The Deceiver's Path - Chapter 122 - The Long Road Back to Helidros (Patreon)

No one spoke on the road back to Helidros; exhaustion was etched into everyone’s features. They had won the battle, but none of them had escaped injury. Thankfully, only Piper’s wound was serious, but she could heal it the moment she found enough privacy to use [Demonic Blood].

While Vespera’s wounds weren’t serious, she still looked like a large cat had used her as a scratching post. It was unlikely she’d be able to salvage her dress when she got home. With a little luck, her reward for completing the quest would cover the cost of a new wardrobe.

As Piper trekked through the never-ending foothills, she found her attention drifting, at least until the searing pain from her shoulder wound jolted her back. She slowed her pace slightly to watch a herd of mountain goats wander by, stopping to stare at her from beneath their twisted horns. After gazing at each other for a few seconds, the animals turned and bounded off. She smiled as she wondered if they would be impressed by her own horns.

A short time later, she passed one of the enormous armadillo creatures she’d seen the previous day. Once again, the beast barely reacted to her presence and waddled straight across her path. She waited for it to leave, wondering how it managed to move with such an enormous shell on its back.

The group continued onward, and when Vespera reached the next hilltop, she stumbled before falling to her knees. Piper hurried forward to help the woman regain her feet. But it took three tries before she managed to right the milkmaid.

“We’ll rest here,” Piper called out to the others. “Take some time to eat and drink before we get moving again.”

Vespera sagged back to the ground, already lifting a wineskin. She pulled out the cork and took a long draught before wiping her forehead with her sleeve.

Even though Piper wasn’t hungry, she pulled out a piece of jerky from her pouch. Pressing her lips together, she gazed at the uninviting piece of dried meat. She took a tentative bite and grimaced. The meat was far too salty for her taste, but she needed something to fill her stomach.

Next to her, Ophelia was cramming a hard biscuit into her mouth, her face still terribly pale. At least she was walking without assistance now. The young woman continued to chew the biscuit while taking sips from her waterskin.

Piper let everyone rest for nearly a quarter of an hour before she rose to her feet. Ophelia and Vespera groaned as they pushed themselves up. Zenos simply lumbered up and started to march forward.

The next few hours passed slowly until at last the towering walls of Helidros appeared on the horizon. She felt a new spring in her step as she hurried forward. Inside the walls were public baths and what might turn out to be the best bowl of ice cream she’d ever tasted. She deserved to treat herself after defeating the undead horde in the valley.

As she neared the gates, she slowed her pace, and her eyes widened with alarm. Leaning against the wall outside was the unmistakable form of Lysander. She was about to receive a royal reaming, and she might even get kicked out of the guild.

“Oh, crap,” she whispered under her breath before putting on a big smile for their escort.

Lysander examined them and shook his head. “At least none of you idiots died. That’s something.”

“Why would we die?” Piper asked sweetly. “We just went for a nice walk outside of town.”

“Uh huh.” Lysander crossed his arms. “Why all the scratches then? And did something impale your shoulder?”

Ophelia grinned. “Our leader got us lost and walked us right into a bunch of thorn bushes. She really is the worst navigator in the world.”

“I am not!” Piper said indignantly, momentarily forgetting Lysander. “I just get turned around occasionally.”

“You used to get lost in the Dancing Gnome Inn back in Kalmyros.”

“Now you’re just being ridiculous.”

Lysander raised his hands. “Girls, please shut up. I’m nursing a hangover and I have no desire to listen to your inane babble.”

A dangerous expression fleetingly appeared on Ophelia’s face. It looked like she was going to say something, but then she clamped her mouth shut.

“Now,” Lysander said. “I’m going to continue drinking somewhere with cheap beer and loose women. I just wanted to make sure you idiots hadn’t ruined my perfect streak. Next time listen to me or I’m kicking your asses out of the guild. Got it?”

Piper frowned and nodded. After a second, the others did the same.

Lysander ran a hand through his dark hair and shot them one last glare. “Would it be too much to ask you all to stay safe until tomorrow?” Of course, it probably is. Regardless, try not to die until my day off is over. Also, get some rest because you have a busy day tomorrow.”

With that, the man turned and loped off into the city. If he was returning to the tavern, then he seemed to be in a hurry to get there. However, the members of the Silver Hippogriffs did only get one day off a week, so everyone tried to enjoy it as much as possible.

Ophelia rounded on them, holding out her hands to the sides. “That guy is such a jerk!”

“That jerk is going to teach you how to be a better warrior,” Piper pointed out. “So maybe refrain from calling him names until he’s out of earshot.”

“Oh, right.” Ophelia grimaced. “Do you think he heard me?

“Probably not, or he’d be heading back here to call us idiots again.”

At that, Ophelia giggled while Zenos guffawed. Only Vespera stayed silent, but she looked deep in thought.

