Alexis had complained about the flight back, but in the morning the noblewoman had acquiesced to flying to Staumuhle. Which was good because the only other way to reach the city was by horseback, and Helena didn’t have the faintest clue how to ride.
The city of Staumuhle was fairly large, with a solid stone church and an inn of its own in addition to a wide assortment of houses and farms. Helena landed just outside of town. “I’m surprised there’s a village this size so close to your castle. I would have thought the larger towns would be spread out more.”
“It is a full day’s journey by wagon from here to Strausfen town,” Alexis said. “Every merchant who comes to or from the south will stop here for the night.” She rolled her shoulders.
Helena nodded in understanding. “Very well. And you say it’s likely our target will be near here. So now, what do we know of her?” She turned to Alexis. “She’s likely rich. Weapons are not cheap, and true black dye is even more expensive.”
“Her wealth may be tied to her ability to summon giant magical dogs,” Alexis offered. “I believe that would greatly help in acquiring coin.”
“The important thing is she’s likely staying in high status,” Helena said. “Or at least relative comfort.”
Alexis raised an eyebrow. “What makes you certain of that?”
“The benefit of a mask is the ability to hide your face right?” Helena said. “I would think a rich person would enjoy their station when they could, and leave the masked raiding until later.”
“I think you don’t understand how difficult it is to wander out each evening unnoticed when you have servants,” Alexis replied. “A simple hamlet is far easier to slip in and out of.”
Helena frowned. “I see.” She began walking towards the village. “So what then? I could try a search spell but it would be… flashy. And if she didn’t leave her weapons out in the open I might not find anything.”
They mused on the issue as they walked in silence. It was troublesome. Helena was not really an investigative type of witch. She usually did interrogations.
It was Alexis who broke the silence. “Perhaps we could find something to use as bait? She seemed to be harassing those mercenaries. We could sneak in and find out what those troops possess, then we would be able to lure the woman into a trap!”
“A good idea, but I’m not sure if it would work,” Helena replied. “I’m not good at stealth spells. If it were a city I might be able to sneak in. But an armed camp is beyond me.”
“No good at sneaking?” Alexis looked at her. “But aren’t stealth and trickery the key elements of witchcraft?”
Helena shrugged. “Trickery is, but stealth less so. Sneaking around with magic suggests if people find me I’ll be in trouble. I prefer situations where if people find me, they’ll be in trouble.” Helena stopped by the low stone wall that seemed to delineate the town and the surrounding farms. “The only thing we know she’d be after is you.”
“Me?” Alexis looked around to make sure no one overheard her. “Why me?”
“Because you’re the one the curse is attached to. She needs you to get near your father so that curse can kill him.” Helena folded her arms. “Which means she needs you alive and under her control instead of wandering the countryside.”
Alexis nodded slowly. “I see. Then let us use the bait we have.” Her eyes hardened. “I am tired of these games. Let us confront each other.”
“Are you sure?” Helena liked the plan, but it would be dangerous for Alexis.
“Certain,” the noblewoman replied. The fire within her seemed to lower a bit. “However I would like to visit the church first. I believe it would be good to seek confession and communion.”
Helena shrugged. “It’s your god. If you need to make an offering, please do.” She wasn’t sure it would help her, but it might make Alexis feel better.
“It’s not an offering, but…” Alexis grimaced and began heading towards the church. “Well, either way, I should do it.”
They went back to walking in silence. Thinking of gods, Helena had asked many favors of Hecate this trip, and had a great deal of luck with magic. The fact that the curse wasn’t rampaging now that it was close to its target was almost certainly divine intervention. She resolved to make a sacrifice on her return.
As they approached the stone church Helena’s thoughts turned more to avoiding the impending awkwardness. She looked around to see if there were any nice windows she could look through to keep an eye on Alexis, but there didn’t seem to be any. The doors grew ever closer, and Helena realized there was no way around it. She’d have to enter the church.
She hoped the priest was unfaithful.
Alexis opened the door. “Please excuse us,” she said before walking in. Helena clenched her teeth and followed.
It was like walking into a hailstorm of needles. Pain flashed over her, trying to drive her back. The owner of this building knew she was a priestess of another deity, and it did not like that. Helena forced herself to push forward past the entryway.
The pain stopped and she gasped in relief. The consecration wasn’t that strong. Alexis looked over at her. “Something wrong?”
“No I’m fine,” she lied. “You should talk to the priest. I’ll stay in the back.”
Helena lingered in the foyer, while Alexis walked up to where the priest was tending the candles. The man spoke to Alexis for a bit before giving Helena a harsh look. Fortunately he decided not to make a big scene and led Alexis to the confession booths. Helena allowed her attention to wander over the rest of the church, looking for any possible threats.
