I was no longer a sparrow. That spell had worn off. I was lying on the huge down-stuffed mattress of the four-poster bed, my head throbbing.
I was trying to put together the events of the night before, remembering the last moment where, I guess, I had collided with a closed door going full speed.
I had no idea how long I had been out, whether it was still night or if day had come.
On a dressing table, there was a ewer of water and a glass. I poured as much as I could and decided it would be more expedient to drink straight from the larger container.
I hadn't been awake for more than a few minutes when a sharp knock came on the door. Without waiting for a response, the door swung open to reveal two huge Spotted Gnoll warriors who entered and stood to the sides to make way for Carca.
“Ah, Mister Bascombe, or should I say ‘My Prince!’ We meet again! But under such difficult circumstances."
“Am I being held prisoner here?" I asked.
“You're being held for execution. I guess you're technically a prisoner until that time?"
“I demand to be released. I should have diplomatic immunity in this case."
“Who was with you?"
“I shan't say. It's my prerogative as a diplomat to divulge what I wish."
“Very well, Sir. Here's how this works. It is still nighttime. You weren't out for very long. I'll come back in the morning at seven bells. If you don't answer me then, I'll kill you summarily."
She approached me, put her bony hand to my head, and said . I could feel the tingle of Mana, but had no idea what sort of spell she had cast.
“Let me add, when I say kill you, I do mean the turning you inside out thing. But it's a slower process than I think you might imagine. Goodnight, My Prince, heh."
And she left me there. Left me there to stew over the idea of being slowly turned inside out. Who can comprehend such a thing? What sort of mind would devise such a death?
All I could do was pace. Pace and contemplate my fate. By the gods I wanted May so badly. Surely Brevid and Milost had already given her the news of my demise. Did they think me dead?
My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of keys rattling in my door. When it opened, there was a young serving girl, a human of the Bedouin tribes, likely a slave, holding a platter with fresh water and some food.
“What is this?" I asked.
She shook her head, looking back at the two Gnoll guards outside the door.
She didn't speak Common. I pointed at the plate and gave a shrug to try to convey my message.
“Ah," she said, and slowly pronounced phonetically “rose gu sale wit tay to," and smiled.
She understood "thank you,” smiled again, bowed and departed. The clack of keys meant I was trapped again, but now with a plate of roast gazelle with potatoes. I was starving and it smelled divine but I couldn't eat. My stomach was in turmoil.
I began pacing again.
“If you're not going to eat that I will," came a voice I recognized, but I could see nothing!
Then he showed himself. It was Mal’friq! Behind him, his aide, Yun’quin appeared.
“Yes, Prince Tendil, we've come to save you, but there's a serious issue."
“What's that," I asked. “By the gods I'm glad to see you two!"
“You must keep it down, Sir. Yelling is the opposite of the stealth required here.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
The issue is that Carca has surrounded this room with an anti-magic field. Can you not feel it?”
I confessed I felt nothing out of the ordinary.
“Well, it puts a damper on our plans to say the least. Brevid and Milost came to me to rescue you and gave me some scrolls of to use. But we can't use them in this room with Carca's magic in place.”
"I see. That's concerning. Is there another option?”
"We just need to get you out of this room. Then we can use the scrolls. It's all a matter of getting the door open and taking care of those guards.”
"Anything I can do to help, please let me know.”
"Oh I've got a plan, Prince Tendil, never fear. Yun’quin has a lock pick kit. I'll need you to try to make enough noise that the guards won't hear him using it.”
"I can manage that. Are you ready?"
“One moment," he said, and took several bites of gazelle before giving me the go ahead.
I approached the door with Yun'quin and hollered “Guards! Guards!"
“What is it Human? Keep it down!"
“It's my gazelle, Sir! It's very tough! And my potatoes are undercooked!"
“Shut up you miserable creature! Be happy you got anything!"
I looked down at Yun'quin who gave me a thumbs up.
“Now, My Prince, you'll see what makes us famous," boasted Mal'friq.
Silently pulling the door open, no more than six inches, one guard could be seen to the left, the other should be to the right.
