Chapter 56: Silver Tongue, Bronze Fist
The dirt and the dust of the place clings to your clothing, it clings to your skin, it hangs in the air as you consider the man and the dwarf. If either of them makes even the slightest mistake there is a very good chance that this temple will be your tomb. That you will die down here with everyone you love, that you will fail to help the Kingdom, fail to realize your potential, fail to see the Empire again, hell, you will even fail to give Thaïs the answer that she deserves.
Yes, there is a very good chance that you will all die down here but then that is hardly new.
It seems that every couple of days you find yourself in these sorts of situations: the dwarven fort; Meletē's workshop; Nine's mind; many, many times in Nine's mind; the Dreaming; Blackrock, Blackrock definitely counts at least twice and the realization of how often you stand next to death should be terrifying, crippling and nauseating but it simply isn't.
You push it down, filter it out, this is just another trap, another puzzle, another problem that can, no, will yield to your mind. It is all simply a matter of figuring out how to win.
So, what have to got?
Two kids and a kidnapped friend. You can't win with this.
Not against superior numbers at any rate, not out in the open, not without some sort of edge, not with your friend a hostage- ah, that does not ring true anymore. She is not simply a friend. She is your counterpart, your better half in so many ways and losing her would be actually be like losing half of yourself. Just as the girls are not merely children, they are your children and if you lost her now, lost them now, you are not sure what you would do.
The panic begins to rise again, you beat it down.
It won't help.
They can not be children now, they are an archer and a warrior, one with a flare stored and the other with a concealed blade just as she is not your better half, she is, she is... a negotiator, a diplomat and a liar.
The grin creeps across your face though you fight it as best as you can.
You can not win this but she can.
As quietly as you can you whisper, "Caoilainn?"
"Derryth?" she whispers back, forgetting for a moment that only you and Thaïs can hear her.
"Time to practice a little teamwork," you gaze shifts from the cultists to Jan's hiding spot and back, "I need you to forward a plan to Thaïs. She needs to get the cultists to agree to an exchange, get Biliku close to Jan and give me an excuse to cast. I will shield her and then we will both hit them with the best offensive spells we have. The last point is most important, I need a reason to cast, understand?"
Her reply comes quickly, "Yeah, yeah, I can do that."
Dutifully she repeats everything you have said, or at least the salient points, Thaïs' glance meets your own as the cultists eye your group wearily and hurl insults and threats Jan's way.
It is almost comical, the hostage will secure not just her own freedom but your safety and her captors' destruction as well. It is a lot to ask for and a lot to ask of her, complete trust, but it has gotten you this far and it never ceases to amaze you that mages so often overlook this single, simple virtue.
The plan is quite simple really. Thaïs will pretend to mediate between your parties, ideally she will even find some way to get Biliku over to Jan to strengthen his position and keep the cultists from the spearhead but the entire negotiation will be a ploy. It will merely be an excuse to allow you to cast a single spell, the Warrior's Mask, once your counterpart is encased in bronze you will hit the cultists with the greater energy bolt stored in your ring. The two spells will activate within seconds of one another and hopefully the Warrior's Mask will shield Thaïs enough to keep her alive. Complete trust, you put your trust in her to set them up and she puts her trust in you to knock them down.
Wyrd, you hope this works.
She is whispering something to the Rand clone, he laughs and mutters something back, his blade tightening against her throat.
Caoilainn keeps you well informed, her words beating out a steady rhythm in your mind as she swings between hope and fear, "He says he does not need her. She says the dwarf is clearly terrified. He says that he hopes so. She says he will never get what he wants if the dwarf panics. He says, he says," he relief is palpable, "He says she may be right. He is going to let her speak."
His blade lowers slightly, pressed now against her collar, you do not doubt for a second that he could still separate head from shoulders in a matter of moments.
"Jan!" she calls out, "Jan can you hear me?"
"Y-yes!" the terrified dwarf shouts back, "What do you want?"
She laughs delicately, almost casually, and the very sound of her voice sets your nerves at ease, "Well, I should like to live," the cultists laugh in unison at her words and after a brief pause she pushes on, "I should like for my friends to live and I should like to see you live as well Jan. The only way that will happen is if you come out of hiding and give the spearhead to these gentlemen."
