Chapter 147: I Dare You

A sailor offered Stryg a towel to warm himself. Stryg grabbed it, pushed past the other sailors on the deck, and threw the towel over a shivering Rhian. She laid on the cold stable floor in one of the Ghost Flame’s pens.

She had lost consciousness by the time the sailors had brought the lift up from the water, but her face still grimaced in pain. Small bits of hoarfrost had formed around the tips of her black hair and hooves. Her skin was deathly pale and her lips were an icy blue.

“Get me more towels! We need to warm her up or she’ll freeze to death,” Stryg’s voice cracked.

The sailors crowding the stables made room for the ship’s drow captain as he walked in.

The captain knocked on a wooden beam, “Sir, the storm isn’t letting up, you should head under the deck and warm yourself up. I’ll have my men take care of the centaur.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” Stryg kept his back to the captain and wrapped the towel more closely around Rhian’s shoulders.

“Sir, you were just in freezing water. Your body is clearly in shock, you need to get yourself warm. The beastkin lass did an incredible job getting you here. However, there is nothing you can do here for her. You need to get war-”

Stryg spun around, grabbed the captain’s shirt, and pulled him down, face-to-face, “I don’t give a damn what you think! You don’t understand anything! Incredible job? Rhian did the impossible! I will not get cozy and go to sleep while she is fighting for her life!”

The captain glanced at the unconscious centaur and back at his young mistress’ apprentice, particularly Stryg’s sharp teeth that were bared inches from his own neck.

“I see,” the captain said calmly.

“Get me more towels,” Stryg hissed and shoved him back.

The captain fell back a few steps before he regained his footing. He straightened his jacket, and cleared his throat, “Men, ensure our esteemed guest gets whatever he requires; towels, warm water, healers, anything he asks.”

“Yes, captain!” The sailors yelled in unison and ran off quickly.

“I’ll be nearby if you need me, sir. Good night,” the captain bowed and left.

Stryg ignored him and returned his attention back to Rhian. He stared at her pale face, her body shivered incessantly.

Stryg’s shoulders trembled and his knees buckled beneath him. He gripped her hand and squeezed his eyes closed tightly. Warm tears rolled down his cheeks.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I should have been awake, I should have been there for you,” he cried.

His pointy ears twitched. Soft footsteps walked up behind him. He turned his head halfway, his lilac eyes cold, pupils sharp.

Maeve took a step back and raised her hands, “Sorry, I didn’t realize…”

Stryg wiped his tears away.

“What do you want?” He heaved angrily.

“I wanted to check on Rhian,” she shuffled her feet.

Stryg turned his back to her and said nothing. Maeve took it as a sign to come into the pen. She walked in and sat next to him on the floor.

“Rhian was amazing today,” Maeve said quietly.

“... She’s always amazing,” he muttered.

Maeve laughed to herself, “Tell me about it. You should have seen it. I was so scared. There were enemies all around us, you were unconscious, and we were in the middle of the forest, knee-deep in snow. I thought we would freeze to death, not to mention the sun was beginning to hurt my skin. But none of that stopped Rhian. She ran faster than most track centaurs I’ve ever seen and we made it out of the forest in no time.”

Stryg stared at the cracks on Rhian’s hooves. He swallowed.

Maeve gripped her cloak and spoke quietly, “Then we saw the docks burning from the distance. I could see the army of raiders pillaging the taverns and other shops from the tree line. I was so scared and Rhian was so brave. She had just carried two people throughout an entire forest, but that didn’t stop her. She took one look at the rushing river and made up her mind.”

“I remember her words clearly, she said -” Maeve cleared her throat and tried impersonating Rhian’s voice, “-I am proud to be a daughter of Ebon Hollow!”

Stryg’s eyes widened.

“She said that?” He whispered.

Maeve nodded, “Then she jumped straight into the Dire River like a hero from old, facing down an entire horde of enemies by herself. A legendary moment worthy of its own ballad.”