To be honest, Piper was still bristling at being called an idiot. Not that she could blame the man for being annoyed. She had gone against his direct orders and brought the others on a dangerous quest. In the future, she’d have to try to avoid rocking the boat too much. Or at least be sneakier, which shouldn’t be hard as an illusionist.

The next time she felt the urge to quest in town again, it might be a good idea to bring back her alter-ego Anna. She still had the gold badge hidden under her bed at the villa. It might be fun to occasionally help out some other aspirants. But she was going to avoid any undead quests like the plague. Those always seemed to turn out to be ambushes.

Zenos lifted the war hammer and examined the head of the weapon. “If you ladies will excuse me, I believe I need to find a blacksmith to repair my weapon.”

“What about finding a healer?” Piper asked as she scanned the young man.

“I’ve had worse wounds in the past,” he said. “For now, I’ll save my coin and consult the healer at the villa tomorrow if I’m still having any issues.

Piper stepped forward to stop him. “Would you mind meeting us at the inn later? I… think we should have dinner together to discuss what tomorrow holds.”

“That’s a great idea,” Zenos said. “I’ll meet you both for dinner.”

Piper nodded and watched the man jog off deeper into the town. While she’d been impressed with his fighting ability, he needed to learn to follow her orders. As the group leader, she needed to know that the others wouldn’t question her a second time.

Vespera plucked at her torn dress. “I really should be going as well. Please come and find me the next time you’re in town and I’ll reward you. My family lives right next to the animal market.”

“Eww,” Ophelia said. “The animal market? That place must stink beyond all belief. Why do you live there?”

“Because it’s the only place we could afford within the walls,” Vespera said stiffly.

“I promise I’ll come visit,” Piper said, ignoring her friend’s rudeness. “And good luck in the life realm. I bet you’ll get an amazing class after everything you did today.”

“I hope so.” Vespera moved off, plucking at the tattered front of her dress. There really was no way she was going to be able to mend it.

The second she was alone, Piper activated [Demonic Blood]. The familiar stinging spread through her shoulder as the wound healed. Thankfully, her high Vitality had already started the healing process, so she hadn’t left a trail of blood all the way back to town.

Ophelia watched Piper’s skin glow as she leaned against a wooden wall. “So, what are we going to do about him?”

“Do about who?”

Her friend rolled her eyes. “Zenos, of course.”

“Why do we need to do anything about him?

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe the fact that he wants to kill you? And that he’s recruiting others to his insane quest as well? What if I roll him into some lava? Hmm… we’d have to find some lava first. Are there any demon fortresses around here? Do you just know that kind of thing?”

“What!” Piper exclaimed. “I’m not going to roll him into lava. Is that your solution to everything? If we had rolled that Bloodguard woman into lava like you wanted, she never would have offered to help your family.”

“I’m being serious, Pip,” Ophelia said. “If he finds out your secret, he’s going to try to kill you. There’s no way I’m ever going to let that happen.”

“Well, we’re not going to hurt him,” Piper said, touched by her friends’ earnestness. “I’ll just ask Lysander to get us another group member when we get back. That shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Whatever.” Ophelia drew her wooden sword and lunged to the side. “If he tries anything, I’ll run him through.”

Piper giggled. “You might need a better sword than that.” Then she remembered the angel sword. “And is there a reason you didn’t tell me about your new weapon?”

Ophelia’s cheeks turned pink. “I knew you’d probably want to take it away from me.” She kicked a rock, sending it skittering across the street. “Or at least tell me not to use it. But it was pretty amazing, wasn’t it? Did you see the way it just sliced through the zombies?”

A man walking past made a choking sound at the mention of zombies. His gaze fell to the badges on their chests before hurrying away.

“I’m not going to take your weapon away.” Piper pulled her friend into the shadows of a building for more privacy. “Just please, please be careful around me with it. You remember what happened last time.”

Ophelia nodded. “I’ll be careful, Mom.”

“I’m being serious!” She continued in a lower tone. “Those things can easily kill a demon. Do you remember the dead harroth we saw in the tunnel?”

“You’re not really a demon,” Ophelia said. “I mean, you used to be human.”

“I am a demon!” she whispered harshly. “Like it or not, I’m an evil monster. That’s why almost everyone I meet wants to kill me. And it’s why I have to prove them all wrong.” She wondered if she could ever convince Zenos that she wasn’t evil, but she immediately discarded that idea. No one could ever forgive another person for killing their sister.

Ophelia’s expression softened, and she reached out to take Piper’s hand. “The only evil thing about you is your smell.”

Despite herself, Piper giggled. With her free hand, she lightly slapped her friend’s arm. “I think we both need a bath.”

Her friend reached down to grab the neck of her tunic and pulled it up to sniff the material. Her nose wrinkled, and she nodded vigorously. “Bath first, then ice cream.”

“No way. We deserve ice cream for our victory. Then we can try to find a bathhouse.”

“How much money do we have?” Ophelia asked.

Piper opened her money purse and peered inside. “Um… not much.”

