Investigating… – 3A-HH (Alayni’s POV)

Chapter 3 – Getting Underway (continued)

“Get ready, but don’t dismount yet.” Kaylen instructed just loud enough for each of them to hear. “When I give the signal, Ursa move to the front and advance with Lyria on foot. Alayni and I will move into a flanking position to provide cover. Vesili, stick with Alanthea and Danny while the Sister provides support.”

“I should sneak forward ahead of the group.” The black-haired half-elf replied.

“You did say you’d help look after Danny in combat.” The blue-eyed man reminded her.

“If anything happens, I can make my way back to her, but in the meantime I would be most useful as a scout.” She insisted.

The brown-haired mage seemed to hesitate, but only for a moment, “Alright, you can go, but don’t engage before the rest of us do, and try to flank if possible.”

“Very well.” She agreed.

Their leader met each of their gaze briefly before nodding, “Let’s go.” He said, and everyone moved simultaneously.

The half-elf flowed off her saddle and vanished from sight though Alayni thought she could detect the sound of her soft footsteps moving off into the woods.

“Was that a spell?” Alanthea asked behind her as Alayni dismounted and readied her sling before pulling her narrow brimmed kettle helm into place on her head, then watched the others do similarly.

“It was magic, but not a spell.” Was Kaylen’s reply.

By that point, Ursa had moved to the front and she and Lyria continued forward together. Ursa was wearing her barbut helmet, and Lyria had donned her close-helm with the visor up. Alayni waited for Kaylen to move alongside her while pulling his chainmail coif over his head before following a short distance behind the two defenders, her own steps as silent as the kitsune’s had been.

It was a few moments later as they moved through the trees about ten paces behind the others that a sound reached her ears, like a woman singing. It was faint at first, but as they closed in on the area she’d first noticed the disturbance from earlier it became clearer. There was something unnatural about it.

But something else caught her attention. Kaylen slowed next to her, his entire demeanor becoming relaxed as he lowered his staff, staring off ahead of them unseeing, though he still put one slow foot in front of the other, as if he was being pulled towards the sound.

But then Lyria looked back at them, and saw what was happening even as Alayni grabbed the mage by his wrist. “Ursa, something’s wrong with Kaylen.” She said in a low tone.

Then, the moment the half-giant turned to follow Lyria’s gaze, something fell from the trees above them in a rush of feathers and flapping wings. Ursa made a startled sound as the thing raked her helmet before impacting the great swordswoman behind her, knocking her to the ground. Lyria managed to keep her sword between her and the creature, its eerie singing a disconcerting backdrop to the brief struggle.

“Lyria!” Alayni cried, releasing Kaylen’s wrist in order to set a bullet in her sling, and get it moving above her head, waiting for an opening between the feathered creature and the greatswordsman.

Alayni fired off a shot from her sling as the creature reared up, hitting the thing right in its torso and knocking it aside while momentarily interrupting its singing. Kaylen stopped moving forward as Alayni set another bullet in her sling.

The creature swept them with an angry glare as Lyria rolled to her feet and leveled her greatsword at it. Then with her and the half-giant closing in, it turned and began to leap away, but even as Alayni’s second sling bullet flew through the air, it lurched to one side and let out a startled screech as her shot whizzed past its forehead, narrowly missing. The next moment Vesili appeared on its back, its odd singing interrupted as it recovered.

“Vesili!” Ursa exclaimed, while the creature tried to knock the half-elf against the nearest tree, but the half-giant swept its feet out from under it before it could, sending it to the ground with Vesili beneath it.

A moment later, the creature went rigid, its yellow eyes trained on Vesili’s dagger poised at its neck. “Release your spell.” The violet-eyed half-elf hissed.

“What’s wrong with Kaylen?” Lyria asked as Alanthea came up behind him and Alayni, her chainmail coif covering much of her head over her wimple.

“He’s enchanted!” The pale-haired healer observed as Kaylen seemed to be shaking off whatever magic had taken hold.

