Investigating… – 3C-HH (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. Alayni, 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.” The black-haired half-elf 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 feathered creature was suddenly knocked aside, even before the black-haired shield maiden had recovered enough to strike at it, landing almost where Vesili was hidden.

The half-giant followed up with a thrust, which the creature dodged, its dark-haired head twisting back and forth as Lyria rolled to her feet, leveling her sword at the creature. Vesili took the opportunity to break into a sprint straight at the creature, diving towards it just as it gathered itself to leap up into the trees.

She hit it just as it was leaving the ground, and threw off her momentum, but also felt pain bloom in her side as she grabbed the thing around its waist, and tumbled with it back to the ground a few feet away, its odd singing interrupted as they landed together.

By then Lyria had rolled to her feet, her sword 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 Alayni 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 get its feet under it to slash as Vesili cluthing its midsection, but the half-giant knocked it back down with the shaft of her spear into its shoulder, and Vesili used that momentum to straddle the creature’s chest even as she felt blood seeping from her side beneath her clothing.

But she held on, and pressed the tip of her dagger right to the thing’s neck, making sure it could see it, and with both Lyria and Ursa looming over it, it stiffened, and grew still. “Release your spell.” She hissed from between gritted teeth.

“Do as she said; release him from your spell.” Lyria told the creature. Vesili could see now it was a harpy, her face distorted by rage as she glared up at the three of them.

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

It was only a moment later that the curly-haired halfling approached, looking somewhat concerned beneath her kettle helm as she observed the state of the battlefield, and Vesili crouched over the harpy.

Kaylen and the priestess caught up a few moments later looking annoyed, though whatever enchantment had taken hold of him seemed to have been dispelled. Their chainmail coifs had been pulled 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 with Vesili poised atop it. “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 beneath Vesili 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 maintained a cautious position as the harpy 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.”

“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.

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 rose up from on top of 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.

“Say, Alanthea?” Vesili asked before the rest of them could head back. “I think Alayni hit me with one of her sling bullets. Think you could take a look at it?” She glanced between the priestess and the red mage, realizing she’d have to expose herself somewhat to reveal the injury in her side.

“Where were you hurt?” The blue-eyed woman asked, looking her up and down.

“About here.” She indicated her lower rib cage on the left side.

“If it’s not presently bleeding, we might want to wait until we’re ready to sleep to look at it.” The blonde healer suggested.

“It’s bruised at the very least, and I felt it bleeding earlier, but it may have stopped now.” Vesili advised.

“Let me throw a quick heal on it.” Their leader suggested, making a simple gesture with one hand while chanting a brief incantation. There was a flash of light around Vesili’s body, and the pain in her side lessened significantly.

She smiled, prodding her side gingerly to ensure the injury did not need further attention right away, and then asked, “So uh… what were you planning on using those for if we hadn’t run into an injured harpy?” As she fell into step beside him, pointing towards the shackles he still carried.

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

“Do we want to make camp here soon? It’s gonna get dark fast.” Their halfling outrider asked from her saddle, looking up at the sky.

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