Being With You is Bad Luck

 

The knight slowed the wagon down as they got closer. Guards were looking at them, but most were simply moving about as if it were a normal day. A moon elf in chainmail stepped forward from where he stood near the open gate and held up a hand. “Halt! State your business,” the guard said.

Ismeld stopped the horses and raised her gauntleted hand in response. “I am Ser Ismeld. We have business in the East District.” She went through with their planned ruse. “We have a client who has paid for our services.”

“And what client is that, high elf?” a voice sneered from the side. Sloane looked over and saw the guard captain who was with the count at the ball. Shit. 

The moon elf captain walked toward them with a large group of guards. Looking from the two of them to the wagons behind them. His eyes narrowed as he scrutinized the caravan. He gestured with his head and half of his men moved into the street to block their way. 

“Sloane Reinhart. You have assaulted and murdered members of this city’s guard. By order of Count Kayser of Thirdghyll, you and the Knights of Haven’s Hope are considered enemies of the Crown and sentenced to die. All who have associated with you are also hereby sentenced. Surrender now and we will make sure your execution is painless. Please resist.”

Ismeld wrapped the reins around a post on the wagon and pulled the hand brake to lock the wheels into place. She stood up, grabbed her shield, and hopped down from the wagon. The knight then pulled her longsword and stepped forward. Sloane grabbed the other shield and got down as well, moving to the front to stand near the high elf. The moon elf drew his sword and looked at his men as they did.

Sloane heard steps on the cobbled street from behind her and she turned, seeing Stefan armed with a short spear and a tall shield. He had his loose clothing on, but she knew that underneath was fitted chainmail. The raithe nodded as he took his place to her right. 

“Where are the other knights?” the captain asked as he and the remainder of his men moved into the street with the guards already there. 

“That is none of your concern,” Ismeld sneered.

The Captain laughed. “That is no matter. We will find them. So, the three of you expect to fight our entire garrison?”

Sloane counted twenty men, with another ten visible above on the gate’s battlements, with a few more spaced out on the walls. All told, it was a surprisingly low amount for what was one of the main gates. Hopefully more are at the gate to the west.

Sloane glanced at Ismeld, then smiled at the captain. “Not the entire garrison. There are a few back at the inn who won’t be joining us.” She lifted her hand and strained as she channeled mana, forming five Mana Bolts around her. 

The guard scowled at them. “Men! Shields!” 

All of the men yelled out as they brought their shields in front of them and moved together, into a classic shield wall formation that curved slightly in front of them. 

Ismeld glanced at Stefan. “You and I stay together. Sloane, stay behind us and cast as much as you can. Do not focus fire. Spread out, keep them guessing. Try to take advantage of any openings,” she quickly explained.

“Understood,” Stefan said.

Sloane nodded with determination. “Got it.”

She looked down at the back of her shield where two grenades were strapped. One was a Flashbang but the other had an experimental spell called an Arcane Explosion channeled into it. She… wasn’t sure how it would do. 

“Spears! Forward!” The captain called out, and all of the men in the line leveled spears their way and took a step forward. Shit. This isn’t going to be easy.

The horses started getting restless and tried to move backward, but found that they couldn’t. Stefan and Ismeld stepped forward, bringing their shields up. 

“Ismeld!” Sloane called out breathily, trying to be both loud and whispering at the same time. 

“What?” the knight said and tilted her head to listen.

“Do we attack first?”

“Yes! There are twenty of them! Of course, we do!”

Shit. Okay. Shock and Awe.

Sloane targeted five different people spread out across the shield wall and shot her Mana Bolts. The bolts launched and slammed into the shields with a burst, knocking the men back but not harming anyone. She instantly started channeling more and launching Mana Bolts one after the other at random targets. The entire group slowed as her spells knocked men back and in some cases, caused the men to bash themselves in the head with their shields, but they didn’t stop. 

“Stay together! The witch can’t get through our shields!” one of the guards yelled.

“Sloane! You need to do something!” Stefan called out.

