AA2 47 - Delayed (Patreon)

Verdan wasn’t sure what to think about the fresh chaos that had joined them this morning.

The new Airta had introduced themselves to him as Sylvie had directed, which left him deciding what to do with them while she had a quiet discussion with Tim.

“Okay, so what are you skilled at?” Verdan asked Delia, who seemed to be the leader of the reinforcements.

“Scouting, tracking, hunting,” Delia said with a somewhat defiant look in her eye and a proud tilt to her chin, daring him to dismiss their skills. “Your guards at the gate took our weapons, but we each use a short bow and carry several small blades.”

“She only speaks for herself and her pack,” Zhalia said before Verdan could respond. “As a cleric, I am considered as outside the clan.”

“I see, and what about yourself, then?” Verdan asked with interest, wondering if she was a cleric in the way he was familiar with.

“I use a longbow and axes, though my longbow is my Icon, so it is my main weapon.”

“I see,” Verdan said, nodding happily to himself as he considered what she could do to those Sorcerers using an Icon weapon with one of his enchanted arrows. There was one question that needed to be asked, though. “Why are you here, Zhalia?”

“I’m not sure I understand?” Zhalia cocked her head to one side, giving Verdan her full attention.

“Why would a Cleric come to retrieve Sylvie?” Verdan clarified, wondering if Clerics were as rare among the other races as they were among humans.

“I didn’t,” Zhalia said with a slight shrug of her shoulders. “I received guidance to head here, and Delia happened to be heading this way, so I joined her group for the journey.”

“I see, and what is your task while you’re here?” 

“As you might know, communication with the gods is difficult at best,” Zhalia said with a wry smile, though Verdan noticed she was watching him carefully as she spoke. “My understanding was that I was coming to help defend something. Given what you’ve said, I believe I was sent to aid in your fight.”

“I see,” Verdan said thoughtfully. He was happy to accept the aid if what she was saying was true, and there was an easy way to test that. “Forgive my questions, but would you be able to prove your status as a Cleric?”

Delia and her two subordinates bristled at his words, but Zhalia shrugged and walked over to lay a hand on Verdan’s shoulder. “May the Lord of the Hunt guide your aim.”

Verdan’s breath hitched in his chest as he felt a soothing energy flow through him, one with the unmistakable crisp sensation of Exeon, the celestial energy. She was the real thing.

“You’ve experienced this before,” Zhalia said, studying Verdan’s expression with interest. “That’s unusual for a human; your Sorcerers have driven off many of the devout, whether intentionally or not.”

“I have some experience, yes,” Verdan said, resisting the urge to experiment with the blessing and try to quantify the benefit it gave. “I apologise for making you demonstrate your power, but we can’t be too careful.”

“No need to apologise, I understand. However, now that you are certain, may I retrieve my Icon?”

“Yes, of course,” Verdan said, passing the request on to the closest of his guards.

“My thanks,” Zhalia said as she retrieved her Icon, which took the form of an intricately carved longbow as tall as she was. 

Looking closer, Verdan saw that the carvings were religious in design and content, no doubt part of what made it her Icon.

“Right, well, we’re running a bit short on space, but I’m sure we can find you some room in the workshop,” Verdan said, gathering all the Airta to him and heading inside to find Adrienne.

Verdan wasn’t convinced that Delia was completely past the situation between Sylvie and Tim, but it would have to do. They needed all the allies they could get, even reluctant ones.

-**-

Once the Airta were at least somewhat dealt with, Verdan decided to spend working on new designs for his tester, as well as studying the strange magi-tech that Macannan had brought him.

Kai and the Witches should currently be working on communing with the spirit of the forest, which Verdan was fairly confident would be an easy task for them given the strength of the spirit.

All being well, the group would be back by mid to late afternoon, and the Witches would have the experience needed to find and commune with any local spirits.

Given its urban nature, it was unlikely that there would be any in the city, but there could be some in the surrounding area that would be useful. There was no definite payoff for the risk, but the potential was there to make it worthwhile.

Either way, that was a problem for later. Right now, Verdan had the opportunity to work on this odd artifact, and he intended to take it.

-**-

Several hours passed as they carried on about their day, though Verdan grew a little unsettled when he checked in with the guards at the gate again. There was still no sign of Kai or the Witches.

While it was a little concerning, it wasn’t too worrying. The chances were that the Witches were simply taking longer than they’d planned for.

Verdan did consider sending a message spell to Kai or Gwen, but he’d have to charge it enough for both ways and if they were all the way over at the forest still, that would be a costly proposition. 

No, it would be best that he left them to do their thing for now. He'd keep an eye on things and trust in Kai’s ability to keep the group safe.

Decision made, Verdan put his worries to the back of his mind, and continued about his day, but he made sure to pass by the entrance on a regular basis and check in with the guards to make sure they hadn’t seen anything and not told him.

The sun steadily sank down in the sky, eventually dipping down to touch the horizon, leaving Verdan with a choice of what to do. He could either use a good amount of Aether and contact Kai now or give him until the morning.