It's important to remember here that these Spotted Gnoll Palace Guards are all female. Like in Mag'stula’s bodyguard. Easily seven feet tall. Ferocious creatures. Mal'friq and Yun'quin were Aardgnolls, maybe five feet tall and thin. But they weren't discouraged in the least.
Dashing out the door with incredible speed, I could only see Mal'friq as he engaged his adversary, jumping onto the creature's back, wrapping an arm around her muzzle to keep her quiet, and drawing his dagger blade across her throat, all in one fluid movement. He had more trouble dragging her body back into the room than he had killing her. Yun'quin followed him with the other body.
“No problem," bragged Mal'friq, “let's get out of here!"
We dashed out of that room and into the room across the hall. I guess they had checked to be sure it was unoccupied.
Mal'friq handed me a scroll and said, "This is where we once again part ways, Dear Prince. Do come visit sometime.”
He and Yun'quin read their scrolls and promptly vanished. I could hear a commotion in the hallway. Obviously, we had been discovered. As I was reading my scroll, my door swung open.
"Here he is!” the Gnoll there yelled and hurled her spear at me.
As I was beginning to recede into the ether between this end and the other end of the spell, I felt a tug in my left side. She had hit me!
The next thing I knew, I was in the throne room back home. But something wasn't right. People were screaming and yelling. I heard May call for someone to get a priest, quickly, and then everything went black.
When my eyes opened next, I was in the comfort of my own bed, May at my side looking over me, stroking my head.
“There he is," she said consolingly, “back from the dead once again. You're resilient if nothing else can be said for you."
“Am I alright, My Love?"
“You just lost a lot of blood, but a young priest saved you. I need to get his name and give him an award.”
"The Gnoll guard threw her spear at me as I was teleporting.”
"If she’d been just a touch more accurate, she'd have got you in the gullet. You're very lucky for a Human. Your kind seems to die rather too easily typically.”
"Well, thank the gods for my fortunate nature.”
She handed me a chalice of water which I knocked back eagerly. Ah, but there was another taste, the serum. This was day three after all, wasn't it? I could feel it coursing through my system immediately. Not quite cutting through the sluggishness I was feeling, but potent nonetheless.
"We're going to let you rest this morning, Tendil. No sense in any acrobatics while you're mending.”
"Yes, Love. I'm sorry. I'm still quite sore. I would very much like some breakfast though. The usual with some pear juice and coffee?"
“Of course, Dearest. And when you're fully alert, I have some news for you."
"Oh, the serum has me awakened, May, trust me.”
"Very well. The last Pretender you identified, we've found out a little more about him. Toris Lorquayón is the name. A Sea Elf. We get very few of them this far north. They generally stay in more tropical regions. This Toris fellow is something of a big deal. He is one of the highest levelled Monks of the Warriors of the Way of Water school. Second only to the school's founder.
Like most Monks, these Warriors of Water give up the things of the world, material things, emotions, desires. Toris seems to have had some trouble with that and fell in love with a married woman. He killed the husband and was banished. Like another story we've heard before among the Pretenders.”
"What is it with these Pretenders? They all seem to have failed to remain good, and they're taking out their failures on the rest of the world.”
"It's a recurring theme with those on the side of evil, Love. But the good thing is that it focuses them in a negative way. They become afflicted with tunnel vision, so it's very easy to distract them.”
"Then we already have an advantage. That's good to hear,” I said, thinking out loud.
Then it hit me.
“May, this is day three of the serum. Tomorrow we begin the Ascension?"
“I'm not quite sure about that, Darling. Janiver has been very quiet about the rest of the process. I can attest that there are no sacrifices in store. I asked about that specifically.”
"Ah, good. That was a concern, wasn't it?”
"Apparently, ?rdelon and Cralix didn't know how to maximize the use of the included amber. That's why they were going through so much of it.”
"What time is it, May? I have no idea.”
"It's just past six bells, Dear. Do you feel okay? If you do, we should have our meeting this morning in particular.”
“Yes, My Love. Just a little sore. I'm sure I'll be fine after I have something to eat. I need to get better quickly at any rate. Tomorrow will be a busy day.”