Investigating… – 3C-EW (Vesili’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. Lynn, get into position to provide cover. Vesili, stick with me, Alanthea, and Danny while we provide support.”

“I should sneak forward ahead of the group.” Vesili replied.

“If it’s a wild beast I wouldn’t want you facing it alone.”

“I won’t be seen, I promise.” She insisted.

The brown-haired mage seemed to hesitate, but only for a moment, “Alright, go.” He told her.

Vesili wasted no time, practically flowing off her saddle and shrouding herself from sight as she dashed silently into the forest.

“Was that a spell?” She heard Alanthea ask behind her.

“It was magic, but not a spell.” She thought she heard Kaylen say.

She rushed through the forest, avoiding any obvious dead leaves or underbrush that could give her away, swiftly approaching the area up ahead that the earlier sound had come from. She slowed when she reached a large tree, and scanned the area, looking for signs of a wild animal or other creature that could have made such noises.

She’d searched for less than a minute when she heard a sound above her, like a woman singing. There was something off about the sound, and she quickly scanned the large trunk to see if there was a place she could climb it.

But before she could start up the trunk, she spotted Ursa moving surprisingly quietly towards the same tree, her barbut helmet angled upward as she scanned the canopy.

Lyria was close behind the half-giant, her vision in her visored close-helm a bit more restricted. Both women had weapons drawn, with Ursa’s massive shield held at the ready.

Vesili frowned as she had to back up, finding there weren’t any good handholds she could use to climb the tree, but then she heard the mage’s sister speaking in a low tone, “Ursa, something’s wrong.” She said.

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.

Vesili circled the three combatants, looking for an opening for her dagger, but before she could jump in, the black-haired shield maiden had recovered and knocked the winged creature aside with a sweep of her spear, almost into where Vesili was hidden.

An arrow flew through the trees and clipped the creature’s wing as soon as there was some distance between it and the two armored women, and Vesili took her moment to leap onto the creature’s back, drawing a startled screech from it as it twisted, trying to spot what had grabbed her, but its yellow eyes did not register Vesili’s presence. It leapt upwards but didn’t quite make it to the trees, but did narrowly dodge a second shot from Talindra’s bow.

By then Lyria had rolled to her feet, her sword leveled at the black-feathered creature as she glanced back towards their other companions, with Ursa moving in for a strike as well. “Alanthea!” Lyria called out.

“He’s enchanted!” The pale-haired healer called back.

But Vesili didn’t have time to wonder what kind of enchantment Kaylen was apparently suffering under, as both her armored teammates closed in, and Vesili realized they or Lynn could hit her if they struck without knowing she was there, so she immediately released her magic, becoming visible to all four combatants.

“Vesili!” Ursa exclaimed as the creature, startled again, tried to knock her against the nearest tree, but the half-giant swept its feet out from under it before it could, but that still ended up with Vesili on her back beneath the thing, the wind knocked from her lungs.

But she held on, and maneuvered her dagger right to the thing’s neck, making sure it could see it clearly, and with both Lyria and Ursa looming over it, it stiffened, and grew still. “Release your spell.” She hissed from between gritted teeth, wrapping her legs around its waist to secure her hold.

“Do as she said; release him from your spell.” Lyria told the creature, which Vesili could see now was a harpy, her face distorted by rage as she glared up at Kaylen’s sister.

“Fuck!” She said in a strained voice, her body going limp on top of Vesili.

Vesili caught sight of their elf archer approaching alongside their leader with the priestess close behind. Kaylen looked annoyed, though whatever enchantment had taken hold of him seemed to have been dispelled. Lynn had donned her close-fitting half helm while the other two had pulled their chainmail coifs around their heads, leaving only their faces bare.

“A harpy?” He said as he drew close.

As the harpy twisted its neck back and forth, trying to take all of them in, Vesili observed that her face was mostly humanoid, with tiny scales along the sides of her cheeks 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.

“Are you alright?” Lyria asked her brother.

“I’m fine.” The mage replied, 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 a 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.

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

“Hold a moment, Sister.” Kaylen said, and then once she nodded he swiftly turned and went back to where Dinnae and the horses were waiting 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.” He 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 injured wing.”

Vesili was willing to follow Kaylen’s lead, even if the situation seemed like it could backfire on them.

The harpy growled lowly, almost more of a vibration in her chest than something audible to most of Vesili’s companions, but after only a few moments, she quieted and nodded. But Vesili held tightly to the black-haired harpy’s back as she stretched her taloned legs out for the red mage to 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 which 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, but it is no longer bleeding.” She explained. “The muscle was torn, but no bones were broken.”

“Was it my shot?” Talindra asked. “I clipped her wing, near the end there.”

The blue-eyed healer turned back to where the elf had pointed, but shook her head. “Your arrow damaged some feathers, but didn’t pierce flesh.”

Kaylen nodded. “Will she recover if we were to leave her?”

Alanthea worried her lower lip between her teeth. “I imagine so, if it does not become infected. Do you wish to leave her? Mightn’t that be dangerous?”

“I’m not sure. I don’t feel comfortable executing a helpless prisoner. Perhaps we should take her with us to the village ahead.”

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

“Perhaps that is what you deserve.” The red mage retorted. “You did attack us.”

“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.

“If we let you leave, what guarantee would we have that you wouldn’t attack us again, maybe with your wake with you next time?”

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

Kaylen seemed to consider her words for a moment, then he tapped his staff three times on the ground just as he had done at the **** auction, muttering an 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.

Then their blue-eyed leader asked, “What is your name?”

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

“If we heal you, and set you free, do you 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.”

Vesili focused on Alanthea as their leader nodded and told her, “Go ahead, Sister.”

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.

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.

“One moment.” He said, then returned to the horses on the road coming back with a small iron key. He used it to unfasten the harpy’s legs from the manacles, then did the same with the mask over its mouth.

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

Vesili disentangled herself from the harpy and backed away towards Kaylen, and so did their two defenders, with both 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.”

“Just remember your vow.” Kaylen said, “And if we never cross paths again, I think both sides will be happy.”

“Right.” She 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, and Vesili raised an eyebrow at the disappointment on her face. “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.

Vesli fell into step alongside their handsome leader, glancing at the shackles he was carrying then up at his face, “So uh… what were you planning on using those for if we hadn’t run into an injured harpy?” She asked.

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

Talindra caught up with them, having retrieved her arrows. The black-haired half-giant asked her, “You shot twice, and didn’t injure the harpy?”

The silver-haired elf shook her head, “I was being careful not to hit you or Lyria.” She explained, then turned towards Kaylen, “It’s already getting dark. Perhaps we should locate a space to make camp?”

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