The Deceiver's Path - Chapter 128 - Flesh Weaver (Patreon)

As the sun sank behind the snow-capped mountain peak, its dying rays cast long shadows in the valley. The lone call of a wolf echoed through the forest, followed by the roar of a creature in the distance.

Piper leaned forward, holding her hands out toward the fire to warm them. She knew the escorts from the guild had stated they would make sure that nothing nasty wandered into the valley, but what if something dangerous already lived here?

As the distant roar faded, she resolved to set a sentry schedule for the night. At least one of them should always be awake to make sure they weren’t surprised by a wandering monster. She might also call upon Sarnyxia to watch over her from stealth.

Zenos returned to the fire carrying the duck on a spit. Thankfully, he’d managed to pluck the bird while Piper finished setting up the fire pit and lashed together a rudimentary rotisserie for the duck. The wooden structure looked extremely rickety, but it should last long enough for the meat to cook.

The dark-haired man stepped forward and carefully placed the spit across the wooden structure. Once it was settled on the frame, he began to turn it. The meat should be fully cooked in a few hours, not long after the sun had set.

Zenos glanced in her direction. “I’ve been meaning to ask you about your friend.”

Piper frowned slightly. “Who?”

“The adventurer Sarnyxia.” He suddenly looked away. “Is she betrothed to anyone?”

Piper nearly choked at his words before descending into a coughing fit. Meanwhile, Ophelia burst out laughing.

The young man’s expression darkened as his brows descended. “I don’t see what’s so funny about that.”

“She’s really not your type,” Piper finally managed to gasp, waving her hands in front of her.

“Regardless,” Zenos said. “I think I’d like to pursue her with your blessing. After all, I don’t want to make things weird between us.”

Piper looked at Ophelia helplessly, but her friend couldn’t stop laughing. Finally, she shrugged. There was no way she could tell Zenos the truth about Sarnyxia without outing herself as the infernal caster. “I guess I have no objections if you want to date her.”

“What?” Ophelia exclaimed breathlessly. “She’s the absolute worst. Why would you let him date that harpy?”

Piper shrugged again. “I can’t stop him if he’s interested.” She then turned to Zenos. “But I have to warn you that you’re probably not her type.”

Zenos continued to turn the spit over the fire and pressed his lips together. “Does she prefer the company of women? Is that why you’re laughing?”

“To be honest, I have no idea. She’s sort of a mystery to me.”

“I see.”

The idea of Zenos dating Sarnyxia made her shake her head. She doubted the poor man would survive expressing his interest in the demoness, never mind going on a date.

Her lips twisted slightly as she remembered the look that Sarnyxia had given the man after fighting the zombies. There was the possibility that she was wrong, and the demoness was interested in Zenos. Still, she’d have to remember to order her summons to not harm her companion in any way.

Any further thoughts on the subject were forgotten as the nearby bushes rustled. Without even thinking, she leaped to her feet and bared her claws. The sight of Nikandros fighting his way through the branches made her hands drop.

Piper sucked in a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart. Ever since the events in Kalmyros, the smallest things could set her off. If she didn’t figure out a way to calm her nerves, she might accidentally hurt someone someday.

Nikandros cursed as the branches clawed at his cloak and then stepped into the clearing. He took a moment to pluck a stray leaf stuck to his forehead and tossed it aside.

Pointing at the roasting duck, Nikandros snarled, “How did you get that food? Did one of you cheat?”

Ophelia jumped up, a scowl on her face. “We didn’t cheat, you dunderhead. You take that back right now!”

As Nikandros spoke, two others emerged from the forest. Unlike the big man, they took a route around the base of the nearby pine tree. Two women moved to stand beside the aspirant.

One of the women was Joanna, whom Piper had heard was the daughter of a powerful noblewoman in Kalmyros. The other woman’s name she didn’t know, though she always shadowed Joanna wherever she went.

Piper moved to stand beside Ophelia and scanned the group. Both Nikandros and Joanna had ugly expressions on their faces, and judging from their dishevelled appearances, they weren’t having fun roughing it in the wild.

“We didn’t cheat,” Piper replied, before frowning slightly. Technically, she had broken the rules by using Gorebark. But the other mages could use their spells, so why couldn’t she use her special weapon?

After a moment, Piper continued, “We just used the knowledge we learned from classes at the villa. You know, you could probably do the same.”

Joanna walked forward, lifting her chin to look down imperiously at Piper. “Don’t you know who you’re talking to? You shall always address me by my proper title.”