Stryg bit his lip and buried his face in Rhian’s hair. Maeve raised her hand to comfort him. She hesitated and pulled her hand away.

Maeve took a deep breath, “You know, I finally understand what you meant that night at the party; You only pick the best of the best to be a part of your Ebon Hollow tribe. Rhian is the best centaur I have ever seen.”

“She really is; the bravest of the Ebon Hollow,” Stryg trembled. “...I’m a horrible chief.”

“What?”

“I should have been there for her. She should have never fought alone.”

“You can’t say that. You already fought that scary lamia to save Clypeus, Callum, and me. You did enough.”

“No, I really didn’t. Rhian is part of my tribe. I was supposed to protect her. I failed Rhian when she needed me.”

Maeve shook her head, “No, you didn’t. Rhian can handle herself and you can’t do everything on your own. She understood that. That’s why she fought so hard for you. She is proud to be a part of Ebon Hollow, that’s why she’s still fighting.”

Maeve placed her hand over his own and Rhian’s, “So, you can’t be weak now. You have to be strong for her, so when she wakes up she can see you’re safe and sound, and know her fight was worth it.”

Stryg nodded slowly, “I’ll be a better chief, Rhian. I’ll be the person you need me to be. I swear it.”

Maeve forced herself to smile. She wanted to feel happy, relieved that they had made it out alive. Yet, all she could think of was of her family back at the castle. Her father had shoved her away while the rest of her family escaped through one of the castle’s secret tunnels.

Although Maeve hated her father, and even if her siblings didn’t like her, Maeve loved her brothers and sisters dearly. She prayed to Bellum that they would make it out safely.

~~~

Lord Mora walked through his castle’s secret passageways with an unsteady gait. He kept muttering to himself, trying to figure out why his castle was under attack. At first, he thought a rival merchant lord had sent a lamia assassin after him. As unlikely as it would be for someone to capture a live lamia, let alone have one serve as an assassin, he could at least wrap his mind around the concept.

Then he heard the screams. Even as his children and he walked through the passages between the walls, he could still hear his guests and servants screaming as they were cut down by what he could only assume were enemy soldiers.

This wasn’t an assassination attempt. This was an all-out skirmish. If it had only been himself under attack he would understand, there was always some minor lady or lord who took offense to a Merchant House’s dealings. But to attack a castle filled with aristocrats from Hollow Shade and Frost Rim?

“Something else is happening,” he muttered.

“Father, I don’t recognize this path, where are we going?” His eldest son asked.

Lord Mora gripped the torch in his hand and debated if he should beat his idiot son with it. He chose not to, he needed to save his strength.

“That lamia must have captured your whore of a sister by now. She’ll no doubt squeal everything she knows about the tunnels the moment the lamia threatens her life. We’re taking a different route that only I know,” Lord Mora explained. “Now, shut up and follow.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” a voice rang out from the dark passageway ahead.

“Who’s there!?” Lord Mora raised his torch and tried peering into the dark.

“I told you, didn't I, Dawn? Nokuti didn’t think I could do it, but I knew the tunnels were simple enough to figure out,” the cheerful voice grew louder. A man wearing a large pale bird-skull mask and a black feathered cloak stepped out of the dark and into the torchlight.

“Yes, yes, well done,” Dawn yawned from behind him.

“Who are you?” Lord Mora yelled before he stepped behind his startled children.

Crow cocked his head to the side, “Isn’t it obvious? We are your enemy, of course.”

“Do you think you can take us all?” Lord Mora snarled. He summoned forth his brown mana and casted a vigor spell, his arms turned a shade of bronze.

His children raised their hands and began to spell-cast their own chromatic magics.

“Me, take you all on? Please, I’m not even a mage,” Crow laughed. He stepped aside for Dawn, “But she can.”

~~~

War Lord Marek Helene squirmed around in his chair. “Why are all the chairs in this castle so bloody small?”