Not quite what you wanted but your confidante catches your gaze. Quickly her eyes dart from you to Jan and back. It takes you a moment to realize what she wants you to do but you share enough of her to eventually get the message. She wants you to advocate for Jan, pick a hard line and let her play the moderate. Well, you are no diplomat but for her you can play to ass.
"Ah, well, if- if you-" you do let him finish.
You might not be able to convince him of anything but it is a simple enough thing to fan his paranoia.
You shout the dwarf down, "Don't move one damned muscle Jan, if you come out they will kill you, take the spear and slaughter the rest of us!"
"Yeah, what is to stop you from killing me!" he squeaks in agreement from behind the altar.
"Derryth," the Rand clone hisses, "Are you trying to get your friend killed?"
"I am trying to save her from herself!" you declare, it rings hollow in your ears but thankfully Thaïs seizes on your words and lends them credibility.
She begins to lay into you, "Save me from myself? Why of all the patronizing, arrogant-"
And now you see how she wants to play this. You have been fortunate, your Circle is supportive, largely because none of you were proper mages however most Circles, most mage partnerships, are subject to a lot of infighting, backbiting and general nastiness. She wants to stage just such an arguement and though you are not entirely sure why you will trust her and play along.
"Arrogant! Patronizing!" you feed off her performance, it is always so much easier to work with her than by yourself, "Without my brain you would be nothing but a pretty face! Seems damn obvious to me that you have no idea what you are doing!"
"Ladies-" the clone attempts to intervene.
"Oh really! Do you make such rapid progress without me then? How did your negotiations go with Jan before we arrived? How badly did you fail?" she adds the slightest hint of cruelty to her questions and though you know it is all fake it cuts a little all the same.
"At least I have not tried to get poor Jan murdered!" you insist as the scholar lets out a slight whine.
"Do not be such a child!" the clone's hold loosens on her slightly and she takes a single small step toward you. He holds her back and she puts up a slight struggle, "Why can you not bear to let someone help you! I am trying to save you, you imbecile!"
"Imbecile?" you do your best to feign indignation, all things considered you are fairly convincing, "I should have left you on the street where I found!"
"Grave robber!" she spits back.
"Sycophant!" you shout.
She gives you a wink and goes for the throat, "You, you, peasant!" you wince a little as memories of Christine assail you.
"Whore!" you reply, matching her tone the best you can, "Keep her Rand, or whatever you call yourself! I don't want her back! Deal's off!"
"Damn right it is!" your partner echoes your sentiments, "Do whatever you want with this ingrate, I do not care a whit!"
"Why you!" you shout together, red in the face.
"Derryth! Thaïs!" the girls cry together, a few tears and a quiver in their voices. You wonder what Berty has been teaching them as they are quite believable.
"Ladies, enough!" the clone screams.
In many respects the little act the two of you just put on would not stand up to scrutiny. Against an opponent that knows you and your past this little charade would never work. Such a falling out would simply be unimaginable but you have left few enemies alive and these cultists know you only by reputation. For them, mages used to working with mages, such explosions are only natural. Your 'falling out' has them riveted and the Rand clone completely off balance.
His knife is no longer on her, instead he is doing his best to restrain her and calm her down while the girls pretend to do the same to you. You are careful not to cast though, you want the cultists confused not directly hostile.
The clone and Thaïs are muttering to one another. He points at you, she shakes her head, he points again, and you whisper to Caoilainn, "What are they saying."
She laughs in your ear, "He just told her that she should give you another chance. That you can work things out. That the working relationship you developed serving the Kingdom should remain in place and that as the 'reasonable one' she will have to be the bigger person and apologize first."
It takes every ounce of your self restraint not to grin from ear to ear. He really said all that? Either this clone is a fool or your little production was even more successful than you thought. You hold back your smirk as your officer continues, "She just told him that if he is not going to kill you then she will," that might be taking it a bit far you must admit, "But he is doing his best to 'win her over' and she is slowly letting him 'win'."
After a few minutes of tense back a forth between captive and captor your better half speaks, "I- I may have overreacted, I am sorry," she provides you with the perfect template to imitate, embarrassment, a little self-righteousness and just a hint of mutual disdain.
You drop your gaze, cough and do your best to hide your face. Partly to sell your embarrassment and partly to hide the thin smile that keeps trying to break free, "I may have overstepped as well, I am- I am sorry."
