words. “Something in you did that. It … supercharged it.”

“Yeah, well, whatever,” she said, stepping off of the table and preening one of her wings. She didn’t see any reason to voice her observations about how quickly she’d been healing since … well, since Mint and Radiant had patched her up after her fight with Hunter, actually.

They didn’t do something, did they? she thought, keeping her face neutral as she came to a stop. Some sort of experimental magic? She looked down at her claws and then back up at Alchemy. “Well,” she said, shrugging. “I’m better now. How much do I owe you?”

“Two-hundred and fifty bits,” Alchemy said, still giving her a suspicious look.

She caught herself before she flinched. I definitely don’t have that many bits left, she thought. I hope Hain does.

“But,” Alchemy said, taking a step towards her and then turning towards his collection of glassware. “I’ll waive it if you let me run a quick test, see what made that happen.”

“Some other time,” she said, shaking her head as she turned towards Hain. “Hain,” she said. “Do you have—”

“Quiet.” Hain’s low command cut through the room, and then the older griffon was darting past her. “Someone’s coming. Alchemy?”

The pony nodded, his expression serious as he moved with almost startling speed to sweep the potions he’d been using off of the table, followed by her molted feathers.

“Blade,” Hain said, tilting his head back towards the hallway. “This way.” She followed him, unable to resist letting her freshly regrown talons dig into the wood a little.

“It’ll be a little cramped,” Hain said, his voice low as he ducked into a small side room and peeled back a rug to reveal a trapdoor. ‘But it’s clean, and we’ll be to hear what goes on in the main room well enough.” He flipped the trapdoor open, revealing a set of steps leading down to a dark but clean wooden box. “And once we’re clear, you and I need to have a little talk. Not just about this job of yours.”

She nodded, though he doubted he was going to buy her explanation of “No idea.” He jerked his head once more, and she ducked down into the opening, her eyes adjusting to the dim light as voices rang out nearby.

“Ennuis.” Alchemy’s voice echoed down the hall as Hain made his way into the small hiding space, pausing to pull the rug back over the trapdoor before shutting it and blocking out all the light. “Looks like you’ve had a bit of an—”

“Spare the noise, mystic,” the minotaur barked. There was a loud, heavy, thud that resonated through the floor, and Blade slunk forward, feeling the confines of the hiding spot until her talons met a cold, wooden wall.

“You built this?” she whispered towards Hain.

The older griffon nodded. “About ten years ago. Hoped I’d never use it. The doctor humored me. Plus, I paid his bar tab. Now quiet.”

Up above, the conversation had grown only more heated. “Come on,” Ennuis was saying. “Where are those two. They couldn’t have gone far wounded, and you’re the first option in town anyone has. Where’d they go?”

“Probably one of the other options, Ennuis,” Alchemy said, his voice loud and clear. “You want me to take a look at that eye?” There was a pause, followed by a sudden thud as someone shifted their weight.

“Keep your hooves offa’ my eye, grunt. My eye is my business. My business, and the freak who got lucky with it.”

Show me your face, Blade thought, flexing her talons as she glared up at the floorboards. And I’ll show you luck when I carve out your other eye.

“Suit yourself,” Alchemy said. A number of steps were sounding out against the flooring now, forcing her to focus to identify what was being said. Ennuis had brought his crew with him.

“Ennuis!” someone called, their voice ringing out loud and clear. “There’s a bloody rag in this sink!” The feathers on back of Blade’s neck rose.

“Haven’t seen them, huh?” Ennuis asked, his tread heavy. “Then what’s with the blood?”

“Cut myself cleaning some broken glass,” Alchemy said. “Already patched it up, but I haven’t cleaned the rag yet.” There was another pause, broken only by the shifting of hooves on the floor.

“Boys!” Ennuis called. “Keep looking.” The hoofsteps began to fan out, spreading in various directions.

Sounds like maybe five or six of his crew, plus Ennuis himself, Blade thought, counting the separate hoofsteps Probably part of that same team that hit Hain’s place. She tapped two of her talons together, relishing the faint feel of the knifelike edges. This wouldn’t even be a contest, with them separated like that.

“Don’t even think about it,” Hain whispered. “The last thing they need is an excuse to burn down the town’s only medical center.”

“Right,” she said, slumping slightly. It was a good point. Even so, though ...

Up above her, the floor creaked as one of the ponies wandered across it, and she froze, holding her breath and letting it out as slowly as possible.

“So you’re sure you haven’t seen them?” Ennuis asked. There was another creak above them, hoofsteps sounding as one of the crew passed across the room. “So my boys aren’t going to find anything, are they?”

“Nothing worth finding,” Alchemy said, his voice cool. “You sure you don’t want me to look at that eye, though?”

“Drop it, bilge-rat,” Ennuis growled, his voice getting low. “I told you, my eye is my business.”

“Right, your call.”

Above her something shifted, and Blade tensed her body, turning her head slightly in the direction of the trapdoor. If it opens, hit hard and fast, she thought, a faint thrill running through her. Now that I’ve got my talons back, they’ll never know what hit them. I was almost a blademaster. A bunch of pirates? She smiled in the dark. They’ll fold like fledglings.