The great swordswoman turned her attention back to the creature on top of Vesili, which had stiffened under the combination of dagger, great sword, large spear, and sling all aimed at it; its singing ended at last.

Now that it was finally still, Alayni could see that it was a harpy, her face distorted by rage as she glared up at them. “Fuck!” She said in a strained voice, her body going limp on top of their black-haired rogue.

“What happened?” Kaylen asked.

“Are you okay Kaylen?” The priestess asked just behind where Alayni stood with her sling.

Kaylen shook his head to clear the lingering effects of the creature’s spell. “I think so, yes.” He said after a moment, then raised his staff and moved closer to regard the creature in front of them. “A harpy?” He observed.

Alayni could make out that the harpy’s face was mostly humanoid, with tiny scales along the sides of her cheek and jaw. Her mouth was filled with razor sharp teeth, and her large yellow eyes had very little visible sclera. Her hair was black with hints of blue and green shine in the dim light filtering through the canopy, nearly identical in texture and color to the feathers that adorned her winged arms and body. She wore a light harness that covered her breasts and a simple pair of shorts, leaving a lot of her body exposed, likely to make full use of her feathers when flying.

“You’re alright?” Lyria asked her brother.

“Yes.” The mage nodded, maintaining a short distance as he regarded the harpy on the ground on top of Vesili. “Where is the rest of your wake?” He asked after another moment.

The harpy scowled at him, “We got separated.” She said simply.

Their leader frowned, and he moved a little closer, peering down at the harpy and Vesili beneath her as his sister moved just a little in front of him, her stance protective. “You didn’t try to fly away.” He stated.

The harpy didn’t answer. But at his observation, his companions each took a closer look, “Her wing’s been shot.” Lyria said pointing to an area where the feathers were caked with dried blood.

“I also struck her with my sling.” Alayni added, gesturing to the fresh blood seeping from the wound on her chest just below her collar bone.

“Oh.” The pale-haired priestess said from a little behind Kaylen. She moved forward, stopping only as Lyria held out her off-hand barring her from approaching closer. “Let me see?”

“What benefit would there be in tending her wounds?” Kaylen asked, frowning at Alanthea.

“I have had little opportunity to practice in the field.” She said simply.

The brown-haired mage seemed to think it over for a moment then nodded, “Very well, but hold a moment first.” He waited for Alanthea’s nod, then turned and went back towards where they’d left the horses on the road. When he returned, he’d brought with him a set of iron manacles and chains, ignoring the odd looks from a few of his companions.

“The priestess here is a healer.” Kaylen explained to the injured harpy. “If you allow me to shackle your legs and do not try to hurt us, I will let her take a look at your injuries.”

Alayni sighed, but ultimately voiced no objection. She didn’t want to second guess Kaylen’s judgment on their first day together.

The harpy growled lowly, just on the edge of Alayni’s hearing, but after only a few moments, she quieted and nodded. They made room for her to stretch her taloned legs out so Kaylen could secure the shackles around her ankles. Then he added a leather strap around the harpy’s face, covering her mouth so she couldn’t use her fangs either. At that point, Vesili lowered her dagger, but did not put it away.

When he was satisfied with his work, he gestured for Alanthea to approach.

The priestess knelt next to the harpy’s injured wing and ran her fingers lightly along her feathers. “Does it hurt?” She asked.

“I can handle it.” The harpy responded, her words muffled by the mask.

The feathered creature winced as Alanthea took hold of her wing and moved it, testing its range of motion. Then the blonde-haired girl looked at their leader, “Something punctured the wing here, but it is no longer bleeding.” She explained. “The muscle was torn, but no bones were broken.”

“I didn’t hit her wing.” Alayni observed.

“This must have been an older injury, though it can’t be older than a few hours.” The blue-eyed healer informed them.

“Its sternum or ribs might be cracked here from Alayni’s sling.” She added, moving from the wing to the torso.

“Should we leave her here?” Kaylen asked.

“She could recover from her injuries on her own, but it would be difficult.” Alanthea advised.

