Book 4 - Chapter 36

"Gather round, men. We have a situation," said Cid.

While everyone moved their horses to huddle up, Brin made a show of looking in every direction with the mostly-fake spyglass. Then he put it away.

"There's a [Witch] in Dustrim, of unknown ability and power. In addition, at least three bands of goblins are converging on this position. We must assume that the [Witch] and goblins are somehow working in concert with the aim of destroying our Lance." Brin looked around to make sure the men understood the seriousness of the situation. "The group between us and the Broken Stone fortress is the smallest. If we move quick we should be able to break through. Then we can rally their knights there and ride to save Dustrim."

Cid shook his head. "We can't get there and back in time. That group to the south will go straight through the town on their way to us."

Had Brin unconsciously traded the lives of the people in that town for the lives of his men? Maybe he had, but now that Cid pointed it out he knew they couldn't leave the town to rot.

"We can ride to the southest. The goblins following us will change their course away from the town," said Brin.

"And if they aren't after us they will continue on to destroy the town regardless," said Cid. "No. Our duty is clear. We will enter the town and defend it against the goblins. The only part I'm not sure of is the [Witch]. Brin, you've faced [Witches] before. Tell us how to subdue her."

"Let me make one thing clear; there is no way to subdue a [Witch]. If we enter that town, we will have to kill her. She will not look like a [Witch]. She will likely look young and beautiful. She will definitely appear to be innocent. There will only be one chance to strike her down: before she opens her mouth for the first time. [Inspect] will not call her a [Witch]. You will not see her commit any crimes. Marksi will detect her, I will point my finger, and then every single weapon in this Lance will aim for her neck. If there is a single member of this Lance who thinks that he cannot strike down an unarmed woman in broad daylight, then please raise your hand now."

No one raised their hand, and Brin wished that someone would. He could use that to say that the Lance wasn't determined enough and convince Cid to stay out of Dustrim. He eyed them one by one, pleading with his eyes, hoping that someone would give him the excuse, but no one did. Even Cowl met his eyes, looking calm and placid as always.

Brin resigned himself. "Alright. Let's move. I want Anwir, and I want Brych. The rest of you act natural."

The two he'd called out rode up next to him, but the rest of the men followed along silent as the grave. That was fine for now.

"Anwir, your arrows fly faster than anyone else can move. I'll be depending on you to hit first," said Brin.

Anwir nodded.

"Brych, you can move faster than anyone else in the Lance, except for Hedrek and Cid when they use [Knight's Charge], but I need them to save their strength for the goblins. You'll need to get there first and use that new sword the Order gave you to take off her head. Don't stab her in the heart; it might not be where it should be. Take the head. Can you do it?"

Brych nodded.

"Let me see if I can even the odds," said Brin.

He pulled a spare bottle of water from his satchel, and then used [Celebrated Creativity] to change its status. He'd created this, after all, by pouring water into a bottle, and that was enough for the Skill.

Potion of Invisibility

Brin handed it to Brych, whose eyes popped when he took it. "Wait, is this seriously...? Where'd you get it?"

"Doesn't matter. When I say, drink it and then roll off your horse the second it takes effect," said Brin.

He needed three spells to get this right. He cast Copy Image to get the picture of what Brych looked like sitting on his horse, then he needed to cast Invisibility on Brych, and then he cast the Mirror Man spell he'd made himself in order to recreate a glass version of Brych sitting on his horse. It needed to be done all in one long chained spell, because Brin didn't currently have a way to store images. He could remember things very well with [Memories in Glass], but he couldn't copy images from his memories yet, only the words of the spells he'd used.

He prepared the spells and said, "Now."

Brych gulped down the potion and said, "It tastes like water." 

Brin cast Copy Image, then Self-Invisibility. When he started on the Mirror Man spell, he started chanting the words of Language out loud, hoping Brych would get the picture. Brych noticed himself starting to fade and yelped, then rolled off the horse, just in time to avoid the glass bubble Brych forming in his place.

If the [Witch] had an [Illusionist] watching them, then they were probably screwed. But anything less than that and all they would've seen was Brych bobbing down in his saddle for a second only to come back up again. 

"Good enough." Brin looked at the glass Brych when he spoke. "Keep up. I know it'll suck to run beside the horses for the next couple miles, but try to do so quietly."

"Yes, sir," the real Brych said in a whisper.

Cid peered at glass Brych curiously. "How long will that last?"