The hoofsteps moved back across the floor, and she let herself relax, almost disappointed. So much for that. Guess searching isn’t their strong suit.

“Hello,” came Ennuis’s voice from up above. “What do we have here?” There was a pause, followed by a heavy chuckle. “Hey, mystic. Where’d you get all this glitter?”

Glitter?

“I earned it,” Alchemy said. “Working on dredgers.”

Ennuis let out a laugh. “A likely story. A lean little runt like you, earning glitter on a dredger boat? I’ve got shrimps bigger ‘an you who couldn’t do that job. You’re lying.”

Dredgers, Blade thought. Glitter must be slang. Probably for the ethereal crystal powder.

“I assure you, it’s mine,” Alchemy said. “My share, earned for my research.”

“Hah!” Ennuis said. “Not likely.” Boards creaked as he shifted his weight. “Hey boys, come look what I found!” Footsteps rang through the hideaway as Ennuis’s crew came jogging back. “Looks like our mystic’s been stealing glitter on the side!”

“I didn’t steal it—” Alchemy began. Blade turned, starting towards the trap door. If things got rough …

“Sure you did,” Ennuis said, laughing. “If you didn’t pay your taxes to us and the cult, that’s basically stealing. Who know how long you’ve been doing it. So …” Glassware shifted somewhere above, faintly tinkling. “We’ll just collect this—”

“Put that down.” Alchemy’s words came out firm as steel rods, and suddenly the laughter from above stopped.

“Hain,” Blade whispered. “They’re—”

“In for a big surprise, kit,” Hain said. “Stay quiet.” She pulled her head up in surprise, remembering to stop moments before she hit it on the roof of their hideout.

“You want to run that by me again, shrimp?” Ennuis asked, his voice dripping with contempt. “Because I think you just said something you didn’t mean to say.”

“You heard me,” Alchemy said, his voice clear. “I told you to put that down. That glitter is mine, for medical purposes only. If you take it—” What was left of his reply was drowned out by the sound of Ennuis laughing.

“Medical purposes?” Ennuis laughed again, his voice booming through the center, and Blade felt a long, slow desire to bury her claws in his throat. “Look, half-pint. If you earned this glitter the right way, then you can get more. But since you’ve been holding out on us, we’ll just take—”

There was a sudden bang as something hit the floorboards hard, and Blade jerked. The laughter from above was gone, replaced instead by a strangled cough that ended with a heavy thud.

“I told you,” Alchemy said, his voice cool once more. “Leave it.”

“Why you little—!”

“Okay then. The hard way.”

Blade’s eyes widened as the floor rattled and shook, a series of hoofsteps cracking into the floorboards. She could hear bodies slamming into the floor, mixed with crashes and the sound of wood breaking, and whoever was going down definitely wasn’t getting up. It was like listening to a fight, except one that wasn’t a straight up punch-out. From the abrupt sounds, and the sudden descent of following silence, it had been almost like an ambush.

What did he do? Blade thought as a long sigh came from above them. Did he pull some sort of potion on them?

“Well … Tartarus,” Alchemy said. “I actually didn’t mind living here. Guess it was nice while it lasted.” Then he raised his voice. “Hain? Blade? We’ve got a problem!”

Moments later, she followed Hain around the corner of the hall and came to a stop, her wings twitching. There had been five of the pirates on the group from the look of it, plus Ennuis. Now …

All five of them were spread around the room, save for one either comatose or in too much pain to indicate otherwise. The last one awake was curled at the base of the examination table, faintly gasping as if he couldn’t breath, and his eyes widened when they saw her and Hain. Alchemy’s hoof came down on the side of his head with a hollow thump, and the bandit’s eyes rolled back as he slumped to the side, unconscious.

“Thunderheads,” Blade said, her beak dropping slightly as she saw Ennuis stretched out across the floor, one arm twisted at an awkward angle. A large beaker full of glittering dust was sitting on the floor nearby, an upright beacon of order amid all the chaos. Chairs had been smashed, beakers scattered … though from the look of it, most of the destruction had been as result of impacts, not because someone had made use of anything as a weapon. “You did all this?”

“Uh, yeah,” Alchemy said, giving her an embarrassed grin as he crossed over to the potion cabinet, which—Blade noticed—hadn’t been damaged in the melee. Probably as a precaution.

“How?” Blade asked, bending down near one of the pirates and picking out the imprint of a hoof in the mare’s chest. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, with my talons back these guys would be toast, but that fast?” She looked over at the dull-orange pony to find him taking a small sip of a blue potion. “What, you got some kind of super-speed potion?”

“Something like that,” Alchemy said, a shiver running through his body as he corked the potion back up. “Guess I’d better disappear though. He’s not going to be too happy when he wakes up.”

“You let him live?” Blade stepped over to the splayed out minotaur, looking down at the ragged bandage he’d wrapped over his eye. “Why not just kill him?”

“I’m a doctor, not a killer,” Alchemy said quickly, his head snapping in her direction just a little too quickly. Even he looked surprised by it, for a small moment. “I did what I had to do to defend myself.”

