71 - Go Time

  Joe strode into the Telemont Square, resolved not to address the issue of Sir Groven unless it was absolutely necessary. He was still a little unsure about how he felt about what he had been forced to do last night. The night with the Murrceeians had helped him considerably, but his stomach still felt queasy when he dwelled on the killing. Additionally, the last thing he needed was more tension with the Phealtian on his team.

  Crossing the plaza, Joe spotted two of his companions waiting for him by the central fountain. Somehow, it did not surprise him that the breezy galeling was on her own schedule.

  On the walk here, Joe had been feeling confident. He had used the dwindling coins from Jink to buy a map of the city and now knew where they had to go. He was better armored and skilled than he had been the last time he met these men. Yet the closer he got to them, the more his conviction began to falter.

  Count Randeau was dressed in an impeccable arsenal. He had several belts wound about his lean waist; each was littered with blades and vials, even a classic wooden vampire stake. A bandoleer across his chest was filled with darts. He had a long, slim blade on one hip and a short sword and a whip on the other. Even his tall boots had a pair of sheathed blades worked into them.

  Added to everything Joe could see were several of the highest-quality storage items he had seen when he bought his dimensional bag. Given the volume capabilities of just one of those items, Joe couldn’t even guess how much more gear the monster hunter had stashed in his extra-dimensional spaces. The count was in the process of removing an item from one of his storage talismans and placing it on his belt. It looked like a leather-bound jar filled with honey.

  Standing near, but by no means with the nobleman, was Azbekt, arrayed nearly as impressively as the human. His gold and silver armor gleamed, seemingly impervious to anything the darkness could throw at the myrmidon. He carried an even more devastating-looking axe than the one he bore on the Tide Dancer. This one, too, smoldered with an inner volcanic heat, but it was larger, bearing a vicious back hook instead of a second blade.

  Just as he was about to call out, his voice vanished. ‘This is a huge mistake!’

  It was all too obvious just how big a liability he was to the team. He had less than a quarter of Azbekt’s level. These two each had multiple combat classes. Just as his thoughts turned to handing the reins of tonight over to the far more capable Count, a friendly hand squeezed his shoulder. Hah’roo glided around to face him.

  “I will not lie to you and say the One Above does not set the roost higher than we can soar,” she breathed. “The Speaker of Fates often presents us with challenges that are beyond us. Knowing when you are out of your depth is a vital key to living a long, adventurous life. Still, you must not be guided by fear and insecurity. That will only make your tasks more difficult, for you must fight them and yourself at once. Know your strengths and weaknesses, zephyr, and know we have your back. Everything else is just distractions.”

  Joe felt more than just the words and tone radiate from the huntress. He felt her camaraderie envelop him like a warm summer breeze, driving away the cold doubts that had been trying to bury him. He blew out a deep breath and lifted his gaze to meet her eyes.

  “And, I know why you may not want these, but we will likely be facing a powerful enemy. You should take all the advantages you can get.” With those words, the galeling warrior thrust three items into Joe’s hands. He recognized one of them as the ring worn on the hand that had broken his jaw. He opened his mouth to object, but Hah’roo’s stern glare brooked no compromise.

  With a sigh, Joe swapped out his new shinguards and old tassets with a set of greaves, put on the ring, and placed a tooled leather circlet onto his head.

  Joe was a little creeped out wearing the accoutrements of someone he had killed, but he had to admit Hah’roo was right. Considering how far below the rest of the team he was, anything he could get his hands on, he should use.

  “Hey, guys,” he began automatically before a thunderous glower from the dwarf silenced him again. Joe mentally kicked himself. Casual familiarity wouldn't work here as it had for him on Earth.

  Clearing his throat, he started again. “I know the monster’s name and where it will be tonight.”

  Half an hour later, the team moved at a steady clip down a wide boulevard, heading north across the city. So far no one had mentioned the attack from last night. Hah’roo had stated she would inform the authorities, but that knowledge must not have reached Azbekt’s church yet. Given that they had to work together tonight, Joe was hoping the news stayed buried for the time being.

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  As he was keeping his head down so as not to look guilty, Joe recognized that the city was also looking more subdued tonight than it had the night before. Looking about, he was stunned at the change that had swept across the streets around him.

  The bustling, busy avenues of last night were almost empty tonight. The mass of traffic that had filled the streets yesterday was gone. The shops that had been open and doing business by lantern light were now closed up tight. The tavern lights were lit, but there were no revelers on the porches and no merry music floating in the air. The city was so quiet you could hear the wind blowing off the ocean.

  The few people on the road were hustling along with worried expressions on their faces.

  Joe looked to the sky. Even though it was too early to see the rising full moon, its effect on the people of Peregrine Bay was clear. The Night Skinner’s seemingly unstoppable butchery had terrorized the citizens.

  Soon, they entered a more run-down section of the city. It was clear that the sea was where the harbor city’s livelihood stemmed from. The further from the coast they traveled, the poorer the neighborhoods became.

  “This is a long way from anywhere,” the surly dwarf uttered. “No chance a city patrol will be close enough if we need it.”

  “The diviner was very specific,” Joe countered. “If we include others, we won’t find the Skinner. It has to be just us.”