This church seemed pleasantly dull. She hadn’t been in many, but they were uniform in their low wood pews and abundance of candles. It was claustrophobic compared to her home’s more open air temples, but that wasn’t Helena’s problem.
It was several long minutes before Alexis left the confession booth and walked back to her. “My thanks for waiting.”
“No problem,” Helena replied. “Let’s be on our way.” She turned and quickly stepped out the doors, the fresh air outside reinvigorating her. Alexis followed more slowly, blinking as the sun hit her eyes.
“Now we have some loud complaining to do,” Helena stated. “If we want to make you a target we need to let everyone know you’re here. So we’ll go to where it’s acceptable to whine in public. The tavern.”
“Very well.” Alexis coughed. “But I think it would best if we stuck to drinking beer.”
Helena grimaced. “Why? The stuff is fairly foul. Even when brewed well.”
“Because if you pour water into a good German wine, you’ll start a fight,” Alexis stated. “I would prefer to avoid you turning half the men in this town to frogs because of a disagreement over drinking.”
“Fine,” Helena sighed. Barbarian customs everywhere.
———-
To her pleasure Helena had discovered the cider at the tavern was passably good. She’d been nursing that for several hours. Alexis on the other hand had proven her constitution by polishing off over a dozen beers. Helena had cheated a little by turning the fifth and eleventh into alcohol remedies, but the fact that she’d had to wait so long was pretty impressive.
Whether or not they were getting any rumors going was anyone’s guess. People had to have heard Alexis’ complaints, but no one had dared comment. In fact everyone had scooted a little further away.
Alexis waved over a serving girl. “It is getting late. What does the cook have for dinner?”
“Ah, tonight’s dinner is fish stew, my lady.” the woman said, unconsciously glancing to the beer mug that had been emptied yet again.
“Bring two, and drinks and bread as well,” Alexis said tossing down some silver coins.
The woman nodded quickly. “As you will, my lady.”
As the server scurried off, Alexis glared at Helena. “We must talk about important matters. Like our future plans. I am tired of being left guessing.”
Helena grimaced. “People can hear, you know.”
“Can you not fix that?” Alexis asked sharply.
Helena frowned. That was a good question. “It’s hard since I can’t cast a spell on you. But I suppose there is a way.” She reached into her pouch and pulled out a small bell.
It radiated disgust at her, but it didn’t object to the plan so she imbued her spell into it. “I want this back as soon as you’re done,” she said handing it to Alexis.
The noblewoman took it. “Very well, but what-” Alexis paused as she realized the sound of her words didn’t match what she heard in her head.
“You can now speak and understand Japanese. So unless someone in this village is a master of far eastern languages we should be fine.” Helena sipped her cider. “What do you want to cover?”
“The plan,” Alexis said. “We are using me as bait in an ambush, but I still have no idea how this ambush will work. Our prey knows you’re a witch, and she knows I am armed. What keeps her from just shooting one of us with her bow?”
Helena nodded. “She can’t shoot you because that would be the end of everything. Your death destroys the curse.” Helena shrugged. “As for shooting me, I’m prepared. I pissed off the god of archery. Occasional arrows are expected.”
“I hope your skill matches your confidence,” Alexis said. “For your sake as well as mine. You do remember she seems to have magic of her own?”
Helena winced. “Yes. I’ve worked up some counter measures.” She fell silent for a moment as the serving woman returned with their meals. “The dogs should be less of a problem, if nothing else.”
Alexis dipped some bread into her own soup. “I don’t suppose you could give me a bullet that would affect those dogs?”
“No,” Helena said. “Hurting dogs isn’t something I’m supposed to do. What I can offer you is an enchantment that will allow you to shoot the woman without killing her. It would be better if we took her alive.”
“If you insist,” Alexis replied. “So how will we handle the ambush? They will be able to choose the time of attack.”
Helena nodded. “Hecate is a goddess of crossroads. We’ll wander the streets at the edge of town, traveling quickly and lingering at them. I should be able to get a feel for anyone trying to ambush us there.” She took a bite of the stew and found it far too salty and spicy for her tastes. At least it was warm.
Alexis looked at her for a few long moments. “If I might make a suggestion, when the ambush is near, please give me a signal. I feel I might know how to choose a defensive ground better than you.”
“Well…” Helena frowned. “I suppose you might.” She looked at the tankard Alexis was holding. “Though if you want to be making decisions, you might want to cut yourself off there. I can only burn so much magic curing your drunkenness. Especially since I’m using alchemy runes.”