“Blade,” Hain warned, his voice low. “Don’t even think about it.”

“I honestly wasn’t,” she said, rolling her eyes. “No honor in it.” She turned to step away and then paused. “However, he is a dirtbag, so …” The snap of one of his fingers echoed through the examination room, and she shrugged, smirking at Hain and Alchemy, who were giving her looks of disinterest and shock, respectively.

“What?” she asked. “The finger’s on the broken arm. He’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, well I won’t,” Alchemy said, crossing to floor and picking up the vial of ethereal crystal. “This stuff is hard to get anywhere else. How am I supposed to get my hooves on it if I have to leave the Ocean?”

“Is it that important?” Blade said, cocking an eyebrow at him.

“Yes,” he replied, his eyes fixed on the small vial. “It actually is. I have a condition. Without a regular dose of potion that needs ethereal crystal to stabilize, I’ll die.”

“Oh,” she said, her feathers going flat. “Sorry. How much do you have there?”

He let out a sigh. ‘About three months worth.”

“So buy some more,” she suggested. He shot her a glare.

“This vial is worth about three or four thousand bits,” he said, tossing it with one hoof. “Wholesale. That’s why I came here in the first place. I can’t easily ‘buy more’ when it costs that much.”

“Actually,” Hain cut in. “What if you could?”

Alchemy stopped, a look of curiosity sliding across his muzzle. “What do you mean by that?” he said. “This stuff isn’t cheap.”

“No,” Hain said as he gave the pony a sly grin. “But luckily for you, neither are Ms. Sunchaser’s contracts.”

“What?” Blade almost took a step back as both turned toward her.

“Blade, you’re still looking to finish your job, right?” She nodded. “And you wanted my advice?” She nodded again.

“Well then, my advice is to hire Alchemy. As a healer, and a fighter.”

“I …” She took a quick look around the room, eyeing the smashed furniture. He could fight, that much was clear.

“Of course,” Hain said. “I could only give you that advice if I was officially part of your team.

Team? Now wait a minute, didn’t he—

“I know what you’re thinking,” he said, shrugging. “I turned you down. But that was before these motherless whelps burned my home and tried to kill me.”

“Didn’t you say you didn’t mind that?” she asked.

“I lied,” Hain said, scowling. “Your client wants something the cult has, right?”

“Wait,” Alchemy said, frowning. “The cult? As in, the cult—?”

“Badly,” she said.

“How badly?” Hain shot back.

“There’s no way I’m getting tangled up with—”

“Two-hundred thousand bits badly.”

Alchemy choked, his eyes going wide. “Two-hundred thousand …?”

“Yeah,” she said, grinning as she glanced over at Hain, who had a similarly surprised look on his face. “They want it bad.

“Who—” Hain began, only to cut off as she shook her head. “Fine,” he said. “Two hundred thousand. Fifty for me, and fifty for you, Al. What do you say?”

“Fifty …” Alchemy shook his head, his eyes blinking. “You’re serious?”

“Completely,” Blade said, tapping her talons against the floor in a rhythmic pattern. “That’s a lot of glitter.”

“Years worth,” Alchemy said, nodding. “And all we’ve got to do is retrieve something from the cult?”

She nodded. “Yep.”

“Alright,” Alchemy said, letting out a laugh. “You know what? You’ve got yourself a deal.” He held out his hoof. She glanced at Hain, waiting for his nod before taking it.

He took out this whole room, she reminded herself. Whatever he is, Hain thinks he’s worth it.

“Good,” Hain said as she let go. “Now, we can hammer out the details later, but first, we need to skip town. That or hunt down and kill Ennuis’s men one by one.” He looked up at Blade. “Blade, you’re in charge. What’s the call? Got any ideas?”

“Where are we going?” she asked. “You have an idea, I assume?”

“Ender’s Isle,” he said. “If we want to get this item back, we’ll need to find someone who knows the cult who isn’t a cultist. I know just who to ask. It’s west of here about two days, so we’ll need to secure some form of transportation.”

“What about public transit?” she asked.

Alchemy shook his head. “Only leaves every few days. We could book passage on a dredger, but that would take about as long, and there’s no guarantee that we’d find one going out to Ender’s Isle. Besides, we’d need a lot of bits.”

“I’m sure Ennuis and his friends can help pitch in,” Blade said, giving one of them a light kick. “Or better yet …” She let out a laugh.

“What?” Hain asked.

“Alchemy,” she said, turning in his direction. “Did Ennuis say how many of his crew were out looking for us?”

“Uh, most of them, I think,” he said.

“Right,” she said, grinning. “What about the town? Is it busy right now?”

“With half the townsponies out trying to keep what’s left of Hain’s house fire from spreading?” he asked. “Half of it will be abandoned, the rest of it packed.”

“Right,” she said, her grin widening as she looked down at Ennuis. “So, my question is, which side of town did Ennuis berth his ship on?”

Count of Laws Broken: 0
Total Laws Broken: 48
Damage Value (In Bits): 4,672
Total Damage Value (In Bits): 37,213

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