Chapter Nine : Enemy

The cottage turned out to be fairly cramped, which wasn’t surprising given the owner’s level of power.  She’d probably been more of a midwife then a witch, and Helena hoped for everyone’s sake Margarete stuck to that profession instead of trying to peddle magic.

Sadly that was unlikely.  Witches were egotistical. Helena was guilty of that herself.

Alexis had gone to bed early, tired after all the strange revelations.  Helena had stayed up a little longer putting up magical sensors that weren’t completely useless, and making sure that there were no unpleasant surprises.  She’d also locked the door and barred it just in case there was a spare key about.

She had no idea if her precautions were useful, but she woke up in the morning still alive and with the house undisturbed so she called that a victory.

Unfortunately her search of the pantry did not go as well.  There was a painful lack of olive oil, and far too much sausage.  Still food was food in the end.

Alexis rose not too long after she’d started cooking breakfast.  “I’m surprised someone from the Hellenic Realms knows their way around a German kitchen so well,” she said as she sat down.

“Food is actually the one thing that passes through realms,” Helena replied.  “It never turns out the same, but even the most isolated villager has taken foods and cooking techniques from another realm.”

“Really?” Alexis said.  “Don’t the gods of your realm keep out foreign influences?”

Helena laughed.  “They can keep out Roman legions, but they would never try to stop spices from slipping in.  And they allowed that nasty Turkish coffee as well.” Helena flipped the sausages. “And I mean Turkish.  The Persian empire that threatened Athens was long dissolved when coffee was first brewed in Europe.”

“Alas,” Alexis said with a grin.  “I guess I’ll never taste the cuisine that Socrates and Plato once dined upon.”

“And you aren’t missing much,” Helena replied.  “There’s a good reason most of the gods didn’t protest.”

As they dined Helena looked over the gems Margarete had left behind at her order.  At first glance they looked like simple quartz with silver veins, but as she moved them, a shining point in the center glowed.

“What are they?” Alexis asked.  “The way you spoke made them seem valuable.”

“These are angel stones.  At least that’s how I’ve heard them called,” Helena said.

Alexis stared at them.  “Angel stones? I suppose they are pretty, but they hardly seem holy.  Just silver and quartz with an odd look.”

“It’s not normal silver.” Helena said.  “This silver was purified by the flames of the underworld.  It is incredibly receptive to magic for good or ill. Most silver weapons are made from this type, because it’s easier to enchant it to hold an edge.  It can also be tempered to block magic. It’s very rare.”

Helena placed the stone down next to the other three.  “Angel stones are an even rarer formation. That glowing bit in the center is silver fulminate.”  Alexis recoiled and Helena smiled. “Yes, fairly dangerous. But the quartz is infused with magic from the silver seeping into it.  The stones are stable, and are superb catalysts for alchemy and other magic. I’m surprised there are three in this land, much less all in the hands of a hedge witch.”

“We do have a silver mine,” Alexis said.

“Can’t be that one, otherwise you’d be buried under wizards trying to loot the stuff,” Helena said.  “These three stones are worth ten times what you’re paying me, though I doubt I’d find anyone willing to pay cash for them.”  Helena sighed, then brightened up. “Which means I should keep them!”

Alexis shook her head and smiled.  “Well I am glad you are making some profit here.”  Her face turned serious. “But I fear we ended up with more questions than answers.”

“True,” Helena said.  “But they’re good questions.”  She raised two fingers. “Why did a spell that was supposed to hit your brother target you?  And is your father actually protected from curses, or was Margarete just incompetent beyond words?”

Alexis nodded.  “And we know the person seeking my father’s death is a woman.  Who is she?”

“A woman who hates your father a great deal.  We should ask why,” Helena said. She did not go over the simple reasons why a woman might hate a man deeply.  Alexis probably wouldn’t like those suggestions.

“So which questions do we answer first?” Alexis asked.  “There are a great number.”