Alexis blinked, then had the presence of mind to blush. “My apologies. I suppose I might have indulged a little bit more than I should have.” The woman handed back the bell. “Hopefully we’ll be back in my father’s castle soon,” she said in German.
“Hopefully,” Helena replied.
———-
The air was cold as they walked through the poorly lit streets of Staumuhle. Helena’s mood was decidedly vicious as the rough wool cloak she’d had to buy itched against her skin. She could have set up a ward against cold, but keeping it working would take some of her concentration, and she wanted all of her wits about her for the fight ahead. Capturing someone was often complicated.
Or at least, she would need her wits if their prey ever approached. They’d wandered the city twice over, and she hadn’t sensed any threats at all. “Damn. I suppose I was getting overconfident.”
Alexis sighed, but nodded. “It did seem a little farfetched that our plans would work perfectly with but a single day of preparation.”
Helena rubbed her forehead. She’d gotten hasty. That was a bad habit in her field of work. On the other hand, giving up now would be foolish. The chance of their prey falling into their hands on the first day was slim, but missing a chance because it was unlikely would be just as stupid.
“Let’s wander to the north. If nothing happens in an hour we’ll fly back,” Helena said.
“Very well,” Alexis replied. “This way then.”
The two trudged slowly to the north of the city, past the church, and graveyard. Finally they arrived at the last crossroads out of town, the four way crossing marked with a faded signpost. Helena concentrated for a moment, and found nothing. “Next,” she sighed.
They walked out of the city, heading through cleared land. The houses here were dark, the inhabitants resting for the night. Only the occasional fruit tree and stone fence broke up the monotony of the fields.
Helena’s only warning was a slight whistling before the arrow struck her magic shield and punched through. The defensive barrier violently exploded, while Helena stumbled back. Arrow fragments flew through the air.
The night turned into chaos. Helena saw Alexis draw her gun. Then a dog as big as a house appeared before them, growling. A second arrow came flying towards Helena, and she quickly pointed and blasted it to ash.
Not stopping, Helena reached into her belt and pulled out a small carved wooden globe she’d prepared. As Helena threw it into the air it began to whistle. The high pitched scream grew shriller and shriller as the orb flew into the air, spinning like a wheel. As it reached a pitch so high Helena’s ears could no longer hear it, the giant dog’s growl turned into a whimper and it buried its head under its paws.
Helena’s rush of elation was quickly killed as she heard Alexis cry out in shock. The woman’s gun went off, but there was no answering scream.
She turned to see Alexis retreating, her pistol on the ground. The masked woman was approaching, wielding a thin sword already colored with blood. From the way Alexis was holding her right arm close the assailant had already cut her. How deep Helena couldn’t see.
The sight made Helena angry. Furious. She wanted to hurt their attacker. Make the woman scream and bleed.
Helena fought that rage down, tapping only the dying embers of it. She flung her left hand forward and bound the curse into three bullets.
The masked woman was already leaping away as the missiles flew. Her blade flashed in the moonlight, and somehow struck away two of the shots, leaving sizzling scars on the ground. But Helena felt the third strike true.
She dashed forward to press the advantage, summoning a blast of lightning. The swordswoman leaped out of the way and blew a silver whistle. Helena couldn’t hear any sound, but the whimpering dog vanished, and another dog the size of a pony appeared.
With a mighty leap her target hopped onto the dog and raced into the night. Alexis threw her knife clumsily and Helena summoned a quick curse bullet, but both missed. The dog’s zig zagging path kept them safe until they hopped a stone wall.
Helena was breathing heavily. The mystical bullroarer dropped to the earth with a thud. And Alexis began swearing as she gripped her right arm.
“Well, it seems her magic is better than expected,” Helena said. She turned to Alexis, “Let’s see to that wound.”
Alexis hissed in frustration. “We have no time! She’s getting away!”
“She’s gotten away,” Helena said. “Chasing after her will only lead us into another ambush.” She held up a hand to stop Alexis’ outburst. “We have her blood. We can track her.” She pointed at the dark splotches on the road where her curse had struck. “She’ll have trouble with that wound as well. It won’t heal for a week.”
The noblewoman seemed like she was going to argue for a moment, then she winced and nodded. “You’re right. I shouldn’t let my own wound fester. Can you heal it?”
“It will be hard due to that spell on you. Let me see it,” Helena said as she stepped forward. Alexis gnawed on her lip a bit, then took her hand away with a hiss of protest.
The cut was long and heavy and it bled freely. Enough to make fighting with a weapon difficult, if not impossible. “Damn,” Helena muttered as she put her own hands over the cut. “Alright. Let’s stop your bleeding first.”
