The Deceiver's Path - Chapter 136 - Crimson Snowdrifts (Patreon)

Piper returned to where the sleigh had dropped them off, having spent most of the early afternoon searching for Vespera. Since she hadn’t been able to think of anything else to do, she decided to check in on the young woman.

But while Vespera had told her that she lived with her family near the animal market, the surrounding warren of shacks had proven far larger than expected. Even after asking around, no one had been able to direct her to the redhead’s house.

I really want to learn what class she received. I bet it was an amazing one from the Life Realm.

During her time in the town, another storm had blown in, blotting out the sun with roiling black clouds. However, the falling snowflakes were large and fluffy, which meant there shouldn’t be too much accumulation.

As she reached the sleigh, the driver turned around to give her a flat stare. “Just you?”

Piper shrugged helplessly. “I think the others are coming…”

“Makes no difference to me.”

Piper stamped her feet, trying to warm them up. She suddenly realized she should have bought a nice, thick woolen blanket during her free time in town. That would have made the journey back to the villa a little more tolerable.

As she tried to figure out if she had time to buy a blanket, Marco’s group appeared down the street. She waved at him, but strangely he studiously avoided looking in her direction.

Great, she thought to herself. Is he angry with me now too?

After angering Joanna’s group, she was fast running out of allies at the villa. At least Lysander remained on her side, though with the noblewoman’s influence, she wasn’t sure how much longer that would last.

As if her thoughts had summoned the brat, Joanna walked around a building with the others in tow. The noblewoman reached the sleigh and held out her hand while gazing at Nikandros expectantly.

He simply raised an eyebrow before hurrying over and helping her into the back of the sleigh. Then he climbed in himself, followed by the bodyguard, Monika.

Piper waited until everyone else was inside the sleigh before leaping in herself. She found an open spot near the front and settled down for the long journey back to the villa. Her position left her uncomfortably close to Joanna, and she was a little surprised when Monika didn’t relocate to place herself between them.

With a mental shrug, she tugged down the cloak to protect her face from the blowing snow. A moment later, the driver glanced back and snapped the reins. The massive horses pulling the sleigh lurched forward, dragging the skids across the slushy ground.

They travelled away from the walls, the movement becoming easier once they reached the deeper snow. The guards at the gate waved as they departed before returning to their protected guardhouses.

This time, she barely noticed the animals dotting the hills as the sleigh skimmed over the snow. Her mind kept going back to the confrontation at the tavern. Overall, she felt that she’d handled it pretty well. She hadn’t been forced to call upon any of her summons, and she defeated the adventurers without seriously injuring anyone.

The next time she had a day off, she was going to find Selene and take her to the tavern for a free meal. She had a feeling that the barmaid, Alkmini, would be happy to see her again.

Settling in, she used [Enduring Casting] on [False Face] in case she dozed off on the long ride back to the villa. Once she was finished, she turned to watch the landscape over the side of the sleigh.

After they’d been travelling for nearly an hour, the driver grunted. “Trouble up ahead.”

Piper pulled back her cloak’s hood and peered into the distance. Boulders had been strewn across the road, almost as if there had been a landslide. But the higher elevations showed no sign of a rockfall.

“What’s happening?” Joanna asked shrilly. “Please don’t tell me we’re going to be forced to go back to that terribly pedestrian town.”

“Imagine something so horrible,” Piper said dryly.

Joanna sniffed. “I wouldn’t expect a lowborn to understand.” She was about to say more when Nikandros placed a hand on her arm. She seemed to swallow her next words.

Piper was mildly surprised that anyone could make the spoiled princess stop talking. She’d have to figure out how Nikandros had managed to do that.

Marco leaned over the side and groaned. “There are redcaps out there. This is going to ruin our day.”

“How do you know?” Piper squinted and surveyed the hill. But she couldn’t make out anything against the white snow.

Marco simply shrugged and grinned at her.

Piper’s palm itched as she felt the urge to summon Gorebark. But conjuring a talking legendary infernal bow would probably cause more problems than it would solve in their current predicament.

“Hold on,” the sleigh driver shouted. “We’re going off-road.”

The man yanked on the reins, sending the horses careening around the boulders blocking their path. Their speed almost immediately slowed as the mounts tried to break through snow nearly reaching their necks. At this rate, they weren’t going to outrun the ambush.

The driver rapidly tapped something to the side, and a shimmering shield sprang up around the sleigh. Barely a moment later, a flight of arrows pattered against the magical dome.

The attack had begun.

All around them, dozens of redcap warriors threw off snow-covered white furs concealing their positions and surged to their feet. Nearly half their number were armed with bows, and they poured volleys into the sleigh. The others charged forward with their rusty weapons raised.

Piper’s heart hammered in her chest as she saw the hideous creatures again for the first time in years. Their bulbous heads had crimson caps perched on top, and their cruel smiles exposed mouths crowded with oversized, rotten teeth.