“You’re just too large, you big oaf,” the vampiress, Nokuti, shook her head.

One of their lieutenants entered the dining room they had commandeered as their base of operations.

The soldier knelt down in front of their leader, “My Lord.”

Marek pushed the tiny chair aside and stood up to his full towering height, “Report.”

“We have secured the castle’s west and south wings. The east wing has already fallen and will soon be under our control. The north wing is being invaded by our soldiers as we speak. A battalion was also sent to the docks as you instructed.”

“Very good. What about the castle’s occupants?” Marek asked.

“As ordered, we have taken no survivors from the castle servants. The magi serving the Mora family and the invited guests have been captured and are being held in a makeshift prison awaiting your judgment.”

“Just our luck that the day we attacked they were having a damn party,” Nokuti muttered.

Marek clenched his fists. There would definitely be repercussions from some of the aristocrats’ Houses. House Mora was no longer the only family directly affected by their invasion of the castle. No matter, he would deal with it all in strides.

“What of the Mora family?” Marek asked.

“There are still no reports of their sightings, my lord,” the lieutenant said.

“Keep looking,” he ordered sternly.

“As you command, my lord.” The lieutenant got up and went to the door. He paused, turned around, and bowed to Nokuti, “General?”

“I have nothing to add, you may go,” Nokuti nodded.

The lieutenant left without another word.

“Dammit, where could they be hiding?” Marek cursed.

Nokuti rested her back on the wall, “We’ll find the Moras, eventually. I’m more interested in finding that Noir woman. The reports said soldiers saw her fleeing from the ballroom on the back of the largest centaur they had ever seen.”

“Yes, she could be a problem,” Marek nodded thoughtfully.

“Could be? She is a problem. She beat Grim and Kyriil half to death. We’re lucky Vaughn found them before it was too late.”

“...If only Vaughn had found the Noir woman before she escaped, then none of this would be a problem,” Marek muttered.

He shook his head, he couldn’t think that way. He needed to focus on the present and figure out the best plan of action.

The lamia, Lysaila, pushed the door open without a word. Marek and Nokuti silently watched Lysaila as she pulled the mantle off the dining table, slithered into the corner of the room, curled herself into a ball, and laid back on her tail.

Nokuti stared at the scrapes all over Lysaila’s skin. She was surprised to see even some of her steel-hard blue scales were cracked and broken.

“What happened to you?” Nokuti asked.

“I found Lord Mora and his brats. Then I fell,” Lysaila grumbled.

“You fell?” Nokuti raised an eyebrow.

“Out a 3rd story window,” Lysaila used the dining mantle as a makeshift blanket and wrapped it around herself.

“Are you alright?” Marek asked in surprise.

“I fell,” Lysaila closed her eyes and said nothing more.

“There goes the Mora family,” Nokuti sighed.

“Don’t worry, Nokuti. Despite your misgivings, we have returned with victory,” Crow walked into the room.

“Crow? You mean?” Marek asked hopefully.

“I give you the proud Lord Mora,” Crow bowed with a flourish.

Dawn stepped through the doorway, dragging a beaten, gagged, middle-aged vampire on his knees. She tossed Lord Mora on the floor with a hard thud.

Marek kneeled and stared into the vampire’s terrified face, “So, this is Lord Mora? Thank you for having us in your home, I hope you don’t mind if we made ourselves comfortable.”

“We found Lord Mora and his children hiding in one of the castle's secret passageways. Despite being magi, they were no match for our arch-mage,” Crow motioned to Dawn.

“The youngest Mora daughter is still missing,” Dawn murmured.

“I’ll have the soldiers keep an eye out for her,” Nokuti said.

Lord Mora rolled on the floor and tried to rip away his bindings.

“He’s a brown mage. His vigor spells could prove a problem, which is why Dawn broke his arms,” Crow added.

