Chapter 306: The Pixie Gambit
Ginger moved rhythmically beneath me as I scanned for obstacles. She sensed the urgency of my need to escape the woods. If it was only the young pixies following us, perhaps they couldn’t hinder our travel. I assumed their magic would be weaker and less refined than the adults. Sparkling lights accompanied by buzzing sounds started to appear to our left and right as we raced to leave the woods. The pixies were getting closer, trying to distract and possibly slow us.
Mynasha didn’t seem worried about their efforts. “There is nothing they can do to stop us.”
“Don’t jinx us like that,” I retorted.
“What is a jinx?” she asked. I had used the word from Earth without realizing it.
As if in response, an echoing, earsplitting thunder spread across the woodlands. “That is a jinx,” I said, annoyed. “The pixies were not trying to stop us but call for help.”
The noise was directly in our path, and I assumed it was a treant being awoken by the pixies. I turned Ginger to the right, and Mynasha turned her mount, and the forest started to come alive to our right. At least we had left the region where it had been raining, but we needed to make sure we didn’t get turned around in the forest and go deeper by mistake.
If I had been in this situation before coming to Desia, I might have panicked. Now, I was clearheaded and focused on surviving. My heart was racing and I was weighing options as they presented themselves. Mynasha was not as calm, and I guessed it was because she was usually surrounded by elite orcs when she went into battle. Here, we were very much exposed.
“Left! Turn left when we are clear of the awakening trees!” That was an understatement of the situation, as the entire forest seemed to be animated, though moving ponderously slow.
“Maybe it’s an illusion of pixies,” Mynasha yelled over the horses’ hooves pounding the ground as we wove between the trunks. I wished it was, but the scope and the fact that I didn’t feel any pressure on my mind made me think we were facing the real thing. The treant must have been powerful to awaken so many—unless there was more than one.
“Just focus on escaping!” I barked at her. We turned again, away from the churning ground as roots came alive beneath Ginger like snakes moving in the earth. Fortunately, the treant was too slow and didn’t have enough range, and we soon left the living woods behind us. My aether sight could still clearly see the streaks in the canopy above as the pixies followed us.
Thoughts of releasing the prisoners came to me, but that wouldn’t guarantee our freedom, and I doubted Mynasha would give them up now that she had them. Lines of daylight appeared through the trees. Maybe we were getting close to the grassy plains. It also made sense that Cleric Fioasha and his warlord were racing away when we saw them. It wasn’t because they wanted to get back quickly. They were likely fleeing for their lives.
I thought we were getting close and our escape was assured. That was when a roar echoed in the woods, and I pulled Ginger up. Mynasha followed suit, and the horses danced as they snorted to catch their breath.
The roar came again and I couldn’t place the direction. It sounded like King Kong was wandering the woods. “What is that?” Mynasha asked, her voice unsteady as she checked on her package. I gave her an annoyed look, as these woods were in her kingdom, not mine.
I caught a streak of light zipping down behind us. Most likely, the pixie was invisible, but my vision could see the aether. I placed an air shield in its path, as it was targeting the cage on Mynasha’s horse, trying to free its brethren.
The pixie thudded full speed into the shield and fell to the ground. It remained invisible, and Mynasha was oblivious to its presence. It must have survived because it was still invisible. I swung from my saddle to the ground as the roars got louder. I scooped up the invisible pixie and stuffed it into one of my pouches that held my copper and silver coins.
We didn’t need a third pixie, but we might need the leverage if things went downhill—not that they were not already going that way. Also, truth be told, I didn’t want the pixie stepped on by the horses as we prepared to take on whatever was charging at us.
“Maybe it is time to break out the lightning,” I hissed at Mynasha as I drew the magebane. The next bestial roar was closer and sounded angry. It was also definitely coming from our escape path. The pixies above danced in anticipation, seeming to say, “You’re in trouble now!”
“I need a moment; there are aether lines here I can draw from,” Mynasha said, now standing beside me. Behind us, the treants were still stirring up the forest. In front of us was the beast, and the other direction would take us deeper into the woods and back to the other clerics battling the pixies. Why did everything always have to be so complicated?
A large shadow thundered through the woods, and I relaxed. It was just a big-ass bear. I could remove its head and … The bear stood on its hind legs and pulled a massive axe from behind it. “What the …” I whispered as the bipedal bear broke into a run.
“Werebear!” Mynasha said, shocked. It clicked in my mind. There were rare lycanthropes that could transform into bears. They were supposedly more friendly than werewolves, but this one seemed particularly unhappy with us. Probably because we were kidnapping his friends.
The roaring bear man’s charge spooked Mynasha’s gray stallion, and she lost control of the reins. The horse bolted into the woods. Our hard-earned cargo was going with it. The distraction also caused the cleric to interrupt her casting as she cursed. At least Ginger didn’t bolt, but she did backpedal to stand behind me. I imagined Ginger saying, “You can have this one.” I rapidly layered some air shields in front of me as I prepared to take on the nine-foot monstrosity.
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Three of the four air shields were destroyed on impact, but did their job as the upright bear was halted in his tracks and the wind knocked from his lungs. He was stunned, and I stepped forward to slash into his shoulder. Magebane was a short blade and its aether-infused edge cut like a razor, parting the werebear’s matted fur.
He took a moment to acknowledge the injury, and as he bellowed in pain and rage, I attacked his hamstring from the side. My slash didn’t get good depth, and I was forced to retreat as the beast’s axe came down. If the creature used aether, he would find it hard to control now. More importantly, he was slightly hobbled, and I glanced at Mynasha, who was indecisive about going after her horse or fighting the werebear. “Lightning!” I said, aggravated. Did she think I could handle a thousand-pound bear-man alone!? “The pixies are lost!”
