Dim Prisons and Drakes, chapter 44. (Patreon)

Here we are, the first chapter of the holiday season. Too bad its all preparation and backstory, and random silliness. Please enjoy.

"Twice," Karl bitched.

I ignored him, making a minute adjustment and watching the back-flow. As this heated up, it needed to vent some steam and possibly other gasses or the mix would fail.

So of course Karl tried again. "That's twice you left me alone to them. You even locked your door!"

"I opened it after I got the potion set up, you big baby." Karl had still been there after the initial hour I'd needed to set things up in my little lab... and he'd still been talking to the mayor and the city council. All of them but one, by that time.

Since the mixture had to brew, I'd taken pity on him and let him in. He ducked in just quickly enough that his dignity hadn't suffered - much.

"So, how has the village been?"

Karl slumped back down in the chair I'd let him move. "It's been good. A few minor attacks, a few minor disturbances, but smooth sailing so far. The last of the harvest was brought in a week ago, and our storehouses are bursting with it all, apparently.

I shook my head. Why the small powers that be thought Karl, an officer of the law, needed to know that... well, politicians weren't always smart. Still, it was good general knowledge to have for someone who was wintering here. Too bad that didn't include any of us.

"Where do you want to take us?" Karl asked.

"I've got two choices in mind. The first is the village of the paranoid where we slept at the inn." The food had been good, but if we appeared inside that village I was sure weapons would fly before we could explain. Right outside was doable however, and they were fortified against attack... even undead attack.

Karl nodded, clearly approving of that one. "And the other?"

"The other village... the one we simply walked through and kept going."

Karl shook his head and sipped my tea. "No, that one is a bit too suspect. Though we should send runners once we can, and warn them about the potential zombie horde coming to eat their faces off." He sipped again and sighed: "If it's not one thing, it's another."

On that we could agree. "To that end we need to get back sooner rather than later."

I knew how Karl felt... any delay meant blood on our hands, as well as the hands of the perpetrator. Any time you knew what was happening and just did nothing, or even delayed because it was easy... that much at least was on you.

That needed to be balanced with just blindly dying to no purpose due to your principles, but still, we could rest, refit, and prepare here. We were duty-bound to do something, and that much we didn't even need to talk about. We agreed.

Despite what the others might say, they also agreed. Even our fighter, a man who would loudly scoff at anyone not strong enough to take care of themselves, would put aside his nature for kids, at least.

"Les is supposed to come over later, depending on how pissed off his goddess is." I expected good things out of that, really. I mean, having the goddess of healing bless my mana recovery potion could only be a plus.

Well, hopefully. I don't think I've pissed off any gods lately, but who could say? They might take my insistence to fix whatever actually happened as sacrilege or something. There was no doubt about the existence of higher powers, like before - we could see and experience their powers firsthand through their clergy.

"Good, hope it helps," Karl responded. He actually sounded as if he meant it, just a little.

I hated taking some of the wind out of his sails. "We also need to re-do some of our wards and blessings. The ones we had for our camp; we had to leave them behind and I am sure they will be useful in the coming days."

"Right," Karl sighed out, giving me a full dose of his resignation. "How bad will it set us back?"

"Not that much? I mean, we aren't planning on going until tomorrow now, so I can make a few charms. We can spend today on preparations; I know Les is planning on going wild with the holy water."

"Well, that'll help too, I guess. Us more mundane types are all restocked, re-armed, and ready to go. Everything seen to and repaired, new weapons and arrows and all that. It's just too bad you can't enchant any of it."

I could, I think, if I had time. I was learning quickly, if unwillingly. Not to start, the stuff I was sporting was not something the other me had made herself, but I was almost certain I could now. "We lack the time. If I had some, and stayed here... like if we wintered here, for example, I'm sure I could deck at least a few of us out. I don't think the time sink is worth it though."

Karl raised an eyebrow at me. "I'd have to agree. I don't think waiting here several months without getting any closer to figuring out what happened is worth a glowing sword."

"Yeah, that's what I said. Better to just find a bunch of money and pay for stuff someone else has spent six months making. We are in a hurry."

I wonder what would happen to all the magic stuff that we got or made once we figured this out and went back to how things should be? What would a glowing sword become? Would it become a gun, or something similar, or stay a sword?

I'd had a shotgun before, a relic from my grandfather... it wasn't here now, but I'd found a sword instead. Was it my grandfather's shotgun, or did it have no parallel in my universe?

