Investigating… – 3C-QO (Janel’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. Janel, stick with me, Alanthea, and Danny while we provide support.”

“You don’t want me to scout ahead?” Janel asked.

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

“You can trust me to keep myself safe.” She assured him.

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

Janel nodded. She took a moment to concentrate, her face scrunched up for about a second as she willed an illusion into existence matching her form on the saddle. Then she swiftly dropped to the ground, leaving behind a hazy illusory form that resembled herself at least from a distance.

“That’s… not what I thought a spell would look like.” She heard Alanthea murmur, before she was out of easy earshot.

She made her way quickly and quietly through the trees, careful to avoid any dead foliage on the ground or brushing too close to anything that would rustle or snap. She circled wide, and came around towards where she thought the sound from earlier had come from.

That was when she heard a sound, like a woman singing. It was faint at first, but as she drew closer it became clearer. Something about it made her ears itch under her scarf.

She tried to locate it, but just as she was closing on a tree whose branches she thought it might be coming from, 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.

Janel had just selected a tree to climb whose branches intersected with the tree the song seemed to be coming from when the mage’s sister spoke in a low tone, barely audible to Janel’s ears, “Ursa, something’s wrong.”

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.

Janel did her best to navigate the larger tree branches to get above the three combatants, but by then the black-haired shield maiden had recovered and knocked the winged creature aside with a sweep of her spear.

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 Janel watched as Lyria rolled to her feet, leveling her sword at the creature, which righted itself and leapt up into the trees only a short distance from where Janel hid, narrowly dodging a second arrow; its odd singing resuming almost immediately.

“Alanthea!” Lyria called over her shoulder, looking back towards their other companions, though Janel couldn’t see the priestess from her vantage point.

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

But Janel didn’t have time to wonder what they were talking about, although she supposed that ‘he’ could only be referring to Kaylen, or one of the horses. She had managed to shift over to another branch adjacent to where the winged creature was just preparing to pounce yet again.

So Janel pounced first. She drew her sword and leapt through the air, startling the thing as its yellow eyes widened, noticing her too late to defend itself before her small frame collided with it, knocking it off the branch it had occupied. The two of them tumbled from the tree, hitting a branch on the way down. It tried to slow its fall using its wings, letting out a harsh cry as Janel wrapped one arm around its shoulders and neck. They landed with Janel on top, as the creature tried to resume its singing while getting its feet underneath it, but then it saw Janel’s sword blade just under its chin, poised to cut its neck.

“Let him go.” Janel growled, and the singing finally trailed off.

It stiffened beneath Janel’s hold, crouched with its feet curled up beneath it, as Lyria and Ursa both approached, aiming their weapons towards the creature. “Do as she said; release him from your spell.” The brown-haired great swordsman insisted.

Now that it was finally still, Janel could see that it 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 beneath her.

Janel 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.

From her vantage point, Janel observed that the harpy’s face was mostly humanoid, with tiny scales along the side of her cheek and jaw that Janel could see. 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 beneath Janel. “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 Janel and the harpy 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.

“Her wing is hurt.” Janel observed, pointing with her chin to the wing on her right, some of the feathers were caked with dried blood. “There’s blood on some of her feathers.”

“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.”

Janel wasn’t sure if this was a good idea, but she also didn’t want to question Kaylen in front of an enemy.

The harpy growled lowly, almost more of a vibration in her chest than something audible to most of Janel’s companions, but after only a few moments, she quieted and nodded. So Janel shifted off of the black-haired harpy’s back enough for her to stretch 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.

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.”

It seemed to Janel that Kaylen wasn’t convinced, but 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.”

Janel glanced from the harpy to Kaylen, and then to Alanthea as the mage nodded to her. “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.

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.

Janel backed away, and so did their two defenders, though all three of them kept 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 Janel glanced at her, wondering 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.

Janel nodded in agreement, glancing back at the way Gryla had gone before turning to face forward again. “Do I want to ask why you have those shackles?” She asked, falling into step beside Kaylen.

“I thought they might come in handy, and I was right.” Was his response.

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.