"There," the clone declares with a sigh of relief, "Now, the trade is back on right?"
"What is going on out there!" the dwarf calls from his makeshift bunker.
"We are negotiating terms!" you yell back.
"Oh, ah, okay!" the dwarf answers.
You and your counterpart answer together with a nod and a embarrassed smile, "The deal is back on."
"And our odds have improved slightly," Caoilainn notes, "The 'not Rand' has not bothered to secure Thaïs again, the bloody incompetent."
In an ideal world Thaïs would have managed to keep a hand on the clone to prevent him from getting loose when you spring your trap but this is an acceptable outcome as well. With that blade away from her throat your confidante's odds have improved dramatically. It has also served to ingratiate Thaïs with her captor a little, either this clone is playing a very deep game or he simply is not as clever as the 'real' Rand.
She even takes the bold step of 'negotiating' for the clone's side, she begins, "The sooner these gentlemen get their spearhead the sooner we can all go free and the sooner we can talk."
"We can not expect Jan to just step out into the open though," you counter, "He would be a fool to trust to any of us since none of us have his safety as our primary goal."
Thaïs raises a hand, "One moment please," she turns to the clone, adopting a conspiratorial posture, her every movement serving to show her sympathy for the cultists, she is brilliant.
When she turns back to you she takes one last, hesitant glance to the clone, he nods to encourage her, "We have a possible solution. We will send someone to Jan to pick up the spearhead. A single cultist-"
"It should be one of my people," you insist, "It would simplify the trade."
The clone laughs, "I am not letting you touch that spearhead Derryth."
"How about one from each of our groups then," Thaïs suggests as a 'compromise', "We send them over unarmed. One cultist and one person of Derryth's choosing."
"But not Derryth," the clone is quick to repeat.
"And not you either," you add with a laugh.
"Is that acceptable?" Thaïs asks Jan.
He shouts his answer, "I don't know, I don't really want you sending a bunch of people over here either. Can I not just leave it for you?"
"Perfect," Caoilainn mutters her approval.
"No!" the clone bellows in answer, "There would be nothing stopping you from pocketing it."
"What about some sort of shroud?" you suggest, "Can you cast a darkness spell Jan? It would let you hide as long as you left the spearhead at the edge of the spell."
The clone once more objects, "I am not letting that dwarf cast anything while he holds that spearhead! If I even so much as suspect he is working on a spell back there-"
Thaïs lays a hand on his shoulder and he actually does quiet, she speaks calmly but clearly, "Please sir, no need to threaten violence. What if Derryth casts it instead? She knows a darkness spell and could easily mask Jan with the added benefit that she could immediately drop the spell if we suspect the dwarf is up to anything."
He answers her without even a hint of violence in his voice, "I do not like your friend," she shifts uncomfortably at the word friend, another subtle reminder to him of your earlier 'argument' and his role in patching up the situation, "I don't like her casting spells."
"The spell will not be directed toward our group though," she reassures him, "It will be directed specifically at Jan's location, we simply need to have Derryth agree to turn completely away from our group. The risk will be almost nonexistent."
"That could work," the clone mutters repeating the words, "That could work, yes. Derryth," he calls out to you, smug satisfaction writ across his brutal features, "What do you say. I will send one of my dwarves, you send one of your," he stifles a snicker, "One of your children, each unarmed, and you will provide a single darkness spell for our hesitant dwarf. Once I have the spearhead you will get your friend back and we can all go our separate ways."
You do not believe that last promise for a moment. As soon as he has the spearhead you are sure you are all dead. It will never get to that point if your plan works and so you agree, "Sounds good to me."
He singles out a dwarf who quickly relinquishes his blade and pack while you give Biliku her orders, "You are just there to act as an escort and a witness, kid. Stay out of the way and be careful," you lean in to muss her hair and whisper her true orders, "Cut down the cultist as soon as I launch my attack on their main body. Then make your way to Jan and keep both him and the spearhead safe, understood."
She snaps you one of her salutes, "You will do fine kid," she beams at you as you send her on her way.
With all eyes on your volunteers you whisper one final instruction to Uttu, "Kid, I want you to try and take out their leader when I launch my attack. He might be like Isolde so expect him to be fast."
