City in Ashes

The east gate hung open, the thick wrought iron bars bent and broken. Instead of retreating back to their ships, the Zandeer raiders had set out towards the Wilds and some unknown purpose beyond, captives in tow.

Ides slowed to a walk, clutching at a stitch in his side. There was no chance of catching up with them now, the party was ill prepared for a chase.

Vev stood at the threshold of the gate, chest heaving, staring into the morning sun rising over a bruised gray sky.

Someone coughed; a harsh, raspy sound. A white-haired drow with a Zandeer patch and blood soaked clothes lay propped up against a pile of rubble, hand pressed against his side.

In two steps, Ides closed the distance, grabbing him by the coat and slamming him up against the stone wall. “Talk,” he said, a growl rumbling low in his throat, “and I’ll make your death quick.”

Sudden fear washed away the languid apathy of death from the young man’s eyes. “They’re taking them to the temple. All of ‘em, anyone we could get our hands on. Somewhere,” he grimaced, ribs hitching as he fought for breath, “somewhere on the border of the Barrens. That’s all they told me.”

“Break his legs.” Vev suggested, appearing at Ides’s elbow.

“That’s all they said!” he protested, squirming, “But some of the crew said it was for a ritual and a dragon- agh!” he cried out as Ides pushed against his crushed ribs, the bones cracking and grinding under the pressure.

“When?”

“Five days!”

Ides stepped back and dropped the pirate, who collapsed as his knees buckled out from under him.

With a primal yell, Vev seized the pirate and threw him against the wall again. The drow’s body crumpled. Dark blood leaked from his nose, the only color against his lifeless gray skin.

Guy materialized from the thinning smoke, bloodied and grim. His shoulders drooped as he took in the scene: Vev leaning heavily against the wall, the dead body at his feet, the party standing uselessly around him. “They took her, didn’t they?”

“They did, but it’s okay!” Oda bounced up to him, the gravity of the situation seemingly incapable of weighing her down. “We have five days to get her back!”

Vev straightened, looking out over the road like he was about to set off without a second thought.

It was Blank who talked him down. “Governor, sir,” her voice was low and firm. She kept a respectful distance but maneuvered so that she stood between him and the gate. He’d have to go through her first, and there was a smouldering fire of determination in her eyes. “Rest assured, we will do everything in our power to get Dolip and everyone else back safely. But if I may, it is in the best interest of your city for you to remain here. Your people need a strong leader right now and it’ll do no one good for you to run off and get yourself killed with no plan or backup.”

Vev’s clenched fists slowly relaxed, duty to his city slowly winning. Ides could feel the conflict rolling off him like a heatwave, and wished almost as strongly as he that they could run after Zandeer right then and there.

Vev walked over to Guy, head and voice low as his role of governor slid over his features like a stony mask. “They’ll need a guide.”

“Aye.”

“You know who roves the Wilds.”

Guy scratched a flake of dried blood from his cheek, expressionless. “I know.”

“I understand that you don’t want to see her. I wouldn’t ask unless-”

“If that’s what it takes to get your girl back.” He stepped back, turning on his heel to the party as they stood uneasily at a respectful distance. “Be ready to leave at daybreak. If you need supplies, I’m sure Tralco will be more than happy to help their twice-over saviors.”

“Whatever you need, the treasury is open- within reason.” Vev amended quickly. He cast one long last look down the eastern road, and turned back to the city.

As they walked away, Ides stepped up beside Blank. “That was impressive,”

Blank picked at her chapped lips, back to her usual nervous, slightly overstrung, self. “I don’t know what came over me, but it felt like the right thing to say.”

He rested a paw on her shoulder, then gazed through the twisted iron to the open road. "We all do what we must, even now."

She nodded, a stray tear carving a path down her ash-streaked cheek. "We have to get them back."

"We will."

<>

They did what they could to help for the better part of the day, taming remaining fires and helping people sift through their ruined homes, looking for belongings, pets, loved ones. As the ashes settled in the late afternoon sunshine, they converged, all finding themselves tired and unable to do anything more for the people around them.

“Shopping?” Blank asked.

Ides surveyed the sorry state of the commons. “We can certainly try.”