Helena nodded.  “There are, but since two are easy to answer we should try them first.”  She stood. “I can test how hard it is to find your father magically, and how someone might target you instead of your brother.  Finding people and learning why they did things is harder.”

“Very well then,” Alexis said.  “Let us learn what we can, and act from there.”

Helena pulled out a mirror from her pouch, again thanking Hecate for whoever had made glass so easy to get.  She then looked into the mirror, reaching out towards where the Count of this land was.

After peering into the mirror and getting nothing but her own reflection she put it away.  “How strange.” She preempted Alexis’ question. “I did not expect the spell to work, but I can’t even feel I’m being blocked.  It’s as if the person I’m searching for doesn’t exist at all. I didn’t expect your court wizard to be so good at deflecting magic.  I could break through it with more powerful spell, but it explains why the curse couldn’t target him directly.”

“It is good to hear my father is so well protected,” Alexis replied.  “So what next?”

“Now we test why you have a curse that should be on your brother.”  Helena whispered a very weak curse and tossed it at Alexis.

The woman flinched at the sudden spell, but then simply blinked at Helena.  “Should something have happened?” Alexis asked.

“You should have gotten a chill.”  Helena said. She focused on the other woman, searching for a sign of her magic.  There was the luck charm, but nothing else. “Hrm. You felt nothing?”

Alexis shook her head.  “Nothing at all.”

“Then I guess I should apologize to your brother when I meet him,” Helena said.  “An odd effect.”

“My brother, but-”  Alexis gasped in surprise.  “You mean magic affecting one instead affects the other?  How can that happen?”

Helena’s reply was interrupted by an odd feeling, like someone was poking her.  It reminded her why she never really bothered with setting up a domain herself. She sighed then stood.  Turning to Alexis she said, “It’s possibly a natural effect, though that usually only occurs with twins. More likely it was done by your court wizard.  And given he’s heading over to the front gate now, we should be able to ask him shortly.”

Alexis blinked at her.  “How do you know?”

Helena unlocked the door.  “One of the benefits of owning a domain, though I use the term loosely.”  She opened the door as Nedvarious walked up to the porch. “Hello. Welcome to my new house.  And if I may ask a very important question, how can you stand owning a domain?”

“Now you know why we mages dislike each other, youngster,” Nedvarious replied.  He bowed to Alexis before walking in. “Though I imagine you start feuds over more important things.  You do realize that witch will be after you? And for all her faults she is subtle. She managed to escape before I could track her down.”

“I’m aware and have taken precautions,” Helena said.  “More importantly I believe Alexis has some questions for you.”

“Indeed?”  He stroked his beard.  “Well, I shall try to answer what I can.  Since I am doomed to be the bearer of bad news otherwise.”

Alexis looked at Nedvarious and took a deep breath.  “Did you create the magical link between me and Philipp?”

Nedvarious winced.  “Yes. I did. Without your father’s permission I shall admit.”

“Why?” Alexis snapped.

“Partially for the reason you’re thinking of,” he admitted quietly.  Helena snorted. As usual male heirs were worth sacrificing female children in the twisted world of politics.  The world didn’t change much.

“However,” the man continued, “the primary reason was to make it easier to defend you from your enemies.”  Nedvarious pointed towards the north. “Your father’s strongest rivals disdain magic, and prefer direct attacks.  And as your hired witch stated before I am a conjurer and alchemist. Not a master of wards and defenses. Your father is well defended, but I cannot similarly protect you two.  If someone made an attempt on your life while I was across the room next to your brother I would find myself powerless.”

Alexis nodded slowly.  “Unless you could cast magic upon me while beside him.”  She narrowed her eyes. “But what if you needed to defend one of us while we were next to you?”

“A simple summoned creature to take the blow would suffice,” the wizard replied.  “Defending those near me is far easier for a man of my talents.”

“I cannot say I like your acting without my father’s acceptance,” Alexis said sharply.  “But that is a matter between you and him now. Your reasoning, I understand at least.”