She groped for a weapon on her belt before remembering that she hadn’t brought any with her to town. More than anything, she needed to find a proper replacement for Gorebark when she couldn’t use the legendary bow.

Instead, she cast [Shifting Veil] and pictured a meteor hammer. The weapon took shape in her palm, with two heavy metal weights connected by a flexible chain. She then followed up the spell with [Flesh Weaver]. The mana cost was staggering for what amounted to only summoning a weapon, but she didn’t plan to cast many other spells.

The meteor hammer grew heavy in her grip, and she watched intently as the redcaps swarmed after the sleigh. In front of them, the horses labored on bravely through the deep snow. However, she knew they couldn’t outrun their pursuers.

“Where’s your bow?” Marco asked.

“I… sort of left it at the villa.”

“You what?” he exclaimed. “Why would you do something so foolish?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I guess I wasn’t expecting to run into a full redcap raiding party.”

Joanna drew her cloak up over her mouth, a horrified expression on her face. “What do they want?”

Monika gazed out across the snow-covered field. “They want our weapons.”

“Can’t they make their own?”

The bodyguard shook her head. “They don’t have the ability to smelt steel in the mountains. They rely on raiding to replenish their weapon supplies.”

Nikandros turned to face Piper as he readied his claw weapons. “I’ll ensure that you’re kept safe from those beasts.”

“You will?” Piper asked, trying to keep the shock from her face. Then she blurted out, “Why?”

The young man simply shrugged and moved to the rear of the sleigh. If she wasn’t so keyed up for battle, someone would have probably needed to pick her jaw up off the floor. Why had Nikandros changed his attitude so much? Had he been hit on the head or something?

Blinking rapidly, she watched as the redcaps rushed toward the sleigh. As they drew closer, she used [Identify] on them. The results didn’t exactly fill her with confidence.

Nearly every single one of the redcaps was level 400 or higher. A few were even over level 500. Aside from Monika and herself, the group was vastly outclassed. If the redcaps got through the shield, most of them would be dead in minutes.

Another hail of arrows hammered the glowing shield enclosing the sleigh. As it did, cracks spread through the magical field. It wouldn’t last much longer against the assault.

Crap. What should I do?

A blast of darkness tore out from the ranks of redcaps and splattered against the shimmering dome protecting them. The magic barrier began to sizzle before breaking apart into jagged pieces. The falling shards dissolved into blue smoke before striking the ground.

“Crap!” Piper cried out as another flight of arrows winged its way toward them. She dropped to the floorboards and heard whizzing sounds as some of the missiles soared overhead. A cry rang out, followed by arrows thudding into the wooden side of the sleigh.

Rising to her feet, she glanced over to see two members of Marco’s group sporting arrow wounds. Thankfully, neither seemed overly serious. Though their leader’s eyes burned with rage.

“Wait here for me!” she called out to the driver. “I’ll handle the archers.”

Piper watched the bowmen nocking new arrows and decided that now wasn’t the time to hold back with her spells. She cast [Wraithskin] and disappeared from view. The second she was hidden, she leapt out of the sleigh.

She landed softly in a snowdrift and froze in place. Her stealth skill was impressive, but even the dumbest redcap would notice an invisible person cutting a trail through the deep snow.

Joanna popped her head over the side of the sleigh with an open mouth. “Did she just run away and leave us to fight the redcaps alone? How dare she!”

Piper slung her hammer over her shoulders and then called upon Gorebark. The bow snapped into her hand, and almost by reflex, she immediately hid its true appearance behind [Shifting Veil].

Gorebark vibrated in her grip. “What’s on the menu today, princess?”

“Redcaps,” she replied in a terse voice. “Powerful ones.”

Piper grabbed an arrow from the quiver that had appeared on her belt and nocked it carefully. She drew it back and aimed at the closest archer. She held her breath as she released and activated [Abyssal Split Shot].

The arrow surged forward and split into three identical missiles. All three slammed into redcap archers as they were reloading their weapons. She was shocked when she didn’t receive a single kill notification. Then again, she’d never fought against anyone close to their level before, except for maybe the inquisitor back in Kalmyros.

She watched with annoyance as the redcaps ripped the arrows from their bodies and tossed them aside. The creatures immediately began to scan the icy hillside.

Since she couldn’t relocate without giving away her position, it wouldn’t be long until they zeroed in on her. She had to make her next few shots count.

Piper nocked another arrow and aimed at the first redcap she’d struck. She released her shot, and it winged its way toward the archer. Before her arrow had struck, she had already nocked and loosed another one.

I really hope the ring that Niko gave me works for Gorebark.

“Oh, this is going to be fun,” Gorebark crowed. “We haven’t blown stuff up in so long!”

Bracing herself, she waited for [Infernal Mark] to activate on the third shot. A split-second later, the ability detonated, sending a geyser of snow and bloody body parts high into the air. The concussion wave pushed her back, and she had to brace herself against the following gust of frigid wind.