Verdan eventually decided to commit to sending the message; it was worth the expenditure for the peace of mind if nothing else.

Settling down in his room, Verdan gathered his Aether and visualised the concept he wanted, carefully using enough to the return message as well.

A soft knocking at his door disrupted Verdan’s concentration before he could cast the spell.

“Who is it?” Verdan called with a frown; it was now quite late in the evening, and the last vestige of sunlight had long since faded. Not exactly the usual time for visitors.

“It’s Natalia. Can I come in?” 

“Oh, yes, give me a moment,” Verdan called as he quickly got to his feet and muttered a cleaning spell to freshen himself up. Smoothing his clothes, Verdan took a breath and opened the door. “Please, come in.”

“Thank you,” Natalia said, stepping inside his room as she took her veil off. It was a small gesture, but it said something about how comfortable she felt around him now.

“What can I do for you? Is everything alright?” Verdan asked, noting a distinct level of tension in the way she held herself.

“Yes, well, no, not really, but I’m fine,” Natalia said before stopping and shaking her head. “Sorry, I’ve been working all day, and I feel a bit frazzled, let me try again. I’m fine, thank you, but I’ve made a breakthrough with the potion you left me.”

“Oh, do you know what it is?” Verdan asked excitedly.

“Yes, I think I do,” Natalia said, smiling as she put her veil down on a table and turned back to face Verdan. “I studied some books on Vespa that my father had, and I found notes of a secretion that the queens create, which they use in emergencies to summon their defenders.”

“You think it’s this secretion that is in the potions?” Verdan asked, rubbing his jaw thoughtfully as he considered her words.

“I believe that another alchemist has somehow extracted the core aspects of this secretion and created a purified extract. It’s that extract that we hold, only that would explain its tremendous reach in summoning the Vespa.”

“That sounds like a difficult process,” Verdan remarked with a bit of concern. It sounded like a dangerous substance indeed in those terms.

“Yes, I think we’re dealing with a master of the craft, one who has been studying the Vespa for a long time at that,” Natalia said with a shake of her head. “Such brilliance in the way it was done, and it is used to kill innocents, it sickens me.”

“At least we know what it is, now,” Verdan said, considering the implications of what she’d said. “For so much to be used, they must have a reliable way of harvesting it. Perhaps they can create it artificially?”

“I doubt it; this is the sort of substance that is naturally magical, so it would be best gathered that way. The amount needed would be significant as well. I’d expect at least five to ten times as much of the original secretion would be needed.”

“That’s a lot,” Verdan said, wide-eyed as he considered how many resources had gone into creating as much of the marking potion as had been used. “They must have a stockpile somewhere.”

“Or they have a steady supply,” Natalia said with a grim tone that made confused Verdan for a moment before he realised what she was implying.

The idea of the Weeping Death having captured a Vespa Queen was troubling, not the least, because it meant an attack like they’d had could happen again.

“Do you think we’ll be able to do this?” Natalia asked softly, looking up at him with wide eyes, searching for something in his expression.

“I do. I have to,” Verdan said, abruptly realising how close they were standing together.

“I wish I could do something more useful.”

“You’ve already done an incredible amount, and you are still making new potions when you can. Every potion you make can save a life. Even one of them in the right situation could change everything,” Verdan said, his expression hardening as he thought of the many times when he’d have been able to save a life if he’d only had another potion to use. 

“Then I will make as many as I am able,” Natalia declared with conviction, her determined expression banishing his darker thoughts momentarily.

Verdan began to say something, but a muffled noise in the distance caught his attention for a moment. He listened carefully for a moment, but there were no other sounds, so he turned back to find Natalia wearing a conflicted expression.

“Verdan, I wanted to thank you,” the alchemist said, reaching out to rest a hand on his arm. “For what you’ve done for the city, for what you’ve done for me. I feel like I’m alive again for the first time in a long time, and that’s because of you.”

“Natalia, I…” Verdan stammered, at a loss for words and unable to look away from the sparkling depths of her blue eyes.

“It’s okay, you don’t need to explain; I know you see me as a patient,” Natalia said, pain writing itself across her face as she began to move away from him.

“No,” Verdan said firmly, unwilling to let her hurt herself like that. Not when the mere sight of her made his heart pound. “You have it wrong.”

“I do?” Natalia’s voice was breathy as Verdan slipped an arm around her waist and drew her gently against him, their faces mere inches away from each other.

“Very much so,” Verdan said, a smile spreading across his face as he leaned down to kiss her before stopping, his eyes going wide as he clutched her to him.

An ear-splitting crack filled the air as the door exploded inward with a spray of splinters. 

Already twisting to put himself between the blast and Natalia, Verdan felt the impact of the blast and splinters alike, grunting in pain as it hit.

Bleeding and disorientated, Verdan managed to throw up a shield around them a moment later, his heart skipping a beat as a knife bounced off of it the instant it formed.

“Kill him.”