“Are you supposed to be someone important?” Piper asked, smiling sweetly. Her feigned ignorance had the desired effect on the noblewoman, whose face clouded with rage.

“I am Joanna, daughter of Irene. My house is one of the most important in Kalmyros, and you shall address me as your better. As of this moment, you shall always refer to me as ‘my Lady’. Is that understood?”

“I’m not big on titles,” Piper said, her fake smile growing larger. “As I was saying, we didn’t cheat.”

The noblewoman waved dismissively. “Give us all the food you’ve collected, your fire, and your shelter, and this slight shall be forgiven.”

At the woman’s request, Ophelia’s eyes nearly bulged out of her head. “You want us to give up our food? Not on your life. I’d rather let a rabid redcap chew on my toes than do that.”

Joanna thrust a quivering finger toward Ophelia. “Are you going to let your servant talk to me that way?”

“She’s not my servant.” Piper crossed her arms and glared at the noblewoman.

“I only assumed she was a servant due to her monkey-like gibbering and atrocious smell. However, it seems I was wrong, and she’s nothing more than a boorish peasant.”

“I’ll show you a boorish peasant!” Ophelia shouted. She balled her hands into fists and charged forward with her head down, only to be intercepted by Zenos at the last moment.

Piper pointed at the forest. “Get out of my camp. Now.”

Joanna glared daggers at Piper. “I have the power to make your life very difficult for you when you return to Kalmyros. A single word from my mother would see you ejected from the guild. Would you like to live penniless in the gutter all for a scrap of duck meat?”

“I’m willing to take my chances,” Piper replied, her smile fading. After all, she highly doubted that Niko would eject her at the whim of a noblewoman. And even if the guild master did, she could make her own way in this world with everything she’d learned.

Zenos continued to struggle to hold Ophelia back from Joanna. “Perhaps we should do what she says.”

“What?” Ophelia squeaked in his grip. “There’s no way I’m giving up my dinner to that noble with her head up her ass.”

“Her family is very powerful,” Zenos pointed out, looking to Piper for support. “She could make all our lives miserable.”

Piper briefly hesitated at the thought of causing trouble for Zenos. She was sure that she and Ophelia could weather anything that Joanna threw their way, but she didn’t want her group member to end up as collateral damage.

Zenos must have seen the hesitation on her face, and he continued. “What if we share the dinner? If we all take a small portion of the meat, then we could fill up on the fruit and tubers that Piper collected.”

“Hah,” Joanna laughed. “Share with the lowborn? I should think not.”

The other woman, silent until now, stepped forward. She had short dark hair, a sharp face, and carried herself with the bearing of a warrior. Her dark eyes bored into Piper, making her skin tingle.

“I would suggest caution, my lady. That one is not what she seems.”

At those words, Piper’s blood froze in her veins. For a moment, she feared that the woman had somehow seen through her illusions. But then she realized that not even Niko, leader of the Silver Hippogriffs, had been able to pierce her [Truth Shroud]. Something else was going on here.

Joanna sighed and dramatically rolled her eyes. “I’ve had just about enough of your hysterics, Monika. Everything is dangerous to you. The only reason you’re here is because my mother is overprotective. If it were up to her, I’d still have a nursemaid.”

“My job is to protect you,” Monika said stiffly, her entire body going rigid. “And my skill tells me that woman is far more dangerous than she appears.”

“Please,” Joanna said with a giggle. “She’s a tiny aspirant with a silver badge. I could probably have defeated her on the day of my awakening. Now, I order you to take their food and banish them from the camp. Try not to maim them too much.”

Nikandros chuckled. “A little maiming might teach that girl with the hideous scars a lesson. She used a cowardly trick to defeat me in our sparring match the other day. Try to avoid hitting her face, as even animals would run away at the sight of her if she became any uglier.”

At those words, Ophelia stopped struggling for a second and lifted a hand to her burn scars. Her eyes simmered with hatred as she ran her fingers over the raised and discolored skin.

“My Lady,” Monika said sharply. “I must refuse. These actions may put your life in severe danger.”

“Are you truly refusing my orders!” Joanna cried out, her voice becoming shrill. “Are you so terrified of a handful of peasants? My mother will whip you when she hears about this treachery!”

Piper barely heard the women arguing as she watched Ophelia blink away tears. Her friend had never seemed bothered by the scarring inflicted by the ooze so many years ago. Then again, no one had ever called her hideous before.