Was it just that the world was different, and weapons of all kinds were needed more here for self defense, or was it something else? After all, back in our own medieval period, weapons had been expensive. Far more so than any iron or steel tools.

I think part of that was a fix by the noble class to make sure the peasantry didn't revolt, but that could just be me.

It didn't matter yet anyway; it was a bridge we'd cross when we came to it.

"Could you go to Columbus? Where all your friends are?"

Silly. "Sure. You got the money to buy stuff on that wish list of yours? Because I'm fairly broke."

Karl sighed again. "Adventurers were supposed to be rich. Why aren't we rich?"

That was an easy one. "We haven't been looking for dungeons to delve. We have more than the average peasant at least."

I had enough for a horse, when we finally got into a city with one. I could buy a nag here, but I wouldn't be able to teleport it out with us. There was too much weight, and there was far too much weight.

I was still rather impressed with myself, that I'd managed to get us all home in the first place. It was... miraculous, really. I'd be suspicious of the gods, if I had that sort of faith.

"True I guess. I'm still getting paid at least, even if the mayor was less than happy about our progress."

That idiot. "Just tell him he can always go himself if he doesn't like how you're doing things."

"Right, I did say words to that effect. It worked like a dream, and even the council shut up. I mean, I know all about it, the shit is rolling downhill from the council to the mayor to me, but I'm just not going to take it today."

"Good for you."

A knock sounded on my door, and before I could even get up Karl was moving. "If that's them, just tell them I'm not here."

I knew who it was. "Captain courageous over here."

I opened the door and motioned Les in. "Come in, you're just in time for tea. Well, tea, and for you to do your thing."

"Right, I'll do that first, and you steep my tea. I've been getting guests all day,and I need a break."

That worked. I pointed down the hall - but I couldn't stop the grin: "You need me to hide you, like Karl does?"

"...I can't even say it's not happening that way," Karl replied as Les entered the brewing room.

"I don't blame you man, the old men and old ladies in this village are relentless. It's like no one took care of themselves at all while we were gone."

"They like you," Karl insinuated in a sly tone, and I could almost picture him putting an elbow to Les's ribs.

Another cup was easy to find but... I was running out of the good stuff. That was okay, the tea was for friends, but I'd need to remember to grab more leaves. I had enough to last the day however, even if everyone I expected came over. Thing is, the council wouldn't come to me. The mayor wouldn't come to me. I was a witch right now, in their minds; someone who it would be dangerous to anger.

All I'd need to do is just look angry if they walked up... they would talk to me, since I was the hero of the hour before, but they didn't like the idea. At least, I was fairly certain of it. Maybe I was just attributing my own biases to them, in a completely unfair manner. I didn't really want to find out if I was right or not, however.

I came back with the tea to find Les already bowed on his knees before my apparatus and the potion itself, his lips moving but without a sound. Whatever his prayer was, it clearly wasn't meant for us.

Whatever it was he was doing, the entire brewing apparatus was glowing a faint, pleasing blue, so it was probably working. I set his tea down on the table behind him and picked up my own. I was getting low, but I wasn't about to bring the kettle and service in here.

I didn't really want to talk and risk disturbing Les... sheesh. I grabbed my cup and crooked a finger.

Of course, while I could be quiet, Karl could only stomp around like a wildebeest or something. Still, Les didn't object and neither did his goddess. In the kitchen we could at least whisper.

"Sorry, it didn't seem right to talk about random things right in front of Les while he was doing that."

Karl nodded. "I know exactly what you mean. So... where were we?"

Well, we'd been griping about the council, but I didn't want to go back to that. "Resupply, I think."

"Right. How are you doing on that? some of the others are struggling. Phil even had to go out shopping for food the next village over."

Phil was an even bigger grasshopper than Matt was? That was a bit surprising.

"Well, I'll be alright. I can't say that I have all that much to share, but I can...."

"No, it's not your responsibility," Karl cut me off, pointing to my fruit bowl. "I was just asking. You seem a bit more put together than most of us. I was just double-checking."

"If you want an apple, take one. They have to come with my anyway, I broke the magic over them."

I suited action to words, and grabbed one myself. Karl just shook his head. "That wasn't my point."

"Then how are you fixed for food?"

Karl's eyes shifted away from me, "I'm good enough. I don't need to go to the next town over at least."

It was better to get the food here rather than at another town or city, since we were well liked here and even funded here. We could agree on that much at least.

We still would of course, I'm sure the others felt the same way. It was silly, but it was still a line drawn in the sand because of money that might as well have not even been there.