Sloane took a deep breath. She channeled an Arcane Barrage and let it loose, awkwardly as she still held onto a shield, directing it with her hands as she did. Purple bolts of energy slammed into the shields, causing the men to collapse closer together and support each other. Some men moved to get behind others whom they thought would need extra support. Sloane focused on one of the raithe that faltered. One. Two. Three bolts exploded against his shield at different points, each causing the man to cry out in pain, ending in an audible crack as the shield twisted in a direction it shouldn’t have, and finally dropped to the ground. As soon as it started to fall, a crossbow bolt hit him in the collarbone, piercing the chainmail. 

She gasped, turning her head toward the source, surprised at seeing Rel with her big crossbow and already reloading. The orkun alchemist looked at her and nodded. “Keep going!” she yelled.

Sloane redoubled her efforts. She channeled another Arcane Barrage, desperately trying to keep the big wall back. 

“Hold! Cover!” the guard captain called out, causing all of the guards to hunker down as her bolts collided with the shields. Her eyes narrowed and she quickly drew one of the grenades. She readied it, waiting for the man to call out.

“Up! Forward!” 

She threw the grenade and it bounced, rolling under the shields as they lifted from the ground. The guards cried out but then the Flashbang burst causing several screams. Three guards in the center lost their shields and Sloane instantly punished them with Mana Bolts to the chest, causing the targets to be flung backward. Another guard turned to try and grab one of the falling men, only for another crossbow bolt to sprout from his exposed neck. 

“Reform!”

“Stefan! Now!” Ismeld called out.

The two instantly rushed the group that was trying to reposition itself, and they slammed their shoulders in between two pairs of shields on the right side, barging their way through the line. Ismeld bashed her shield into the head of one man then slashed her blade at another. At the same time, Stefan impaled one with his spear, and let go of it only to draw a short sword followed by stabbing a man who was trying to bring his spear to bear on him.

Sloane retargeted and cast an Arcane Barrage on the other side of the shield wall, trying to keep them back. She heard several cracks of bones breaking from guards who did not brace themselves for the punch of the hard-hitting spells.

“Break! Break! Where are my archers?” The shield wall collapsed and it became every man for themselves. Another crossbow bolt appeared in a guard that lowered his shield and Sloane fired a Flashbang at two guards on the wall that were trying to bring their bows to bear. Both men screamed, one stumbling and falling over the wall, landing with a sickening crunch.

As the guards tried to recover, four maintained sight of her and kept their shields together, but the rest started to spread out to focus on the two melee fighters taking apart their flank. Sloane shot a Flashbang at the guards in front of her to distract them. 

One of them yelled out. “Cover!” 

They covered their faces with their shields, but that was exactly what she wanted. As they were deafened by the previous spell, Sloane quickly grabbed her second grenade, triggered it, and threw it at them. It landed next to one man’s foot and he yelled out. “Light contraption!” A what? 

He pivoted to kick it, but right before he connected, the Arcane Explosion grenade burst… in a pathetically small expanding sphere of crackling purple mana. The man screamed as his foot ceased to be, but beyond that, the grenade was very contained. The man collapsed and she filed the failure away as she retargeted and fired another Mana Bolt at the moon elf that reached out for the falling guard. The spell hit the man just above his shoulder and disintegrated part of his skull. The force of the blast then flung the body end over end into another man who screamed and tried to shove it away.

She nearly took advantage of the man’s distraction but glanced up and screamed in surprise, bringing her shield up just as an arrow embedded itself into it. Sloane started breathing quickly. That almost hit me. She glanced around the side of her shield and saw the archer nocking another arrow, but then the raithe archer quickly ducked below a bolt that fired at him. He shifted his aim and brought his bow up, but Sloane didn’t give him the chance to fire at Rel and channeled a full Arcane Barrage at the archer. Eight bolts peppered the area where the archer was, and only two managed to hit him. Luckily, only one was needed.

“Guardsmen! Stand down!” A voice yelled out from the gate. 