“What are you talking about? We had tons from our pay at the guild.”

“It’s all in a lockbox under my bed back at the villa. I didn’t expect to have the chance to spend any money on our trip here. Otherwise, I would have brought a lot more.”

Ophelia smacked her forehead. “Seriously, next time I’m handling our money. How much do we have?”

Piper loosened her coin purse strings and reached inside. She came out with two coppers and a single silver coin. Thankfully, it should be more than enough to cover the rest of their day. Otherwise, she probably would have been subjected to the worst pokings of her life.

As she extended her hand to show Ophelia, her friend mumbled as she counted before exhaling with relief.

“You’re lucky,” Ophelia said. “I so would have gotten you even worse than I was planning.”

Her eyes widened slightly. “Worse than you were planning? I thought we were even after you embarrassed me on the walk.”

Ophelia gave her a wicked grin. “That was only the beginning.”

At those words, a chill of fear brushed Piper’s spine. She had to remember to summon Sarnyxia before she fell asleep tonight; otherwise, she was going to wake up to some terrible retribution. The image of herself with a shaved head kept flashing in her mind.

“That’s right,” Ophelia said, her grin growing. “You’re dead tonight.”

“You’ll never get me,” she replied with false bravado.

“Oh, yes, I will.”

Piper decided to avoid arguing and glanced around in the hopes of spotting a food vendor. Taking a step forward, she felt a hand touch her arm.

“Other way,” her friend said with a lopsided grin.

With Ophelia navigating, they set off through the town. After a short distance, her friend reached out to grab her hand and excitedly dragged Piper along behind her. They soon reached a market with a dizzying array of food sellers.

“How did you know this was here?” Piper asked, looking hungrily at a booth selling pies.

“I saw it on the way in.”

“I don’t remember this at all.”

“That’s because you’d get lost on your way to the outhouse back home.”

Piper crossed her arms, feeling personally insulted. “I did not! I knew those hills pretty well.”

“My dad said it took you a long time to learn them.”

 “They were difficult to learn!”

Ophelia giggled. “How so? The upward slope takes you away from home, and the downward slope brings you back. How could it get any easier?”

“I managed to escape from the redcaps raiding party and Bloodguard during the night. And I found my way back to the lion’s den. That must count for something.”

“If you say so.” Ophelia stopped and pointed at a stall with blue fabric. “There’s the ice cream vendor.”

Piper immediately forgot about the attacks on her sense of direction and hurried over to the stall. She stopped in front of a rickety wooden table holding two wooden buckets with bronze handles on top. She couldn’t wait to see what flavors they had here.

“Greetings,” a willowy woman with her hair pulled into a messy bun said. “Would you girls like to purchase some ice cream?”

“Yes, please,” they said in unison before descending into laughter.

As she giggled with her friend, she felt the stress from the day melting away. After she’d had a bath, she’d really feel like herself again.

“What flavors do you have?” Piper asked excitedly.

“We have cheese, rosewater, and crumbled cookies.”

Piper blinked at the response. “Did you say cheese and rose water?”

“Yes,” the woman replied with a smile. “Both of those are very popular.”

Piper blinked again. These were the strangest ingredients she’d ever heard of. Where were the normal fruit-flavors so common back in Kalmyros? How could anyone screw up ice cream this badly? Her impression of the town immediately dropped a notch. Clearly, everyone was insane here.

“I’ll have the cheese ice cream,” Ophelia said.

“Really?”

“What?” Ophelia replied, shrugging her shoulders. “It sounds yummy.”

“I’ll have the cookie, please.”

The woman smiled, her dark eyes lighting up. “You and your sister are so cute. You remind me of my girls. Now, that will be one copper each, please.”

Piper handed the woman the coins, and then the vendor retrieved another bucket from behind her. Her stomach rumbled in a very unladylike manner as she watched the woman spoon out two bowls of ice cream. Once the vendor was done, she slid the bowls across to them on the rough wooden tabletop.

Piper picked hers up, seeing the sugar cookies glisten in the ice cream. She took a spoonful and placed it in her mouth. The sweet taste exploded on her tongue, making her close her eyes and sigh with pleasure. It had been so long since she’d eaten ice cream.

Opening her eyes, she witnessed Ophelia gobbling down the abomination that was cheese-flavored ice cream. Something about the combination of sharp and salty cheese along with ice cream just felt wrong to her.

“What do you think the goblin badger meant?”

Piper quirked her eyebrow as she shoveled another spoonful of the delicious treat into her mouth.

“Lysander,” Ophelia said, laughing at her expression. “That’s my new name for him.”

She giggled at her friend. “What do you mean?”

“When he said we have a busy week ahead of us.”

“I have no idea,” she replied. “But I have a feeling that we’re not going to like it.”

With that, they focused on eating their ice cream. As she savored the sweet treat, she began to worry about what their escort had planned for them tomorrow. Regardless of what it was, she had a feeling that she wasn’t going to enjoy it.