"I'll, do my best," she answers with a determined nod.
It is all you can ask for.
You begin to focus, in a minute, two at the most, it will be over and that knowledge lends you a certain sense of serenity. There is no doubt here, there is no fear, there is only the plan and you will, will it into being.
You calm your mind, slow your breathing and as always with the Warrior's Mask you surrender to impulse. Reason and its formulae give way to instinct as you trace out the forms of the spells.
You trace the form of the warrior, long before soldiers and cities he tracks, he fights, he kills and it fills you with purpose.
Behind you, you think you hear an objection, you think you hear someone claim that the spell you weave is not of the school of Light. Well that much is true.
You trace the form of the conqueror, strength unbound, unbroken, and it fills you with rage.
Thaïs assures them that your spell is harmless, an unorthodox application of magic to achieve an identical effect but you are not sure they believe her.
You trace the form of the defender, eternal resolve and unquenchable courage and it fills you with determination.
It sounds like the clone is about to act, best not to give him any chance at all.
Caoilainn guides you to your goal, "A half turn to your left Derryth she is to the centre left of the pack," your officer coughs and exhales, "I just want to say, whatever happens, it has been a pleasure."
"Same here," you mutter, spinning on your heel.
As soon as you see Thaïs, you cast.
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It was perhaps too much to hope for perfection.
To desire victory without sacrifice.
To earn glory without misery.
To learn without cost.
Sometimes the price of such knowledge is simply too high.
It is a friend.
It is a lover.
It is a child.
It is a family.
Today though it was merely a lot of pain and you had mandrake roots to cure that.
"Quit complaining!" Jan laughs as he picks through the dead.
"Oh, I'm sorry, did you get set on fire?" you answer with indignation, nursing your still tender legs.
"Or electrocuted?" Thaïs chimes in next to you still smoking slightly and cradling her newly mended arms.
"Or petrified!" Uttu hurls the piece of stone that was her pack at Jan but the dwarf deftly dodges the misshapen projectile.
"Did you hit him?" Biliku enquires from her perch, "Please tell me you hit the coward!"
"I missed him," the younger girl mutters, "How are your eyes?"
"Still can't see," the older sister grumbles, "When is it going to wear off again?"
"Dear ladies you fail to see-" he comes up short as the four of you shoot withering glances in the general direction of his voice, "Fail to comprehend, the victory we have scored here today against a most sinister foe. Why, together we bested eleven cultist mages without a single loss-"
"What about my eyesight!" the older sister cuts the researcher off, and continues to mutter to herself, "Or my shield... I really liked that shield..."
"A scrap of metal is not worth worrying about," Jan dismisses the shield, "As for your eyesight I am certain that your blindness is merely the result of the rather standard spell of the same name and your vision will return in time, a few hours at the very most."
As insufferable as Jan is being he is largely right. That was a fight that could have gone far worse than it did. The initial attack was a thing of brilliance, the Warrior's Mask to protect Thaïs paired with two greater energy bolts in quick succession. All five of the dwarven cultists fell in that first attack and the clone fell with them.
'Not-Rand' did not go quietly though, the clone had a pair of metal plates embedded under its skin, each of which was enchanted in a manner similar to your rings. He managed to activate both as he was cooked by your lightning. You and Thaïs suffered the brunt of those attacks, a flame that flowed like water assaulted your legs while thunder that clung like mud seared her arms when the Warrior's Mask failed with your broken concentration.
Ultimately Uttu saved the day by finishing off the clone with her arrows. Even charred and filled with over a dozen arrows he managed to stagger forward a few steps and howl at Thaïs before collapsing in on himself. Thankfully when he died so too did his enchantments.
Near the altar Biliku managed to dispatch her opponent quickly and secured both Jan and the spearhead. Ideally it would have ended there but the noise you made managed to attract the remaining cultists in the area. Four more mages that lashed out with light and earth spells. The girls fought bravely buying you time to heal your wounds and launch another offensive which finished off the mages. They received their fair share of broken bones, cuts and damaged equipment for their trouble.
Jan for his part bravely protected the spearhead by fleeing back behind the altar, it is no wonder that the girls are a little annoyed with him, in truth you are a little annoyed as well.
"Now what Jan?" you manage to muster the question with the bare minimum of annoyance.