“You are too close!” she barked back.
“Just do it!” I yelled. The werebear’s large, black, predatory eyes were locked onto me, and I didn’t want to bottom out my aether to kill him. There were just too many unknowns ahead of us. The living forest, for one, was probably creeping closer as we were delayed here.
A lasso of lightning lashed around the werebear’s torso. He looked down, perplexed, but then his eyes widened in realization and fear. The chain lightning detached from Mynasha and snapped to the werebear.
I felt the concussive lightning explosion as the air became superheated and expanded just a few feet from me. My ears rang with pain and my nostrils inhaled ozone and the scent of burnt hair. A line of charred flesh circled the bear-man’s waist. His fur was burned away, and he was disoriented. I channeled my healing spell form as magebane repeatedly cut into his thick, muscled limbs. The werebear collapsed, one leg and one arm useless.
“Let’s go!” I yelled at Mynasha. I didn’t have time to kill the werebear and collect his essence. The hide was too thick and resistant, even to the runic weapon. The awakened forest was also moving closer. Mynasha hadn’t removed her clothes and was steaming something fierce from the large amount of aether she had pulled. I whistled and Ginger came, somewhat reluctant after the cacophony of battle and magic.
I swung up into the saddle and pulled Mynasha behind me. “We have to go get the pixies,” she said, looking in the direction her horse had fled.
“No, we don’t!” I reached into my pouch and my hand grappled with the struggling pixie. I pulled it out as its tiny arms flailed against my fingers’ superior strength.
“You caught another one!” she exclaimed as her arms wrapped around my waist to help keep her balance. I kicked Ginger into a gallop. This was the brave pixie who had tried to save the others, which I admired. One of its wings was creased like paper, probably from crashing into my air disc. Its small, feminine features were scowling in rage and anger.
I brushed aside its weak attempts to penetrate my mind. It was the same height as the others we had captured, maybe six inches in height, with shimmering wings that folded behind its back, currently trapped by my gloved fingers.
Bouncing along, I carefully wrapped the pixie’s wings back, as I had with the others. It only struggled momentarily before it relaxed, resigned to its fate. The human expression did make me feel guilty. Some quick bandage wrappings secured it in a cocoon; then I stuffed the pixie back in the belt pouch so I wouldn’t have to look at it.
I didn’t see any streaks or flashes above us, so the other pixies must be chasing down Mynasha’s gray stallion. We finally reached the edge of the woods, the grassy plains spreading before us. Gray skies dominated the late afternoon with a light drizzle, and my mood matched the landscape.
“We should race back to the Elders. The others could overtake us at any time,” Mynasha encouraged me.
“Ginger cannot run that distance carrying two people,” I stated flatly. I realized it was likely that I was going to be walking back alone in a moment.
“Someone is coming from the forest,” Mynasha warned me a few minutes later. I craned my neck to see two large black steeds thundering across the grass. We had just reached the road, and they overtook us not long after. Instead of riding past us, they slowed, most likely to gloat.
The cleric had dark-gray skin, and his leather clothing looked wet and coated in something sticky. They had not had a good time, but they still had two horses to our one. “Mynasha! I am surprised to see you heading back. Giving up already!” Smugness oozed off the cleric. He had a crate on the back of his mount, which probably contained his prize.
I hoped Mynasha would navigate this situation with intelligence, and she did. “Sarkasha, I must admit I’m surprised you left your dog Nalgrasha behind. We had a harrowing encounter with a werebear that sent my mount into a panic before it bolted away. The crate and net I had secured to my saddlebags are now gone.” Her voice carried a blend of remorse and frustration—a good acting job on her part.
I pulled up Ginger to get the pair to stop as well. They complied, stopping to keep the gloating going. I just needed them to stop moving so I wouldn’t kill the pixie I was trying to steal. “It is a pity you will not have a chance to lead us. But now you need to be more diplomatic in your future dealings, and know when to get on your knees.” Mynasha’s arms tightened around my waist in anger. My aether bottomed out, and the crate looked undisturbed from my vantage point—a successful theft. Hopefully the pixie was intact.
Mynasha spat on the ground, her tone getting slightly hostile. “If you are elevated to Supreme, I will leave the Caliphate permanently!”
Sarkasha laughed boisterously. “Please, you enjoyed our time together. Well, you should hurry along so you can watch me in the second Trial. I believe Nalgrasha isn’t far behind me.” He turned his horse, and his warlord fell in beside him as they thundered down the road.
“History?” I asked as I slid out of the saddle. Mynasha looked at me questioningly.
“An old lover,” she hissed. Old was right, as Sarkasha had to be at least twice her age. I shrugged, as it was not my place to judge.
“You need to get back quickly. Ginger is fast and will get you there before the others.” I took the time to feed Ginger a pair of apples and explain her duty to her. My priority wasn’t talking to my horse, but instead giving myself time to recover my aether.
Just as Mynasha was getting impatient, I produced the pixie. She looked confused, as it was wrapped in cordage and not bandages. It was also closer to twelve inches, rather than six. Confusion was etched on her face. I didn’t wait for her to sort it out, emptying one of the saddlebags. “Secure the pixie so they don’t know you have it until you need to present it to the Elders.” I didn’t make eye contact with the new pixie to avoid more guilt.
Ginger was soon racing down the road after Sarkasha. I watched them disappear and realized I had a long, fourteen-mile walk back. But first, I would make a quick detour back to the woods to ease my guilty conscience …
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