Lord Mora screamed, his voice came out muffled from underneath the cloth gag.

“Take off the gag, I want to hear what he is saying,” Marek pointed to his ear.

Crow pulled out the gag and pushed the vampire to an upright sitting position.

Lord Mora gulped in deep breaths of air, his body relaxed for a moment, before his eyes turned cold, “What do you want?”

“Hm?” Marek tilted his head.

“Clearly you came here for a purpose. I’m a wealthy man, I can get you whatever you need. So, what do you want? Just name it and I’ll get it for you,” Lord Mora strained a smile.

Marek smiled back, “That’s so generous of you. Unfortunately, you can’t give me what I want. Unless you can turn back 300 years of attacks on my people that is.”

Lord Mora’s smile died. “You don’t plan on letting us go, do you?”

“You’re not hostages and I’m not looking for any ransom,” Marek’s smile turned frigid.

“Then, what do you want?”

“The destruction of Hollow Shade.”

Lord Mora stared at him with wide eyes. He chuckled under his breath, then burst into laughter.

“I thought you wanted money, perhaps revenge. Turns out you are just a fool,” Lord Mora cackled.

“You think we are on a fool’s quest. Understandable. No one’s managed to breach Hollow Shade’s walls before. No Dusk Valley tribe has ever managed to take this castle before, either. Yet, here we are.”

Lord Mora rolled his eyes, “The City of Shades isn’t a castle in the middle of a dead forest. You wish for the destruction of the most well-protected seat of power in the entire Realm? That isn’t uncommon. Many have shared your wish, but none have had the audacity to believe they can actually accomplish it.”

“You don’t think we can,” Marek grinned.

“That city was founded by an alliance between all the ebon lords. It was built with ancient powerful magic that we still don’t understand. And you, a barbarian who doesn’t even know the city’s proper name, thinks he can destroy it? I shouldn’t be surprised. What more can you expect from a lowly human,” Lord Mora sneered.

Nokuti pulled out a dagger, “Insult Marek again, I dare you.”

“Proper name?” Marek asked.

Lord Mora glanced at Nokuti’s dagger and her angry glare. He cleared his throat and turned to Marek, “Holo Shade.”

“Holo?” Marek frowned.

“You know nothing of the city you’re going up against,” Lord Mora shook his head.

“Actually, we do,” Crow said.

“Elaborate,” Marek said calmly.

“Mora is referring to the city’s original name. Most people nowadays think the city is called Hollow Shade since the city’s walls were the first part of the city to appear, the inside of the city was ‘hollow.’ While that’s technically true, ‘Hollow’ was a nickname that eventually just stuck,” Crow explained.

“You’re not as dumb as you look,” Lord Mora narrowed his eyes.

“You’re not as smart as you think. Anyone can pick up and read a history book,” Crow flicked the vampire’s forehead. “Oh, and by the way, you are wrong. The city’s actual name is Holo’s Shade, not that anyone cares. Holo’s Shade or Hollow Shade, it doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, the city will fall just the same.”

Lord Mora scowled, “You think a little history trivia will help you win the war you just ignited? You attacked a castle with the children of Ruling Families inside! They will hunt all you animals down, I swea-”

Nokuti smacked him across the face. Lord Mora fell to the ground, dazed. She stuck her fingers into his mouth, yanked his tongue out, and sliced it off with one quick swipe of her dagger. Lord Mora squealed in agony, his body spasmed, blood gushed out of his mouth, and salty tears sprinkled across the floor.

“Nokuti,” Marek glared.

“I warned him not to insult you again,” Nokuti shrugged and wiped her dagger on the vampire lord’s cape.

“Remind me not to get on your bad side,” Crow shivered dramatically.

“Mm,” Dawn nodded in agreement.

Marek shook his head and stood up, “Nokuti, get a few of the men to help prepare the Moras for the feeding.”

Nokuti sheathed her dagger, “Gladly.”