Her vision went red as she began to cast a spell. She’d had just about enough of the noblewoman’s crap. Right now, all she cared about was making sure that they never bothered her again.

The second she began casting, the woman whom she assumed was a bodyguard snapped her head over in her direction. She watched as two curved swords appeared in Monika’s hand, noting that she wasn’t the only one who had smuggled weapons into the valley.

As she finished casting [Shifting Veil], a massive troll took shape in the forest. Back at the manor, she’d seen illustrations of the creature in a book about monsters, and she’d read that they inhabited the mountains. This was the perfect creature to teach the noblewoman a lesson.

She followed up her first spell with [Phantom Flesh] to make the illusion solid. As soon as she did, she had the troll let loose a deafening bellow. The sound was so loud that it shook the forest and made everyone turn to face the towering troll.

Piper fought down a grin as she ordered the monster to stomp forward. Tree limbs snapped and bushes were trampled underfoot as the troll broke free from the forest. The creature easily stood three times Zenos’ height and loomed over everyone assembled in the clearing.

“My lady,” Monika said, placing herself between the noblewoman and the troll. “Please run for your life.”

“Run for my life?” Joanna tittered and pushed her bodyguard aside. “From an illusion? Had you been paying attention back at the villa, you would have known that woman is nothing more than a minor illusionist. My hand will pass straight through this troll.”

Nikandros took a step backward. “I heard she conjured a real snake…”

“Nonsense. Do you think someone like her could conjure an entire troll?”

Joanna continued giggling as she strolled up to the hulking creature. Turning to her companions, she smiled. “Now watch as I show you this is nothing more than a parlor trick.”

The woman thrust out her hand toward the troll, only for it to stop dead against its heavily muscled thigh. A dawning look of horror appeared on her face as her mouth dropped open. Slowly craning her neck back, she peered up into the troll's beady, black eyes.

“Save me!” Joanna screamed as she stumbled back.

In the blink of an eye, Monika flashed forward and parried the troll’s fist grasping for Joanna. She unleashed a flurry of blows, inflicting deep, bloody gashes on the troll’s palm. Leaping back, the swordswoman cried out with exertion as she delivered another powerful double swing of her swords that nearly severed the troll’s massive hand.

Piper had read in books that trolls could regenerate even the most severe wounds, so she recast the illusion to make it appear as if it were healing. But the woman was attacking almost faster than she could remake the illusory troll.

Ding! Your spell, Phantom Flesh has reached Level 27.

She was surprised when the level notification was followed by another one.

Congratulations! Your spell, Phantom Flesh has evolved to become Flesh Weaver, Level 27.

The illusions given form through a Deceiver’s spells are already formidable opponents. This spell makes the illusions even more dangerous, granting them regeneration along with limited autonomy.

Piper had little time to dwell on the spell evolution, as her summoned troll and swordswoman continued to clash.

Joanna and Nikandros took the opportunity to flee the camp, and Zenos and Ophelia stopped their struggles to watch the unfolding battle in the flickering firelight. Neither of them said a word as they watched the troll and the woman continue to exchange blows.

Piper made her summons deflect the blindingly fast sword swings with its forearms before unleashing earthshaking punches on the woman. One of the strikes connected with the woman’s crossed blades, sending her sliding back over a dozen paces.

Springing toward the troll, Monika spun around in a whirlwind of flashing blades. The weapons shredded the trolls’ hands as it grasped at her before tearing through the flesh on its forearms.

As Monika dove toward the creature’s chest, Piper ordered the maimed troll to headbutt its attacker. Its head rushed forward to meet Monika and slammed into the woman’s chest; a terrible crack reverberated through the glade shrouded in twilight.

A cry of pain escaped Monika’s lips as she was sent hurtling to the ground. She hit the rocky soil hard and rolled for a few metres before coming to a stop. The moment she stopped moving, she staggered to her feet and collected her swords. A thin rivulet of blood dripped from the corner of her mouth and down her chin.

Monika wiped the blood away with the back of her sleeve. “I will not let you harm my mistress.”

Piper watched the woman intently. “I don’t want to harm Joanna. All I wanted was to keep the food that I had worked hard to collect. I would have even shared if she hadn’t been such a complete jerk.”

“Then why summon such a powerful creature?”

“Because Nikandros insulted my best friend,” Piper said simply. “I think they were the ones who needed to be taught a lesson.”

Monika regarded her for a moment before continuing, “Will you talk terms?”

“Talk fast,” Piper said grimly. “And the terms better not be giving up our camp, because I’m just getting started.”