As the air cleared, she saw that at least three of the redcaps had been killed or grievously wounded. And the rest of the archers were in disarray, falling back to more protected locations.

I guess they’re just realizing that they bit off more than they could chew.

Her brief elation faded as the warriors changed the direction of their charge to head toward her hiding spot. At least thirty of the high-level creatures were rushing straight toward her.

The redcaps may not be able to see her, but there was no mistaking where her arrows had originated. With the sheer number of bodies heading her way, at least one of them would blunder into her.

She needed to retreat. When she was back on the sleigh, she could keep up a steady rate of fire from the rear. If Infernus was watching over her, she could keep the redcaps at bay until they reached the safety of the villa.

Turning toward the sleigh, her heart sank as she saw the driver hadn’t waited as she’d asked. Instead, he’d veered back onto the road, and the horses were galloping away.

With each passing second, the sleigh was growing farther away, while the redcaps drew ever closer.

“Why the heck didn’t that jerk wait for me?” she muttered to herself. “I told him I’d take care of the archers.”

Then she realized the man probably had little faith in an aspirant holding off an entire redcap raiding party. Even after her impressive showing with [Infernal Mark], he hadn’t bothered sticking around.

“I guess it’s just you and me,” Piper said to Gorebark.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” her bow responded. “Now let’s splatter some redcaps. Every level you gain gets us a little closer to taking over the world together.”

Piper sighed at the bow’s words and prepared for battle. This was going to take every trick she had to stay alive. She just hoped that it would be enough.

*****

Zenobia jerked awake in bed, a thin sheen of sweat covering her body. She raised a hand to her chest as she struggled to calm her racing heart. In a foreign land, far across the sea, an immensely powerful demon had just revealed itself.

For months now, she’d felt the growing power of demons in the distant Bloodveil Empire. Before long, she knew the threat would spill over the mountains into the empire. However, the terrifying power she’d just sensed had been unleashed within the empire’s borders.

She rose from her bed and hurriedly pulled on her veil, followed by tying a rope around her waist. Once she was fully dressed in her Dawnward Host uniform, she left her simple nun’s cell.

The hallways of the abbey were silent, with most sisters at rest. Only a single gem glowed at the end of the hallway, illuminating the entrance to the stairs.

Zenobia raced forward, her boots whispering on the carpeted floor. She reached the stairs and ascended them two at a time. The wards guarding against all manner of enemies glowed at her approach, but she ignored them. They would only smite those without faith in their hearts.

A short time later, she arrived at the top floor of the abbey. She slowed her pace as she approached the door to Penelope’s quarters. At first, she hesitated to knock until she spotted the soft glow of light underneath the door. It seemed the abbess was awake as well.

“No point standing around out there,” a muffled voice called out from inside. “You might as well come in.”

Zenobia turned the door handle and stepped into the room. A single candle burned on the desk. The abbess sat in the chair, staring off into space.

“I felt it as well,” the wizened woman said. “It appears we have been deceived.”

Zenobia frowned. “In what way were we deceived?”

“Our foolish sister did not battle a mere infernal caster in Kalmyros; she faced a demon risen from the pits of the Abyss. Not only did Elissa fail in her duty to slay the monstrosity, but the creature deceived us all into believing it had perished.”

“What should we do?” She nervously played with the frayed end of the rope around her waist.

“I shall send the most powerful of our sisters to hunt the demon down.”

“Should we not call for the Sainted Host? Or the Sorrowguard?”

Penelope shook her head, a strand of curly silver hair escaping her habit. “No. The orichalcum is too important for the empire’s war efforts. The Sainted Host would burn Helidros to the ground and leave no survivors.”

Zenobia was silent for a moment as she considered her next words. She prayed the abbess wouldn’t take offense at her question. “After the last encounter… do you believe our sisters capable of defeating the demon?”

Penelope grinned, the corners of her mouth wrinkling like aged leather. “They will not be going alone. I will arrange for members of the Hollowed Flame, the Nightwrought Order, and a Steel Magistrate to accompany them. I shall even unleash a dreadforged from the Dark Armory to ensure the heresy is driven from the lands.”

The mention of the dreadforged made Zenobia gasp. “Such a monstrosity has not been released in centuries.”

Penelope tapped her fingers against the wooden surface of her desk. “Desperate times call for desperate measures. I only pray to the emperor that it shall be enough to eradicate the demonic scourge from our land.”

Zenobia nodded. “Who shall I send to assemble the host?”

The abbess leaned back in her chair. “I will send word to the other orders. However, I want you to write a letter to Sister Adara in Kalmyros. She was the highest-ranking nun to survive the massacre. I want her to accompany the expedition to Helidros as she may have vital insight into what we face.”

“As you wish, abbess. I will see to it immediately. The infernal abomination will be stamped out before the first flower of spring blooms in Helidros.”