The first shop they came to was in terrible shape. Windows smashed in, shelves and countertops swept bare, and the sign hung crookedly out over the door. An old, bent woman stood in the middle of the open room, sweeping up piles of candy-colored glass. She was a sweet soul, selling them what little she had left to offer, a few low-enchantment rings, a few cloaks woven through with protection spells, and one or two spell scrolls that they overpaid for lavishly. No matter that most of it was credit from the governor. They had no trouble spending Vev’s money in the name of supporting a struggling small business. They left the grandmotherly lady several gold pieces richer and waving after them with a relieved smile on her face.

The second, a tiny box of a building run by a kenku, was in much the same state. The proprietor, Kenu Raves by the name painted on the sign, was all nervous quips and ruffled feathers. He’d managed to hide an entire crate worth of health potions from the raid, which they readily took off his hands, again overpaying extravagantly.

A steady wind had picked up over the afternoon, blowing the smoke that smothered the city south and west, out over the sea. If Ides closed his eyes, he could almost imagine he was back in Gladis, about to finish up a patrol and return home for the evening. Pain twisted at his heart as he pictured home. Even his warmest memories could not withstand the corruption of his last time there, standing at a cold fireplace, trying to make sense of the chaos left behind.

“Can we really afford Dixon’s?” Blank’s question broke him out of his spiraling thoughts. The girls stood near the entrance of the unpresuming hovel, debating.

“Well, we’re going to need the best of the best for a mission like this,” Rue admitted, but even as she did so, her hand slid to the money purse at her belt.

“You hardly touched the gold Vev gave us before we left.” Ides griped. He’d spent most of his share of the reward money on a dagger, enchanted though it was. Even with the supplement from Tralco’s treasury, his coin was getting light.

She looked miffed. “The odds may or may not have been in my favor back in Gullwing. The buy-in at the table was ridiculous. And hey,” she tossed a nod to the smithy, “We all know what the prices are like already.”

He rolled his eyes. “I have business here regardless. Everyone coming?”

The interior was just as pristine as he remembered. The only evidence that it had been disturbed by the outside rabble was two little piles of ash near the door, and a singed Zandeer patch resting atop. The cool, unprerturbed quiet jarred against the heat and horrors of the past day.

“Welcome.” A well dressed dwarf, straightened from where he stooped over a workbench littered with tools and wiry metal components. He lifted a loupe from his eye and watched them all expectantly. Ides was confident that it was Dixon, the master wizard of the shop.

“Thank you. I’m glad to see your shop made it through alright.”

“You must be the leonin that Guy stopped in to tell me about. You’re looking for something along the lines of implants?”

He held out his paws, the scars prominent through the layers of dirt and ash. A sickeningly vulnerable feeling washed over him. “Claws, specifically.”

Dixon grabbed a paw, scrutinizing and muttering to himself. He returned to his workbench, still muttering, opening drawers and unlocking nearby cupboards. After several long minutes, he came back, stroking his neatly braided beard.

“I like you, leonin. I can do this for you for eight hundred gold.”

Ides countered as high as he dared. “Four hundred.”

“Six, and that’s a steal.”

He hesitated, mind racing to try and fill in the discrepancy between the price tag and his coin purse. Could he justify that amount to Vev?

“He saved the governor.” Rue spoke up from where she’d been inspecting a razor-sharp scythe.

Ides and Dixon turned to her. She shrugged pointedly. “That has to be worth something.”

Dixon looked Ides up and down shrewdly. “Three hundred. That is my absolute final offer.”

“Deal.” Ides nodded to Rue, grateful. She dipped her head, then distracted herself with a glass-paneled display of enchanted gems. It would take them both a while to adjust to being on the same side.

“It’s not an easy process,” Dixon informed him matter-of-factly, “Something tells me you’re not sticking around town long either, we can do it tonight but it won’t be pleasant.”

“A sleepless night is worth it.” Ides affirmed. What was one more night of pain if it meant restoring one more broken piece of himself?

With the deal closing, Blank approached, a flowing robe in her hands. The vibrant reds and oranges contrasted sharply with her blue skin and lavender hair. Her exchange with Dixon was much shorter, and she clasped the cloak at her neck with a small, satisfied smile.

Dixon addressed the remaining half of their group. “And you, ladies?”

Oda looked around noncommittally. “I dunno, I didn’t even know dwarves could do magic!”