“Perhaps we should take her with us to the village ahead.” He suggested.

“They would execute me without a thought.” The harpy spat.

“You should have considered that before you attacked us.” The red mage retorted.

“I thought you were going to kill me, like those other adventurers.” She growled back, turning to look up at the brown-haired man once more.

“What other option do we have? We cannot trust you not to attack us again, maybe with your wake next time.”

“If you healed me, I would be in your debt, and I would tell the others to leave you alone as well.”

Alayni was skeptical if they could trust the harpy at her word, but before she could speak up, Kaylen tapped his staff three times on the ground and spoke a quiet incantation under his breath. The harpy looked alarmed as an invisible wave of energy seemed to ripple through the air between them, but when nothing else happened, the creature’s scowl returned.

“What is your name?” Their blue-eyed leader asked after a moment.

“Gryla.” The harpy said, seeming to be startled by her admission.

“If you wish me to allow the priestess here to heal your injuries before we release you, you must promise not to bring harm to us or the villagers living in the forest.”

Gryla hesitated, glancing up at him fearfully, but finally nodded.

“Say the words.” Kaylen insisted.

“I vow that if you heal me and set me free, I will not bring harm to any of you, or the other villagers living in the forest.”

Alayni kept her grip on her sling firm as Kaylen considered a moment, then nodded to Alanthea, “Go ahead, Sister.” He told her.

The blue-robed priestess nodded, and spread the fingers of both hands out, hovering over the wound. She said a soft prayer to her deity, beseeching him for his aid in healing their new ally. A glow formed around her hands and the blood around the wound faded, with the feathers regaining their luster and the wing shifting subtly into a more natural shape. Then she moved her hands to the wound from Alayni’s sling and healing that before pulling her hands away.

A tension left the harpy’s body, and she relaxed completely against the ground, no longer scowling at them. She even closed her eyes briefly, before looking back up at Kaylen. The red mage searched his belt pouches, but then frowned.

“I’ll be right back.” He said, then returned to the horses on the road coming back with a small iron key. He knelt down and met Gryla’s gaze for a moment, “It will not go well for you if you betray your vow.” He said, then used the key to unfasten the harpy’s legs from the manacles, then did the same with the mask over its mouth.

“I understand.” She said simply.

“Alright, everyone back up.” He instructed as he took Alanthea’s hand, pulling her to her feet and leading her several paces back.

Alayni tried to keep enough room to use her sling should she need to as Vesili disentangled herself from the harpy and they all backed away several paces, each of them keeping their weapons at the ready.

Gryla rose slowly to her feet, her full height putting her half a head taller than the brown-haired mage leading their group, though a lot of that was her long legs. She looked around at all of them before letting out a light chuckle, “Fuck me, you’re all women - except for you, handsome.” She nodded at Kaylen. “No wonder my song didn’t work.”

“A siren song?” Kaylen asked, raising one eyebrow.

The harpy nodded, then took a few steps away, testing her wing gingerly. Then, when she was under an opening in the tree canopy, she leapt a good fifteen feet into the air, and with a great flap of her wings, disappeared into the night.

Once the harpy was gone, Alanthea sighed, causing Alayni to raise one eyebrow as she glanced at her. “Something amiss, Sister?” Their leader asked.

The tall blonde shook her head, “I thought she might be dying is all. I’ve never seen a sentient creature die before.”

“You’re a strange one.” Ursa observed before shouldering her shield and starting back towards the horses.

Alayni shook her head, but could not disagree with Ursa’s observation as she began picking up her sling bullets.

“So uh… what were you planning on using those for if we hadn’t run into an injured harpy?” Vesili asked as she fell into step beside the mage and his sister, with Alayni trotting to catch up.

Kaylen chuckled, “Another situation just like this, though I’m sure they could have other uses.”

Alayni took a moment to examine the sky through the tree canopy, “Do we want to make camp here soon? It’s gonna get dark fast.” She said.

“We might be able to reach the village before full dark if we press on.” Lyria suggested.