"As long as it needs to," said Brin.

The potion excuse was paper thin, but at least it was something. He toyed with the idea of just giving up and telling everyone his secret, but he didn't think it would actually be beneficial here. They'd be too distracted about his Class that they wouldn't be focusing on the [Witches] and the goblins. He needed them focused.

He was sure that Brych and Cid had suspicions, though. Brych because he undoubtedly had Value Sense to inform him that Brin's "potion" was only worth the glass it came in, and Cid because he was smart.

He heard Meredydd mutter to Aeron, "He could've outfitted the entire Lance for the price of that potion."

Aeron responded, "If it saves us from a [Witch], it was worth it."

Brin ignored him and focused on what else he could do. He split his mind in half. Half of him would stay here with the Lance and focus on killing the [Witch]. The other half would do... everything else. He needed to send an Invisible Eye back to the Order of the Broken Stone. Once there, it could transform into a Mirror Image of Brin and he could tell them about the goblin horde and beg for aid.

He also sent other Invisible Eyes to the other groups of goblins. The aim for them would be to distract them and slow them down. If he could get one of the groups to follow an illusory Lance a completely different direction, then all the better. At the very least he could make sure that the groups all arrived at different times so that the Lance wouldn't have to face them all at once.

He left his copy to the work and focused back on the present. Was there any more preparation he could make against the [Witch]? Possibly, but he didn't want to do too much. Too many illusions and he might accidentally give himself away before they even saw her.

The single Invisible Eye he sent ahead reached the Public House and went inside. His eyes were immediately drawn to a woman in the center of the room. She was sitting on a table with her feet on a chair, and sang a song while looking down at a crowd of admirers. There was a stage near the back of the room where [Bards] would perform, but it was empty and all eyes were on her.

She was beautiful. Golden hair ran down her back like a river of honey. Her blue eyes were so deep they were nearly violet, and the red dress that tightly hugged her figure had no business in a small town like this. He used [Inspect].

Beautifica Delicatessa

Level 15

Weaver

Of course she was a [Weaver]. [Know What's Wyrd] didn't work quite as well through his illusions as [Know What's Real], but both Skills told Brin that something was off about her, as if he didn't know already.

He'd found the [Witch]. He thought about sending a lance of glass straight through the wall to take her out, but no, he couldn't risk that. He needed to be sure, and [Know What's Wyrd] wouldn't give him the whole picture until he was standing in the room.

Also the fact that it was so obvious that this woman was a [Witch] was starting to make him think that she actually wasn't. He wouldn't know for sure until he saw her in person.

"Alright, we're getting close. Everyone act natural," said Brin.

The men stayed cold and silent, scanning every inch of the terrain as if they expected a monster to be hiding under every stone.

"I mean it! Act natural! If the [Witch] suspects we know she's there, we'll have bleeding diarrhea before we step foot into town. Idle chatter, please!"

They all started talking at once, nervous and loud. "Not like that!" Brin said. "Like normal. Hedrek, tell us a funny story or something."

Hedrek pulled on the metal collar of his breastplate, for once not acting like he was above it all. "Oh, um... have I ever told you about the time I charged a troll from the back of a goat?"

Despite his initial nervousness, Hedrek quickly lost himself in his story and was soon chatting as happily as ever. The men picked up on his energy and started chatting as well, and if they still overcompensated a little, it's not something anyone would realize unless they knew them.

They approached the short, useless walls of piled stone and the barrier of Wyrd that ringed the town. As soon as they crossed them, they'd be under the [Witch's] power to some degree. That didn't mean they'd be cursed right away, just that crossing into town gave the [Witch] some kind of claim on them. Still, he really wished there was some other way.

Marksi growled and then jumped down from Brin's horse. He scampered ahead and went straight to the stone fence. Marksi made a groan of effort as he pulled one of the stones down and away. He grew his arms longer and pulled on another, needing to rock it back and forth to get it to fall away. This job would be simple for any of the men, but for Marksi who was moving stone larger than his head, it was extremely difficult. As he worked, his arms continued to transform, growing thicker and stronger.

"What's he doing? Should we help him?" asked Hedrek, pausing his story.

"No," said Brin. He didn't know what Marksi was doing, but he saw that the Wyrd along the fenceline wasn't affecting him. Brin had a hard time telling the difference between the sympathetic link between the two of them and his own imagination, but he had a strong impression. Marksi was thinking something like, A dragon cares not for the arbitrary borders of man or witch. He goes where he wishes!