“I didn’t know tabaxi could be anything more than pickpockets.”

“I’m just saying,” Oda grumbled.

“Your confidence surely compensates for your lack of thinking, doesn’t it, kitty?” Dixon’s tone turned ever so slightly vicious and Oda winced as a little comet tail of magic smacked her in the ear.

Rue held up a hand. “Hey, the only one who can call her that is me, m’kay?”

Ides barely suppressed a groan. Could his party not just behave for more than five minutes?

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Dixon turned his scrutinous eyes to Rue, and she involuntarily tensed.

“Didn’t you used to run with that Zandeer rabble?”

Her eyes flicked to the ash heap in the corner. “I used to.”

He studied her a moment more than gave a pointed humph. Brushing his hands as if dismissing the matter he said, “Well, you’re with a more… trustworthy crew now, by the looks of it. What you need is some better armor.”

She glanced down self-consciously. The simple leather wasn’t holding up too well after the last few days, truth be told.

“Here,” Dixon produced a breastplate and gauntlets. “It’s on the simpler side of what I have but it seems to suit you.”

For what it was, the armor was sturdy, practical, and the gauntlets were almost intricate, packed with power and worked over with a thin relief of a bull’s head on either one.

“Four hundred gold,” Dixon announced pragmatically.

She tried her hand at a sheepish smile. “I only have three ninety five.”

He raised a brow.

Hells. She’d used up what negotiating power she had to help Ides.

“Do you have anything to trade?” Dixon asked. He was becoming less and less generous the longer they spent there.

She rummaged through her pack noisily, stalling. Of course she had nothing that would remotely pique his interest. Even the magic boat-in-a-box that had been a parting gift from her parents must seem trite to someone as used to magic as Dixon. She let go of it slowly. She wasn’t ready to part with that just yet.

“I-”

Five gold clattered on the counter. Oda motioned for her to lean closer. Taking Rue’s face in both paws she stared at her with those weird green eyes. “You don’t owe me anything.”

“Th- thank you?”

Oda darted into the shadows.

Embarrassed, Rue quietly paid for the armor and ducked outside. The others followed soon after.

Guy’s Place was in all kinds of disrepair, so they’d been instructed to return to the mansion when the day was over. They struck up a leisurely pace for the short walk, exhaustion washing over the party all at once.

Even in the glowing sunset, the once-stately mansion looked decrepit. The bodies were gone, but it still smelled faintly of blood. The glass had been swept to the side, for the timebeing in piles under the patched and splintered doors. Extra lanterns lit the interior as people milled about, fixing and cleaning what they could. The party was shown to guest rooms deep in the mansion that had remained relatively untouched, and they settled in with their new supplies.

Later on in the evening, Rue found herself in the wing’s common area, trying to clean her own dried blood off her new greataxe when the captain of the guard walked in. The rest of the party, as well as Vev and Guy, gathered.

The captain, despite his best efforts, was obviously worried and it seeped into his voice. “To the best of our knowledge, the information you were able to glean is correct. There seems to be an ancient temple in the borderlands a few days' ride from here, and we speculate that’s where the raiders are heading. They took anyone who was vulnerable, not just children. The only thing we can assume is that they’re all meant for some sort of ritual, and most assuredly will be dead if you don’t get to them in time.”

“We’ll get them back!” Oda declared loudly, and the others nodded.

Vev crossed his arms. “I wish I had more men to spare to send with y’all. As it is, we need all hands here. I’ve sent word to the capitol already, but it’ll be weeks before anything comes of that.”

The party shared a collective eye-roll. Rue had never bothered to keep up with Kenpo’s politics but she knew enough to dislike even the mention of government affairs. A pirate’s life, she ruminated.

Vev continued, “The aristocracy there has nothing better to do than to look down their noses, to the detriment of everyone involved.” He cut his tangent short with a huff. “Rest well, it’ll be an early start in the morning.”

Rue relocated her cleaning to her room, scouring the blade and muttering. “Making me clean my own blood, little jerk deserved it.”

Even with four hands it took awhile.

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Thanks for reading! It's been a minute since the last update, but I'm happy to be back at it again!

Just finding the story? Start here: Part One

ICYMI: Part 18

Part 20: coming... sometime before 2026 ':D