Sloane peered at the gate and saw a squad of eight coming from it, led by a large telv woman in armor. Nemura! I’d notice that mountain anywhere.

Ismeld used the distraction to stab one guard and then back away at the same time Rel caught an archer in the neck. The guard fell from the wall and landed in front of Nemura and her men. 

“Nemura! I am taking command of you and your men. Form up, kill these foreigners,” the guard captain called out.

Nemura looked around, seeing all of the guards on the ground, and just shook her head. “Captain Lars, our city is under assault as we speak, and you are more worried about this? Why is the gate open?”

“Do you not see what they have done?” He said, almost surprised that he had to. “I do not answer to a guardswoman. You will–”

“Silence!” She pointed at another guard, the raithe looked nervous. “You. Why is this gate open while the city is under attack? The western district has been breached,” she said.

“W-we had orders to keep it open to lure the terran here. S-so that we could kill her on the count’s orders,” the raithe explained.

“You do not answer to her! I am in command here.” The moon elf turned fully toward the telv. Sloane sighed. This isn’t going to end well. 

“You will obey my orders, telv, or I will consider you a traitor and sentence you myself. Now, you and your men–”

Sloane’s Mana Bolt slammed into his back just in between his shoulder blades and exploded. The moon elf’s armor managed to diffuse most of the blast, but his upper back and lower neck were still shredded. Captain Lars was flung forward and the body landed in a misshapen heap.

She channeled her mana, straining greatly as seven Mana Bolts formed all around her, each shifting to target one of the captain’s men. “Does anyone else wish to delay? We are leaving,” Sloane said.

Nemura frowned but addressed the guards. “Who is next in command?”

One of the moon elf guards looked down at Captain Lars, then glanced at Sloane before focusing on Nemura. “I-I am Guardswoman. L-Lieutenant T-Treen,” he stammered.

“Take command. We are leaving. Shut this gate and prepare for combat. Hold this point,” she demanded.

“That’s it?” Sloane asked.

Nemura looked at Sloane. “We do not have time for this. Get back on your wagons, let’s go. Captain Jorin is expecting you,” the big telv said.

After they got back onto the wagons and started to move, Sloane glanced one last time at the captain, wondering what she ever did to cause such a response.

 

* * *

 

Sloane looked down at her watch, seeing green, red, and yellow mana moving all around them.

“Nemura! There are more around us!” she yelled out.

The telv was on her horse ahead of them, her guards having positioned themselves to cover the wagons as the caravan made its way to the gate. The gate to the central district had barely closed before they had caught the first sight of one of the monsters. It had been a running fight ever since.

Nemura looked around and then at Ismeld. “Hurry! We need to move!” 

Sloane looked back down at her watch then jerked her head up as one of the yellow mana splotches moved toward her quickly.

She nearly screamed when an arrow flew past her and hit a large panther-looking beast. 

The guard who had just killed the panther nodded at her then nocked another arrow and loosed it at a wolf that was running down a street to their left.

They had barely gotten into the merchant district before the beasts appeared. Panthers and wolves–that were nearly as big as horses–were hunting people. Now, Nemura was rushing them along in a running fight to keep them off.

“Lady Sloane! Use your noise magic!” My noise–oh!

She looked up, coming up with a plan. “Ismeld! Try to keep the wagon steady,” she said to the woman next to her.

“How in Relena’s name do you expect me to do that?” Ismeld yelled.

“Damn it. I’ll figure it out!” Sloane said and scrambled up onto the roof. When she managed to get on top, she hooked her feet into the ropes that were tying down the baggage. Please don’t fall. Please don’t fall.

She brought her watch up and used it to help her aim, searching for the mana signatures. Seeing a green mass coming close from the next road over, she aimed and sure enough, a side road opened up and a pack of wolves came at the group. Sloane launched a Flashbang at the group, and the satisfying crack of noise and yowl from the wolves confirmed the accuracy. 