We all spent an inordinate amount of time worrying about food. We as living creatures, that is.

There was something I could be doing. "Be right back," I muttered to Karl as I got back up; the stuff to make my anti-undead and alarm charms was in the store room. It wasn't as if the stuff was that hard to collect, and I always laid in a stock where I could.

I came back to Karl refreshing his tea. "Can I help?"

Well he could, but... "I don't know. How are you at basket weaving? Thats the skill needed for this. At least, the first stage of this."

I could see the moment Karl lost all motivation. "Right, I'll watch then, and see if I can pick it up. Always nice to have a skill for later."

I sat down and got started.

"So weird, basket weaving of all things," Karl muttered in spite of himself as he watched the first charm take shape.

"Yeah it's bizarre, the skills you need to know or learn for some professions. Really, this is handy though. I can weave rope and lash shelters together. It's a great survival skill."

"Hm, when put that way, I know some lashing. Maybe I'll be able to help after all."

Yeah, that was not a good idea right now. "Only if you're sure. I don't have so much of this that I can afford you messing a few up. Best to watch for now."

Karl grunted, but pulled his hand back and away from my willow and yew branches.

He was still watching, though.

"Well, that was a bit cruel, leaving me alone," Les complained as he came in, carrying his now empty cup. Wow, he'd chugged it.

"We didn't want to disturb you, it looked like you were busy."

Karl mouthed 'we?' and I shushed him silently while Les refilled. Then he sat back and put his boots up on my table.

I casually knocked them off. They weren't exactly muddy, but they weren't clean either.

Les grabbed one of my charms. "The magic won't interfere, and this will be more efficient."

He wasn't wrong. "Do your thing."

I should have thought of doubling up the charms myself, since we were both doing the same thing.

We made the charms in comfortable silence, sipping tea and muttering our prayers and spells as needed. Karl eventually did join in, and his efforts to make a charm did not completely suck. They managed to take the magic anyway, and that was good enough.

It was nice... which meant it was a shame when it all came to an end. With another knock on my door, of course.

The people on the other side were distractions, but they were welcome ones. "Come on in. You're going to need to stand around I'm afraid, unless you want to hang out in another room. We're all in the kitchen."

There was no way I was letting Matt and a dwarf in my library and office, there was no telling what sort of trouble they would get into there. Matt would probably try a spell and blow himself up. Ethan would... well, be a bull in a china shop. A respectful bull, but a bull.

I wasn't going to say the man didn't know how to read, but when you make book covers out of stone, wood and leather might seem a little flimsy.

"That's fine. I just want to get out of the sun," Matt exclaimed.

An odd statement. The sun was long in the sky, and the heat from it was not the best it could be. It was a rather chilly day, all things considered.

Ethan just shook his head and pointed... at the gathering up the street.

Right, they were avoiding my house, but while Matt's house was next to mine, it was fair game. It was really odd, in a way - we all wanted to be back here, or maybe I thought we did, but no one wanted to actually deal with the people in charge here. Maybe even all the people here; it was a little crazy.

It was also something to deal with later. "I'm running out of tea, but you're welcome to what I've got left."

Now that was amusing; Karl and Matt fighting over what was left of my tea.

"Got anything stronger?"

That didn't surprise me either. "I do, but it isn't chilled and I can't spare the power to do that. So you'll have to drink it at around fifty degrees or so. The cellar is through that door, and the bottles are on the right. Leaving the door open should give you enough light to see it all by, so long as you don't go too far."

"Thanks," the short replied. He was already half through the door, but for him that was a flowery speech of wonder and joy. His steps thudded loudly; I half expected him to drive those plated boots of his through a stair.

Matt was not to be outdone of course: "hey, grab two."

"Gotcha," came the yelled response.

Well, this party was now on a timer. A short timer.

Les grabbed some of my willow and set his hands to work again. We were done with the charms, but I guess he still wanted to be doing something.

I didn't really have much power left to do anything, so I'd ride it out. I couldn't match a god's power in any event, and if we needed me too I could catch up later.

"Well, here's where the party is. How is everyone? Rested, I hope."

Karl scoffed. "Not as well rested as I'd like. Maybe tonight."

Les wasn't making a charm... but a holy symbol? One of his. A twisted willow statue complete with a loop for a string; a muttered word and it glowed briefly. He sat it down on the table and slid it my way.

I snagged it with a smile; it would help against undead when we couldn't put the charms up, at least for awhile. Assuming the Goddess of healing and mercy wasn't pissed at me for some reason. Or pissed at Les... but it would be hard to imagine that. I mean, if Les hadn't pissed her off by now, he wasn't going to.