She closed her eyes and focused her power through her right hand, instead of her left. Direct magic would not work, but perhaps the will of the gods could help. She prayed to Hecate for assistance, to heal her benefactor. As expected her goddess only granted a little aid. Alexis served another pantheon. But the blasphemies the countess was muttering from the pain might have helped their cause. The bleeding slowed, and the wound shrank a bit as Hecate’s divine will poured in. Perhaps most importantly, the fibers in the wound were driven out, leaving it clean.
Helena quickly reached into her pouch for bandages and a needle and thread. Then she pulled out some poppies and crushed them, sending their essence over the entire area. Alexis gasped in relief as the pain lessened, and Helena went to work suturing up the wound. It was simple work, and Alexis held herself still, so Helena finished quickly. She then wrapped the wound tightly. “There. That will do for now.”
“My arm still feels weak,” Alexis complained.
“And it will for a while,” Helena replied. “Part of that is the anesthetic, but the muscle and nerves were both cut. They’ll heal, but it will take time. Or until we get to a better healer. I’ve got a lot of experience with diseases, but not that much in handling injuries. And I can’t cast my best spells on you because they’d end up targeting your brother.”
Alexis gripped her arm but nodded. “I suppose I can’t be choosy. Thank you.”
“Now to secure our winnings.” Helena walked to the splotch of blood and carefully let it soak into the bandage, getting a nice red splotch on the white cotton.
“So,” Alexis looked at the blood. “This will allow us to track her. But now that she knows our tricks will it allow us to beat her?”
Helena sighed. “I don’t know.” She slowly smiled. “Which is why I’m going to cheat.”
——–
They’d flown home at a much slower pace, Helena carrying Alexis by the waist rather than the arm. When they’d gotten back the noblewoman had passed out like a light, which was for the best. Helena had just taken the time to make her own preparations for the morrow, then went to sleep herself.
She’d awakened the next morning to the sounds of pots and pans clattering. Stepping outside she saw Alexis gripping her injured arm and staring down at the fallen cooking utensils in disgust. “I’ll take care of breakfast,” Helena said as she stepped towards the cupboards.
Alexis seemed displeased but she relinquished her position. “Sorry. I guess you should.” She rubbed her arm then sat down. “I don’t suppose you have anything that would make this heal faster?”
“I do, but it involves leaving you bedridden for two days, so we should skip it,” Helena replied. “I suggest a meat heavy diet and deep breathing to increase the sanguine humors.”
“Does that actually work?” Alexis asked.
Helena pulled out several sausages. “My suggestion does. You need to replace the lost blood and meat helps with that. The humors I stopped trying to figure out a while ago. I don’t think anyone understands that nonsense. But it helps the townspeople feel they’re getting better treatment.”
Alexis grimaced. “I see. I suppose asking a fairy to help would be out of the question?”
“That spell linking you and your brother would be hard to get around, even for a noble fairy,” Helena replied. “For today it’d be best if you just took it easy. We’re going to try to avoid a fight.”
“What?” Alexis rose then flinched and sat down. “We should work to press our advantage!”
“We don’t have an advantage,” Helena responded. “We have some blood that will allow us to track her. She still knows the terrain and our abilities better. Today we gather information. Then we’ll strike.”
Alexis took a deep breath. “Won’t she be marshalling her assets as well? I doubt she intends to merely sit around and bleed.”
Helena nodded slowly. “You’re right. My plan hinges on me being able to get resources faster.” She looked at Alexis. “If I’m wrong we can reconsider.”
“Very well. I cannot argue with that,” Alexis glared at the sausage Helena put before her. “But there is one thing I wish to do before we begin this expedition.”
“What would that be?” Helena asked.
Alexis sniffed. “I want another pistol. I am tired of constantly being useless after a single shot.”
Helena shrugged. She didn’t see how it would improve anything, but if it made Alexis feel better…. “Fine. Enchanting another bullet to wound instead of kill is easy.” She dropped another sausage onto the woman’s plate. “But first eat. Even if we find a magical way to heal that wound, you’ll need the blood.”
“Have you ever considered the Hippocratic oath? It might improve your bedside manner,” Alexis muttered.
“It starts with ‘First do no harm,'” Helena replied. “It would be hard to take anything after that seriously.”
Alexis sighed. “Foolish of me.” She shook her head. “Well, at least with magic the trail won’t get cold. I’ll do my best to remain calm.”
Helena nodded and turned back to the pan. She understood Alexis’ annoyance. Honestly part of her still wanted to rush ahead. But that would be foolishness. She’d gotten as far as she could with luck.
She pulled out the bloody cloth she’d gotten last night. Now she’d show that woman what a witch of Thebes could do.