Nedvarious bowed his head.  “I had hoped it would never come up.  I am sorry it did in such a poor fashion.”  He grimaced and stroked at his beard again.

“So what’s the rest of the bad new you have for us?” Helena asked.

The wizard frowned and glared at her.  “You’re far too good for your age you know.”  He sighed then turned to Alexis again. “The grieving watchman has appeared in town again.  You know what this portends.”

“The bender geist?” Alexis said in horror.  “He has appeared!? In the town itself?!”

Helena looked between the two.  “Repentant spirit?” she asked.

Alexis began nervously running her hands through her hair.  “It is an old spirit. The soul of a watchman who fell asleep at his post the night of a raid.  It is said he appears before great tragedies weeping for the lives he will not be able to save.”  She shivered. “The last time the watchman appeared was before the battle that nearly claimed my father’s life.”

“A bad omen,” Helena said thinking on the matter.  “But if it knows the future perhaps I can ask it some questions.”

“That will not be possible, for I have banished it back to the nether.  For now at least,” Nedvarious replied. “We can’t have the county in a panic.”

Helena was disappointed but nodded.  “Fair enough. Now I believe we have two more questions.  First, do you know of a masked woman in the area that’s causing trouble?”

Nedvarious grimaced.  “The count did speak to me of such a person.  There is a lady bandit who wears a mask black as soot.  She has been harassing our tax collectors around the village of Staumuhle.  We’ve dispatched some more guards to the area, but she seems skilled at avoiding them.”

“I suggest even more guards then, because the person who bought the curse is a masked woman with a grudge against the county, and there probably aren’t two of those wandering about,” Helena said.

“I will suggest that to the count.”  He looked at them. “I take it you will be going there to investigate as well?”

Alexis nodded a second before Helena.  “Yes,” the noblewoman said. “If there is enough danger for the grieving watchman to appear then I must act.”

“We will leave right after you answer one last question,” Helena said.  She pulled out one of the angel stones. “You wouldn’t happen to know where this might be from?”

The wizard leaped to his feet at the sight of the magical artifact.  “Where did you find that?!”

“Your hedge witch had three,” Helena replied.  “A rather extravagant haul for such a mediocre woman.”

Nedvarious glared at the rocks for a long time, fear and anger burning in his eyes.  Finally he sighed. “I have no idea where they are from. But it seems we know how our villain convinced Margarete to betray the Count.”

“So the silver here is normal?” Helena asked.

“Some has been purified,” he admitted.  “But it is rare and difficult to mine. The kobolds guard it jealously, and only their blue flames can reveal the metal to a mortal.  I occasionally go down myself, but only when my alchemy experiments need it. It is a costly endeavor for little reward.”

Helena frowned.  “And not possible for a visiting mage.”  Her eyes narrowed as she considered the possibilities.  “Then I guess our course is clear.”

Alexis nodded and set her jaw.  “We must head to Staumuhle and begin searching for the woman trying to kill my father.”

“Then I wish you luck.  And I suggest you stay on the roads.  There are more bandits than the one you are hunting, especially around the old hamlet of Selzen.”  The wizard stroked his beard again and turned to Alexis. “Did you have anything you wished me to convey to your father my Lady?”

“Yes actually.”  Alexis fished a note out of her pocket.  “It would be good if you could deliver this to my father.”

Nedvarious nodded as he took the note.  “With all swiftness.” He looked then at Helena.  “Will you be leaving this domain open then?”

Helena shrugged.  “After I’m done yes.  For now I’ll use it as a base.  Staying at an inn would be troublesome, so I’ll just travel to and from here.”

“Well then.  Then I shall bid you both good day.  If I learn more I will send word, either by myself or with a summoned creature.”  The old wizard bowed his head.

“Good luck,” Helena said as she opened the door to see him out.

“To you two as well,” he replied as he walked out, his staff clacking on the walkway stones.

Helena closed the door and turned to Alexis.  “So, if I may ask, what happened at the ‘old hamlet of Selzen’?”