Brin and the Lance were near the line of Wyrd right as Marksi pulled away the last stone. Then he shortened his claws and dug down into the earth and soon burrowed out of sight.

Moments later, the boundary of Wyrd fractured and split into several streams, as if it were a beam of light and Marksi were a prism. He had no idea how the little dragon was doing it, but whatever it was, it was working. The Lance hopped their horses over the stone barrier and continued on across clean, Wyrd-free ground. Once they were passed, Marksi came up again and the line of Wyrd resumed its place behind them.

Brin made a mental check to make sure Brych was still with them, still invisible. Good.

He realized Hedrek had stopped talking. He forced himself to relax the frown on his face and said, "And then what happened?"

Hedrek blinked a couple times. "Oh. Right. Well, I thought that my [Knight] Skills were working on the goat because it went right where I wanted it to. Only then when we passed a blackberry bush..."

The town was quiet, and the cheerful sounds of the Lance seemed to bounce off all the walls, ringing hollow. 

Brin felt a familiar sort of jitters. How screwed up was his life that he was getting used to this? Time seemed to stretch into infinity so that every footstep of his horse felt like an eternity. At the same time, the short walk happened too fast and before he was ready they were already there, in front of the public house.

A couple of pre-System boys stood nearby to take their horses, and the Lance let them go with barely a glance in their direction.

Brin whispered to everyone with the Silent Voice. "I'll go in first. Brych, slip in behind me. The rest of you find a reason to wait a few moments before going in. Anwir next, then Hedrek. Brych, we're counting on you to take her out before she casts her first hex. Everyone else is backup."

Then he took a breath and stepped inside.

In person, he could trace the lines of Wyrd and it was immediately obvious that "Beautifica", if that was even her real name, was not the [Witch]. Streams of power were flowing into her, not from her. The first thing Brin noticed was that staring at her for too long would be considered rude, so he quickly tore his eyes away.

The real [Witch] sat heavy in the Wyrd, shining like a beacon to Brin's senses, though to everyone else she probably looked ordinary. A plain woman in her late thirties sitting alone at a table wearing a gray dress. She [Inspected] as Sadie Lovelock, a [Caravan Laborer].

Brin whispered to the team with Silent Voice, not moving his lips. "Don't look at the woman in the red dress. The [Witch] is the woman in gray. Sadie Lovelock. Brych, take her out."

Brin waited, and again, the moment stretched into infinity. Nothing really happened. The distraction continued to sing, her admirers firmly entangled in Wyrd. The woman in gray didn't move, and Brin didn't watch her directly. They waited, each second thundering in time as if Brin's heartbeat were as loud and slow as a gong.

He waited, and Brych didn't strike.

He felt the [Witch's] power start to creep over him. He'd been standing there a long time, blocking the doorway. Wasn't that rude?

The door opened behind him, Anwir and then Hedrek. Hedrek had a hand on his hilt, while Anwir tried to look casual while holding his bow and an arrow.

The two of them looked at him with a question in their eyes. Brin nodded. The three of them moved as one.

Brin didn't get a single step forward when the [Witch] unleashed a hex. The room filled with Wyrd, violent and vast, as if they'd just stepped onto an active volcano. He pushed his magic into a beam of light to press it back and give him an argument in the Wyrd.

The [Witch's] curse was strong. It was as strong as Siphani's had been, after she'd spent months setting up an array and building power. This was a [Great Witch] at least, which meant that they were screwed.

Brin switched from trying to resist the power to funneling it away from the other men and into himself, and then his entire world was erased in pain. The only reason he didn't come apart at the cellular level was because of spite, because this woman wanted him to suffer before he died. The Wyrd swam inside him, doing nothing except filling him with pain and fear, waiting for the call from its master to decide his end. Brin could do nothing but stand and watch with uncomprehending eyes.

Anwir’s arrow struck her in the chest. At the same instant, the window behind the [Witch] exploded and Govannon came through. In one fell movement he spun and put his sword into the woman's neck. The sword slowed as it hit her skin, hitting something much tougher than human flesh should be, but he put his back into it and pushed forward, cutting straight through.

The [Witch's] head tilted forward, falling to the floor, but then black strands grew from her neck and caught it, pulling it back into place.

Govannon reacted quickly, swinging his sword, but it hit empty air as the [Witch] exploded into darkness and black, flapping wings. She flew through the window and out of sight.