The researcher momentarily stops looting the corpses, "Well, now I must take the spearhead to father, it might prove instrumental to our long term defence of the Kingdom."
Thaïs asks the next question and by her tone it is clear that she is no more impressed with the dwarf than you are, "Care to explain what exactly the spearhead is meant to do?"
He squints at the pair of you, "It does what all spearheads do. It kills, however if the legends are true then it can kill anything, even a god. Surely you can see the immediate applications for such an artefact when confronted with opponents that refuse to die by normal means."
Well at least you went through all this for something useful, "So we take the spearhead, drive it into the Watcher fragments and no more Watcher?"
"Ah," Jan coughs, "No, I can not seem to get it to work. For the moment it is just a normal spearhead."
The researcher finishes picking over the bodies and piling the loot, he begins to scoop it all into a satchel bag one of the cultists was carrying.
You cock an eyebrow at his actions as you and Thaïs speak together, "What are you doing with all that?"
Jan coughs again, "Ah, well these are all cultist artefacts so I am taking them all for study."
You eye the pile: gold, spellbooks, the odd knife or blade, and that pair of plates that were embedded in the Rand clone. A decent haul all things considered.
You try to be diplomatic, "Put the bag down or I will kill you."
"What!" the researcher damn near chokes on his tongue.
Thaïs and the girls laugh, your partner speaks, "She does not mean it, ah, I think."
You give the worried dwarf a tired grin, "Of course I don't mean it but we did all the fighting, tradition mandates that we get first crack at the loot."
"Oh," the dwarf drops his gaze, "Ah, sorry, I have never really done this sort of thing before."
"I can see again!" Biliku shouts and hops down from her perch.
"Can we go now," Uttu whines, "Please."
Probably a good idea but first you have to divide up the loot.
1. The Loot: What do you want to take? (Vote for as many as you like, anything that gets a majority of the vote you will take. Anything that does not you will leave for Jan):
A) A pair of engraved metal plates taken from the clone's body.
B) Three black blades that bear the symbol of a spider.
C) A half dozen black knives that bear the symbol of a spider.
D) Five spellbooks written in the tongue of the Spider Goddess
E) Collected Gold (5 WPs)
F) Climb up the statue of the Spider Goddess and pry out the ruby eyes, though Jan would prefer you not loot a historic site. (150 WPs)
G) Climb up the statue of the Spider Goddess and pry out the ivory tusks, though Jan would prefer you not loot a historic site. (40 WPs)
2. What to do next? You have not actually lost that much time dealing with Jan and the spearhead. You could return to the Palace or you could do something else with the remainder of your day.
A) Check in with your recruitment team to see how they are doing.
B) Return to the Palace and see if you can help the mice spy somehow, this might be difficult give your lack of Animal spells but you might still be able to come up with something.
C) One of Albrecht's bastards, by the name of Letta, runs a very selective mercenary company. You want to investigate her and perhaps hire her. You will do so now.
D) You will visit some of the bars throughout the city in an attempt to gather information and contacts or maybe hire the odd mercenary that is not inclined to wait in line or apply to Lyssa's group. Who knows who or what you may find.
E) You will go to visit the Seekers. If you are going to lead these mages and trust them with your life then you want to get to know them before you leave the city.
F) Shopping - You go immediately to visit the Brothers Dietfried, you have a lot of equipment that needs to be replaced.
G)freeform - do something else
3. The Cloaks: Janine was going to oversee the production of cloaks for you at the Academy. Sadly she is now dead. Do you still want to give the Spinner to the fellows and have them weave you cloaks?
A) Yes
B) No
C) Yes, you will convince Jan to oversee the project in his spare time though it will likely take him away from researching the spearhead.
D) Yes, you will let that little dwarf, the loud one, take a shot at leading the project. He seems very enthusiastic about his work.
E) freeform
4. Do you leave your petrified equipment with Jan to see if he can fix it (or find someone else on staff at the Academy that can fix it)?
A) You leave the equipment with Jan at the Academy. Perhaps they can figure something out.
B) You take the equipment with you. Perhaps you will figure out a way to fix it yourself or encounter someone in your travels who can.
Note: If you have any additional questions for Jan feel free to ask them. He will probably answer now that it is clear to him that you are not his enemies.