Alexis looked surprised.  “Hm? Why do you ask?”

“Because villages with dangerous reputations usually get them for a reason,” Helena said.  “And it’s becoming fairly obvious that your problems are coming from someone inside the county, not outside.  Someone close to the capital.” Helena shrugged. “When I hear about a dangerous hamlet near the village, I get suspicious.”

“Hmm, well I suppose the story is somewhat strange,” Alexis admitted.  “We don’t actually know all the details. There was a raiding force from Pfalzgraf von Hessel slipping towards the castle, but one of our scouts saw them and escaped to warn my father.  He sent a detachment to meet them in battle while mustering the manor’s defenses, and they met in battle at the hilltop town of Selzen.”

Alexis shook her head.  “We do not know what happened next.  Even Nedvarious only can guess. He said that the fighting must have woken some dark spirit or force of nature, because the land was blasted away.  The soldiers were slain by some terrible force, and the villagers swept away in a mighty fire. No one survived. We sent a detachment to bury the bodies, but the village was gone.  Given the place was cursed we simply left the ruins there.”

Helena leaned back.  “How far was the village?”

“Half a day’s walk.  It lies over the hills from us,” Alexis said.  “The road into town came from Staumuhle, since it was easier to travel that way.”

She considered her options.  If she was a normal investigator she should head to Staumuhle next and search for the masked woman.  But Helena wasn’t a real investigator, and the problem she was trying to solve wasn’t a normal crime.

“Right,” Helena said.  “We’ll prepare here until lunch and then set off for Selzen in the afternoon.”

“What?”  Alexis folded her arms.  “Why Selzen, and why in the afternoon?”

Helena sat down and reached into her pouch for some special paper.  “We’re going to Selzen because when looking into magical problems you should always look into local magical anomalies.”  She began inscribing an attack spell on the paper. “And we’re going in the afternoon because I want to arrive there at night.”

Alexis began rubbing her forehead.  “But why are we traveling to a cursed ground at night?  When the power of darkness is at its height?”

“Because I wield the power of darkness as well,” Helena said as she traced the runes of her spell carefully.  “If it is dark magic I will face it when it is active instead of hiding. And if it’s something more mundanely sinister, they will face me at the height of my power.”

“Of course,” Alexis sighed.  “I’m beginning to see why your friend called you bloodthirsty.”

Helena frowned.  “She’s still exaggerating.  There are far worse witches out there.”  She shook her head at the unfairness of it all, before adding another power rune to the spell.  She wanted to be able to blast through a brick wall with this one.

————

The walk up the mountain had taken longer then Helena had expected.  The sun had sunk below the mountains before they made it to the top of the pass.  The shadows were deep, and the moon could give them no help. Only the spell Helena had placed on the dimmed lanterns they carried allowed them to see any detail.

However, the small fort that stood on the fire blackened lands required no spell to see.  It wasn’t much of a structure, mostly tents with a palisade and archery towers. However there were at least sixty people there, and they had set up a killing field with torches and patrols.

“What are those men doing here?” Alexis hissed quietly as she looked over the encampment.  “These are not my father’s men! They are mercenaries!”

“And they seem to have been set up for a long time,” Helena replied.  “I wonder why?”

Alexis shook her head.  “I wonder how! There is a large band here, but they have no farms.  No herds. They would have to be trading or raiding. But a raid to support a band of this size would destroy a village.  And trading would have drawn the attention of my father’s men. It is impossible!”

“That’s a good point.  I hadn’t considered that,” Helena mused as she looked over the camp.  “They’ve got only small stores, so they’ll have to be resupplied often.  Would it be possible to sneak supplies here?”

“Difficult, but it might be possible,” Alexis said.  “My father’s men are mostly patrolling the borders. But it would take a great deal of effort and money.  As well as many bribes.”

Helena nodded slowly.  “True. And that only lasts so long.  Many things said under a rose surface with only a few cups of wine.”  She pointed at the men patrolling. “And for the final question, what or who are they defending themselves from?  Wouldn’t they be safer within the walls?”

