“This is my first time suggesting such a trail. It’s interesting to see how much cooperation it inspired,” she said mostly to herself.
She was a giant of a person; her face was the size of the building to the point if she had come closer it would’ve been difficult to watch her. She was beautiful, to a point that it actually a little alien, like an elf in a human’s body. It was difficult for Ratface to pin down an exact detail. They kept shifting to different human faces, but always a perfect version of them.
That was the other thing, she was clearly human, or at least what humans were trying to be. Ratface understood why they all referred to her as ‘The Lady’ now, it truly encapsulated her form. A quick glance at her through mana sight showed her a being that was made of an alien mana. It was weightier than most mana she’d seen.
The Lady reached down and plucked the storm serpent from the ground and inspected it.
“A dragon, or perhaps a cousin? Either way, not the first one I’ve ever seen. Still the accuracy to call it.” She put the serpent down and reached into the crumbled building to pull out the elf. Mathilde was attached to him, somehow, she’d managed to get behind him and put him in a chokehold. Well, drop kicking someone from the sky was bound to give you an advantage.
The Lady gave an amused chuckle and separated the two. She eyed the elf.
“Clever, but not one of my trial takers. You are only here from her,” she said, gesturing at Ratface. She felt the eyes of the other on her and winced. No chance of keeping that secret then. The lady watched it with an amused smile.
“So, which of you should I be rewarding?”
“Please. When a cavalryman runs in, do you reward the horse or the rider?” said the elf. He gave Ratface a guilty look, but he’d still said it. Her eyes narrowed behind her helmet.
“Spoken like someone who had never ridden a horse. Very well, what favour would you ask of me?”
“Break the chain,” he said. The Lady tilted her head.
“I’m afraid such a request is beyond me. The chain has weight in this world, and you are all not connected to my branches. Such a thing needs to be broken by one of you. I can tell you only that the grave is a place you are already familiar with.”
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She set him down and turned to Mathilde.
“You provided the strength for the serpent to come through. What is it-”
“That’s it?” demanded the elf. The Lady glanced back at him in irritation.
“I have already given you more information than an intruder to my city deserves,” she said.
He looked enraged by that and Ratface took no small amount of pleasure in his fury.
“Then I will fulfil my mission,” he said. He turned to the serpent. “Pray to her or your eggs will be lost.”
Ratface snorted.
“What eggs? You have no leverage.”
“I must say that armour is impressive. A perfect key for the locked door that is this city.”
He moved around without the weight that held Ratface in place. He plucked the egg out of her hand then reached for the goblin.
“No,” she whispered. She desperately tried to hold onto the kid, but she couldn’t move enough, and the glamour slipped him from her hand.
“A clever decision,” he said, “trying to take these from us, but you should’ve thought of who gave you the idea for this armour.”
Ratface shook in place, her stomach felt sick. Right, it had been these two that suggested the armour. She’d assumed it was just to keep her in the trials but how much really had she needed it to pass them?
Had that been why they’d bargained with her for the ability to use glamours so easily? A little win to make her think she had them while they snared her further.
“Please,” she begged, “don’t take them. They should be with me.” Tears streamed down her face, and she strained against the weight. She looked up at the Lady.
“Don’t let him take them from me,” she asked. The Lady reached down to stop the glamour, but he called out to her.
“As someone who also helped orchestrate this, I ask for a small favour.”
The Lady’s hand paused.
“Speak,” she said.
The glamour looked up at her with a wide smile.
“Don’t interfere.”
The Lady looked down at Ratface with a sad look but retracted her hand. The glamour grinned and kicked Ratface over. It hurt, but Ratface was too focused on her goblin right now. She could finally recognise them. The one who’d been closest to a name once upon a time. A dutiful goblin. She’d thought they would’ve been named an Ox of some sort. She desperately tried to reach for them even though she knew she couldn’t. Her body refused to move.
The glamour turned away from her and turned to the water serpent.
“Now where were we? Ah yes. Pray to the one in your heart, little serpent, who’s waters you’ve already drunk. Let her in so that you might save your eggs.”
The serpent’s eyes were wild. It looked around the courtyard, seeing who could help it. It’s eyes settled on Ratface and watched as she struggled pathetically to even move.
The serpent, no, the mother closed her eyes in resignation. She did all she could do in such a hopeless situation.
She prayed.
The runes all around them flickered out as something rose up from beneath them into the city. The rain stopped. The Lady made a noise of surprise but even that was muffled. The world went silent.
The serpent opened its eyes, but the mother was no longer there.