  “Bah,” Azbekt huffed. “Surely the gods expect us to marshal our order against this fiend. This massacre has gone on far too long. I have holy warriors ready and waiting on my call. This diviner of yours, if she even exists, played you for a fool.”

  “I’ll give you that she was one very sketchy lady, but on this point, she was adamant. It can only be the four of us.”

  Azbekt maintained his dubious stare.

  “If the oracle Joe met with was who Ekwiti’s champion stated she was, then her portents are above reproach, Azbekt,” Hah’roo stated.

  “I have heard of quests of this nature, Sir Vanderaxe,” Valloc added. “The One Above is known to present challenges that are for a select few. If Joe is certain that it must be just us, then I say we heed his warning and not foul our chance to slay the beast.”

  “Fools,” the dwarf spat. “You gamble with the lives of the innocent.”

  “I care not what jests the penny dreadfuls make with my adventures, sir, but I am not lightly called a fool to my face. Tonight, we are allies, but demean me further, and tomorrow I will collect my due.”

  The count's voice was so cold a literal shiver ran down Joe’s spine. He doubted the myrmidon was as shaken, but the dwarf seemed to know better than to push. Azbekt huffed and trudged on, thankfully in silence.

  The party reached the end of the main northbound lane just as the last edge of the sun glinted behind the buildings on their left. The fading light turned from hints of orange to shades of blue as a huge round moon rose in the eastern sky.

  On the way here, Joe was afraid that he should have bought some sort of darksight potion, but he needn’t have worried. The fat rising moon washed the streets with bright, cold light. He could make out each of the cobblestones under his feet and even read some of the large shop signs as he passed them. The night was so clear that Joe could see the first of the stars in the sky even before the last glow finished slipping behind the horizon.

  Four city blocks later, the tower of the old vineyard god came into view. The structure stood forty feet tall, flat-topped, and wreathed in twisting vines. The area around the tower was clear of buildings. Circular paths ran between five ornamental grape arbors and a large stone table, all of which looked very old. The timbers holding up the grapes sagged mightily, but they must have been maintained by the locals since they were still standing. Moss and lichen coated the stone table. Weeds pushed up through the gravel in the paths.

  Hah’roo, who often glided ahead of the party, stopped and crouched down over a patch of grass that had split the pathway. “Tracks,” she voiced.

  The Count stepped up to her and nodded his agreement. He then hunched forward and tilted his head from side to side, all the while staring at the tower.

  “Clever monster,” Valloc stated. “The Skinner knows how to pick his sites. The vines have choked closed the windows. It would take an exceptionally bright light from within the tower to be seen from out here. If you look carefully enough, though, you can catch small glimpses of candlelight from within. I believe our beast is in the lair. Now is the time to invoke any moderate-duration enhancements you might have.”

  As Joe activated [Bonemail] and downed the [Potion of Cat's Creep], Hah’roo grabbed his wrist and tied on a thick-knotted charm she had made for him. She then reached up and tied back her azure mane of hair with an equally complex knotwork strand.

  Azbekt knelt and uttered a low prayer. As he did so, the air around him seemed to grow heavier, charged with potency. It made sense that prayers in Illuminaria would be more powerful than those back on Earth, but Joe was still surprised by the tangible aura that arose from Azbekt’s devotions.

  The Count ran skilled hands across his gear, double-checking that everything was where it should be. When his inspection was done, he took out a wooden dowel about a foot and a half long from one of his storage items and hooked it next to the jar of viscous golden goop.

  He caught Joe’s questioning looks and explained.

  “Regent’s Glue. Great stuff,” the man remarked, tapping his fingers on the jar. “It is amazingly strong and dries in an instant. Breaks down after an hour. It is a great trick for making sure a monster does not escape behind you. After we enter, I will seal the tower door behind us, as well as any other doors or shutters we find. The Skinner still may flee from a route we are not aware of, but it will limit the beast’s options.”

  "Why not just use it to glue the killer to the floor?”

  “Alas, the glue does not work affixed to flesh. I have often wished it did. However, I have been in situations where I am equally glad it did not. It spilled on me once during a fight. I ended up having to cut my pants off. Bareassed was better than bound stiff and easy for the kill.”

  “I’m sure the penny dreadfuls loved that one,” Joe couldn't help but quip.

  “Best seller,” Valloc winked back before gesturing for Joe to follow him up to the tower.

  They circled the building once, finding a smaller doorway on the backside of the structure. The Count tested it and found it locked. He slathered a liberal amount of glue on the frame, sealing it tight before they finished their circuit. Once back at the main door, both the Count and Hah’roo checked it for traps. They were certain a spell was bound into the door, though they were less sure if it was a lock, a trap, or an alarm.

  Azbekt lifted his shield, which was emblazoned with the sun and moon symbol of Phealti. His voice dropped into such a deep register it sounded to Joe more like the bass from some far-off speaker than actual words. Golden symbols appeared on the door and flowed to the edges. There, they encountered something that suddenly gave off a crimson glow. The gold sigils sliced into the ruby aura, banishing it from the portal. The myrmidon nodded and Hah’roo eased open the door.

  When nothing happened, not even a creak from the hinges, the four slipped inside.