Brin felt the Wyrd in his body receive a command. Return! Return to me and heal me! Help me escape.

The Wyrd obeyed. The pain fled, leaving lingering traces of poison and Brin fell to his knees. He barely had enough strength in his arms to pull his helmet off, and then he puked, covering the floor with something black and acidic.

Then he pushed himself away from it and collapsed onto his back. There were still traces of Wyrd in his body, and without the resistances that [Know What's Wyrd] gave him, even this much would be enough to kill him.

People were starting to react to the sudden violence, yelling in alarm and backing away from the center of the room. He ignored them.

Heal me, he commanded the Wyrd.

No, it answered. It wasn't exactly conscious, but it knew that it's purpose was to harm not to help. He wouldn't be able to turn it around completely.

Leave, he told it. Hurt only my skin on the way out.

"Agh!" It hurt more than he expected when the Wyrd exploded out of him, tearing his skin as it went, but then it was done. He was still slightly feverish, but already he could feel his strength returning to him.

The rest of the Lance was in the room now, and Cid knelt down by his side. "Oh, Maze of Sezorat, you look a mess. Stay right there, I'll find a healer. But I need to know. Will she return?"

"[Witches] don't survive long enough to get that powerful..." Brin's mouth moved slower than he wanted it to. What was he talking about again? Oh, right. "They don't live that long unless they're cowards. She may send a familiar, but she will not return."

Cid nodded. "I'll find a healer."

"I'm fine," Brin slurred.

He could stand. Maybe in a minute. For now, he needed to collect his thoughts. The [Witch] was nowhere in sight. Brych was in the corner of the room, holding his fancy new sword and spinning in a circle as if a monster might leap out at him from any direction. That meant that Brin had dropped his invisibility.

Right, the second the spell had struck him, he'd reflexively had all his illusions and minds return, which meant that he had a full accounting of what they'd been doing.

The Mirror Image he'd sent to the Order of the Broken Stone had found the commander and pleaded his case, but his pleas had fallen on deaf ears. Lothar had probably poisoned the well there. The Commander had agreed to send out scouts, but Brin had decided that would take too much time and created an illusory band of goblins within sight of the men on the walls. At that, they'd immediately sent out twelve Lances. Brin could string them along all the way to Dustrim, but they were still five or six hours away.

He'd also sent distractions to the other goblin forces, sending copies of the Lance to distract the goblins, and he'd led all three groups away pretty well. Except the closest group had quickly grown weary of the chase and decided to head towards the easier prey of Dustrim regardless. He figured all three groups were still going to hit the town no matter what he did, but now they would be staggered rather than all hitting at the same time.

This was the best he could really hope for.

He was starting to feel better. Why, though? His recovery wasn't this good. Then he noticed that [Battle Fury] was fully charged. Yeah, that was it. Doubling his stats had been pretty effective back when he was still just a [Glasser]. During the Battle of Hammon's Bog, it had changed him from a talented kid to stronger than most adults. Now it was changing stats in the 200s to the 400s. No wonder it was Legendary.

He stood, feeling surprisingly light on his feet.

"Are you alright? Lay back down, man!" said Cid. "Healer! Is there a healer in the town?"

"I'm good. I can fight," said Brin. He rolled his neck and tested his arms. Yeah, he could move just fine. He couldn't hide the blood leaking from the joints of his armor, though.

"Not without--"

They were interrupted by the loud clanking of metal. Govannon grabbed Brych and slammed him against the wall. 

"Where were you? We were counting on you! You could've ruined everything!"

"I... I..." Brych's eyes darted around every direction.

"Stop!" said Cid, and Govannon turned to Cid with fury in his eyes.

"You did well," Cid told him. "I will find a way to recognize your merit, but I have more urgent matters now."

Govannon blinked in surprise and started to say something, but before he could, Brin said to Brych. "You did poorly."

"I hesitated. I should have--" Brych started.

"Now hold on. I don't think it speaks poorly of you that you hesitated to strike down an unarmed woman," said Cid.

"You failed," Brin insisted, staring Brych down. He wanted to know why the man had hesitated, but Cid was right that now wasn’t the time. "You have a chance to redeem yourself. I don't think you will hesitate against the goblins."

"I won't," Brych promised.

Cid said, "Good. Then enough of this; we have no time to waste. We must prepare to defend this town."