“I am less certain there,” Alexis said.  She frowned and looked around. “I would guess they are worried about raiders, but there is nothing here except- ah!”  Alexis pointed to a wooden shack at the corner of the camp. “The gunpowder. Look at the way the guards are scattered.”  The woman pointed at the patrols, but Helena couldn’t see any significance. “They are heavier on that side. They must fear sabotage of the powder.”

“I imagine that would cause a big explosion,” Helena admitted.  She was mildly tempted to determine how big, but that would require experimentation.  “Hm. Which then makes me wonder who is threatening them?”

Alexis looked at Helena.  “Well my father would be very annoyed to find a group of armed men just taking some of his lands.”

“Yes, but your father probably doesn’t make raids on gunpowder,” Helena said.  “Now admittedly I don’t know any military strategy. But usually the ruler of a land musters their whole army and demands thugs like this surrender before blowing up chunks of the countryside with his enemy’s stores.”

“It depends on the threat, but yes, my father would likely demand their fealty before their lives,” Alexis said.  The woman frowned in puzzlement. “Then who are they afraid of?”

Helena brushed off a rock and sat down.  “Perhaps we’ll be lucky enough to find out.”

Alexis looked at her.  “That seems like a rather farfetched assumption, no?  How likely is it they would be attacked tonight despite their defenses?”

“Pretty good,” Helena replied, “since there’s something creeping through the forest right over there.”  Helena pointed to the clearing opposite where the strongest defenses were. A large shadow was slinking through the edge of the clearing, using the lights as a shield from the guards.

Alexis fell silent and moved to another rock to watch the figure.  Without the advantage of their viewing position the shadow would have been totally invisible.  Even with the magical aids, they often lost sight of the person and had to ask the other to point the figure out again.

As they watched over the valley the sun finally set, and the men in the camp began passing out meals.  Alexis sniffed. “Those mercenaries are fools.” Helena wasn’t sure if the statement was due to hindsight or because they’d broken some kind of military rule.  But the effects were soon obvious.

The shadowy figure broke from the tree line and began dashing towards the camp.  Alexis gasped and Helena’s eyes narrowed as she saw the figure was wearing a black mask, and was feminine in build.  The woman had a variety of weapons, but she carried a bow and arrow in her hands, and as soon as she passed the first ring of torches she let fly.

The mercenaries’ first warning was one of their guards taking an arrow to the chest and falling from his watchtower.  As the men began screaming and jumping to arms the masked woman made another shot. This one flew high, striking a man in the neck.  He simply folded to the ground.

As the soldiers milled around in confusion, the woman turned and ran back into the woods.  Helena hopped to her feet and reached for Alexis’ hand. “Now’s our chance. We should follow her.”

“How?” Alexis hissed.  “We’re up here.”

“Magic,” Helena muttered.  “Now grab on. We’ll lose her if we aren’t fast.”

Alexis grabbed her hand, and Helena leapt to the air, using the connection to grant Alexis the power of flight as well.  “Whoa!” Alexis cried as gravity lost its grip.

Helena began to fly down the mountainside, zipping between the trees.  Bushes and branches shattered against her defenses, but she passed through the splinters.

When they’d cut ahead Helena broke into open skies.  From here she could peer down into the forest.

Alexis gripped her hand and jerked at her arm.  Helena growled and looked over to the noblewoman only to see she was pointing at a faint shadow flickering through the trees.  Helena made a note to praise the woman for her steadfastness.

The shadow was zig zagging through the forests to defy pursuit, despite the fact that the mercenaries weren’t chasing.  However there was one clearing in the woman’s way that she couldn’t avoid. Helena swooped over it then landed just as the woman broke out of cover.