Glancing down at the watch in confirmation, she scoured the rooftops on the opposite side. She launched a Flashbang toward the top of one building, and the resulting flash highlighted a strange lizard-like beast. It looked almost like a small dragon, but without wings. 

Nemura saw it and yelled out, “Drakyyd!”

Sloane aimed and launched an Arcane Barrage at the thing as it lept from the rooftop, catching one of the guards and its horse. The man and beast went down in a scream and she panned her hand toward the monster and the last two bolts of the barrage arced toward it just as it ripped out the throat of the horse. The bolts exploded against its hide, causing it to roar out in pain and look up at her. The entire caravan slid to a stop and the guards were all calling out.

Arrows were loosed, but they seemed to snap instead of causing any damage to the thing. Another of the guards moved forward and thrust at it with a spear. The thing jerked to the side and caught the spear in its mouth, then yanked backward causing the guard to fall from his horse. The drakyyd pounced on the man and bit down, even as arrows continued to pepper it.

Sloane aimed and launched three Mana Bolts, each exploding on its back. The drakyyd again cried out and turned, finally focusing on her. It roared and sprinted toward the wagon, bending down and jumping up at her. She channeled her mana and threw everything she had into an Arcane Barrage. Aiming every bolt at its face. Two bolts hit the thing in midair, then just before it reached the roof, a sword came from below and stabbed into its exposed underside. Three more bolts exploded on its maw, and the body continued until it slammed into the wagon, causing Sloane to lose her footing and fall backward.

Sloane cried out, windmilling her arms as she fell over the side. She gasped as all of the air was forced from her lungs when she crashed onto the ground. She instinctively arched her back as pain shot through her, groaning at the sudden shock to her senses.

“Lady Sloane!” Nemura cried out. 

The telv woman got down from her horse and bolted over, reaching Sloane as she groaned and rolled to her side. 

“Are you alright?” Nemura asked as she put a hand under Sloane’s armpit and helped her stand back up.

She groaned again, steadying herself on Nemura. “I–I’m good. I need to get back on the wagon.” Sloane looked at the woman, wincing at the pain. “Your men?” she asked.

Nemura shook her head. “We should go. I don’t think there are any more monsters… yet. You did good,” she said. 

Sloane nodded, allowing the woman to help her move back to the wagon slowly.

 

* * *

 

“Are you sure you are alright, Sloane?” Ismeld asked as they moved into the eastern district. 

“I’m fine, Ismeld. Really. You saved me with that stab,” she said.

“You did amazing up there,” Ismeld said.

Sloane nodded.

“What is that?” Sloane heard Nemura say from horseback beside them.

Sloane stood up and peered ahead, seeing torches and a large group of people. A formation of people. “Looks like soldiers?”

Nemura tilted her head. “They should be in the fort.”

“How far away are we?” Sloane asked.

“About five streets.”

The caravan slowed as they approached, a large formation of soldiers was facing them. Torches highlighted the group, as a man in elaborate armor strode forward on his horse. 

“Lady Sloane, you have called down beasts upon our city with your witchcraft. You will be burned at the stake for all you have done to this city. Tenera willing, your death will cause the beasts to disperse.” Count Kayser called out.

Sloane caught sight of Baron Bolton on a horse behind the count, a large number of the forces that should be defending the city around them. She groaned. I cannot catch a break, can I?

“Nothing has gone according to plan! We were supposed to be out of the city and waiting for the others by now,” Sloane complained, frustration building up inside of her.

She looked around, trying to find any way out of their current predicament. How can we get out of this?

Ismeld turned her head toward Sloane as she reached for her shield.

“I am starting to think being with you is bad luck,” she said.

Sloane winced. “I'm trying here, Ismeld," she ground out.

Helplessness started creeping up her spine as she took in the sight before them. How do you fight that? Not knowing what to say or do, Sloane fell back to what came naturally–using humor to deflect her negative thoughts.

"At least the others will have an easier time?” She sighed internally. 

At least I hope they are because I have no idea what we're going to do.

Ismeld just scowled.