Ethan came stomping back up, a bottle of my wine in either hand. The bottles were a little dusty because there had been no spell on them; after all, good wine needed to age.

"Your wine cellar sucks," The short man told me as he stumped by, slapping one bottle on the table in front of Matt and continuing his quest for a glass.

"Upper left shelf." There was no way he could reach; I got up and slid around everyone, and grabbed a glass for him.

He took the fluted glass and stared at both it, and me. Then he pointed. He pointed at my steins.

"Fine." I took the glass back and gave him one of the wooden cups. He took it with a happy sigh.

I gave up and passed a few more out. I'd be washing dishes before I left, it seemed - on top of everything else.

The bottles were already opened and half distributed. I snagged the one closest to me and filled my own, actual wineglass. I couldn't afford to get drunk or hung over since I'd be risking all our lives again tomorrow. I did not want to try a teleport spell hung over.

On the other hand, this red was more than a little tasty, and I could afford a glass. Or maybe even two.

The topics turned to light fare as Karl, prompted now by more of us, started regaling us with the stories of what had happened to the town in our absence.

Which appeared to be a big load of almost nothing: a few small monster attacks, easily dealt with by some of the more experienced that we hadn't taken with us, some politics with the other towns and villages nearby, like farmland border disputes.

Farmland border disputes, of all things - some old and gap-toothed men arguing about a fence demarcating a few rows of wheat being theirs or not. Not even the wheat itself, just the fence! It was just silly, really.

Les continued making his party favors, passing them out until I ran out of willow, and Karl continued with some tall tales. After a few tales and an empty bottle, Ethan got involved as well. I can't say I was really interested in a life underground, but he made it sound somewhat tolerable with his tales of camaraderie.

All the while though, his eyes were darting to me; there was a message there. He knew it all, remembered it all, but it was not his past. After all, none of us had lived underground, ever.

Was that something he'd always been keeping inside him, or was it recent?

The second bottle ran out, as these things tended to do, and a quick look outside proved it was now very dark, with barely a hint of the moon to give life to the dancing shadows.

Right, it had been fun, a true experience, but it was time for it to end. "Well, I hate to cut this party short, but we should get some sleep and get ready whatever we haven't already prepared. The big bad council isn't out there to cause us any more issues."

I turned to Karl, who had gone from smiling to sober in the span of a second. "What do you think? First light?"

The potion would be done about an hour before then, whether a complete success or failure. Sunlight was a natural cleanser to most undead, so it would be almost impossible to jump us with any. With luck we'd have until nightfall to prepare for whatever we'd find.

"Sure, that's as good a time as any. Everyone here, first light, Muse's yard. I'll spread the word."

I'd actually created a bit more work for the man; I hadn't meant to. Then again, they had all conspired to create more work for me, with the dishes as my mute witnesses. The scraping chairs and grunts were almost charming, in their own way - at least until one realized the traffic jam created as my wonderful and esteemed guests decided to leave at once. "I hope you'll understand why I don't see you all out."

With some muttered goodbyes and a little cursing, they sorted each other out and left. I got up and made sure the door was locked behind them. It wouldn't do to have some sneak do me in now, this late in the game.

Matt was still close when I checked, leading Ethan back to his house with a jaunty wave and walk within the pool of light my house offered.

I hadn't even re-packed yet. The dishes might well have to wait. Worse, I was completely out of my best tea.

I grabbed the next best thing and got to work. The potion looked as it should... perhaps a bit more sparkly in the near dark, but the proper puce color. I was not looking forward to drinking it come morning, it looked like it'd taste awful. At any rate the brewing process looked to be going well.

What else could I do? Had I forgotten anything? I packed the fruit up in my bag, along with a few other food odds and ends. Some more rope, some more oil, a few other things still at the house, and my adventuring kit was back up to snuff.

Ah, I could make a list of things I was low on, to take care of after I got back. It would be amusing to see how it transformed when we figured out what happened and set it right.

I wrote it, and finalized everything. All my gear was in the corner by the door, ready to go. Should I take an actual bath? I missed them. No, I 'd better not, I'd either need to waste power or take far too long to heat the water.

I really should do the dishes, but I wasn't going to do that either. I was going to leave them and come back to see if they transformed, just like I expected the note to.

Nothing for it but to go to bed. Go to bed and wonder why I felt that nagging feeling like I'd missed something important.