The shadowy woman froze as Helena and Alexis dropped from the sky in front of her.  The figure was tall, closer to six feet than five, and her leather breeches and coat suggested a well-toned figure.  Her mask covered her head front and back, though there seemed to be red lines etched over her forehead. Helena noted two pistols, a sword, the bow she’d used and several other assorted weapons in addition to a few pouches on the woman’s person.  Apparently she shared Helena’s views on diplomacy. Helena returned the favor by drawing the spell slip she’d prepared. “Excuse me. We’d like to have a little chat.”

Their quarry replied by diving to the side and pulling out a pistol.  Helena frowned as the gun roared and the shot bounced off her shield. She shifted her aim, while Alexis drew her own pistol.

Alexis gave the next ultimatum.  “Surrender knave and lift this curse from me, or die as a traitor and vagabond!”

The shadowy woman slowly rose, then leaped into the air.  Helena swore loudly and poured power into her spell as Alexis’ pistol went off.

Time seemed to freeze as a dog with eyes the size of saucers appeared before her.  It seemed to be a Molossus, or perhaps one of the breeds that had followed the guard dogs of her home, but it was massive, bigger than a cow.

The bullet Alexis fired struck the hound and flattened against its skin without leaving a mark.  It lowered its head and growled, a terrifying rumble louder than the factory machines of the Immigrant Realm.

Then Helena’s spell triggered.  A blast of light two feet across slammed into it and bowled it over.  The beast rolled across the clearing whimpering, before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

The beast downed, Helena reached for another spell to use.  But when she looked up, the woman was already gone.

Alexis lowered her pistol with shaky hands.  “What devilry was that?”

“I was hoping you’d tell me,” Helena muttered.  “It looked like one of your realm’s stories. Not a standard magic.”

“I’ve read a story about such creatures, but it focused more on bags of money then defeating hunters,” Alexis said.  “Though I suppose at the end they were used for ill means.” She began reloading. “I hope they are not as in the stories.  Fighting a dog with eyes the size of towers would be distressing.”

Helena winced.  “That would be a problem.  Even if I am good with dogs.”

She walked forward to where their prey had been, carefully searching at the ground for clues.  She saw the grass that the woman had slammed flat in her first dodge. But there were neither footprints, nor any conveniently dropped possessions around the area.  Helena looked around for anything she could learn, but it seemed her luck had run out. There was nothing to find.

After ten minutes she sighed.  “Damned. And there went our best source of information.”

“Can we track her?” Alexis asked.

“Not unless you can,” Helena replied.  “I’m a witch, not a hunter.”

“What about your fairy friends?” Alexis said.  “Surely they can track a single woman.”

Helena shook her head sharply.  “We can’t afford them. The animals would demand food we don’t have, and the wild hunt is…”  Alexis flinched at the name. “Yeah. Lyudmila told me not to summon them ever, and given her stories I’m going to trust her.”

Alexis finished loading her pistol and looked around.  “Well it is likely she resides near here. Perhaps you could use magic to search?”

Helena considered the matter.  “How do you know she lives near here?”

“She had no supplies,” Alexis said.  “Neither food nor water. True with her skill with the bow she could hunt, but depending on birds and rabbits for food every day would be exhausting and slow her down.  If nothing else she has a cache near here.”

“I’ll take your word for it.  Which means we should start looking tomorrow,” Helena said.

“Why tomorrow?  Is she not closer now?” Alexis asked.

Helena nodded.  “Yes, but she’s on guard now.  Best to act when we might be able to gain surprise.”  She reached out her hand. “Besides. We’ll be rested and better ready to face giant dogs if she has more up her sleeve.”

Alexis hesitated then sighed and nodded.  “Very well.” She looked at Helena’s hand.  “What now?”

“Now we fly back,” Helena said.  “No time to walk.”

Alexis hesitated and grimaced before taking Helena’s hand again.  “Fine, but please try to fly at a more reasonable pace.”

“Hm?  I thought you did fairly well for a first time flier.  But no worry. It’ll be a smoother ride I promise,” Helena said.

Smoother but significantly faster she mentally added before leaping into the air.