Chapter Fourteen

“It wasn’t me, I’m innocent I swear.”

Shuka pleaded but the paladin before her continued his advance with a cold silence. He had dismounted at this point and was walking towards Shuka with his weapon already drawn.

What do I do? He’s not listening to reason and I don’t even have Xorvos to help me fight him this time. Where is Anirak, maybe she can help me.

Looking around the now ruined room Shuka found no sign of her companion from the Thieves Guild.

Shit, did she already run? I didn’t even notice.

Looking back through the open door she saw that Validus was already over halfway to her and had once again lit up his sword with holy flames. Shuka began to back up in a panic and almost tripped on the two corpses at her feet in the process.

“Please just let me explain. I am not the person you are looking for.”

“Silence! I will not hear any more of your lies thief.”

By this point Validus was standing in the doorway, blocking of the banks only exit. Shuka had backed up as far as she could go without falling in the hole created by the real thief. Looking down it she saw it went down for around thirty feet before reaching a polished marble floor.

One wrong step and I will take quite the nasty fall.

Shuka faced Validus again and unsheathed her sword. She held it in front of her in a defensive position, but she knew it would do her little good. The paladin’s sword came down lightning quick and it took all Shuka had to deflect it to the side. As the flaming blade passed her by, it suddenly changed its course from vertical to horizontal. What was once a downward slash suddenly became a sideways swipe into her torso. Shuka hopped to the side to avoid the worst of the attack, but still suffered a nasty wound as the sword easily cut through her leather tunic and the flesh underneath. The cut wasn’t the worst of it though. Any pain Shuka might have felt from it was overshadowed by the excruciating agony of the flames. The holy white fire caused such an intense pain that Shuka did not even notice Validus’ shield until it impacted her in the stomach. The pain of the flames had left as quickly as it arrived leaving only a shadow of its former strength. But now Shuka had to deal with a new pain as she clutched her stomach with her one free hand and fell to her knees.

“Surrender now and face your judgment. Resist and face your end.”

Shuka could barely think. She felt nauseous and was finally starting to feel the sting of the cut she received earlier. Validus had his still flaming sword pointed at her neck, mere inches away. He had said something but Shuka couldn’t remember what.

Is he waiting for something? Did he… ask me a question?

Her nausea was subsiding a bit, but the pain still lingered. She didn’t know what to say, and Validus was starting to get impatient. Shuka was starting to panic, unsure of what to do when out of nowhere a small fist sized rock flew through the doorway and into the paladins back. It bounced of his armour harmlessly, but it did draw his attention away from Shuka. Through the door he saw Xorvos standing halfway to the bank with a handful of rocks in his arms. He threw another one, but this time the rock bounced off the doorframe. Validus look rather peeved though and fully turned his back to Shuka to make his way towards Xorvos instead.

I suppose this is my chance to attack him but… I don’t think he would have turned his back to me if he didn’t think he could deal with me attacking him. I have to be smart if I want to get out of this alive.

Validus left the bank, blocking another rock as he did so. Then when he was just past the door, he held up his shield over his face and started to concentrate on a spell. As he did, his shield began to shine with a bright yellow tinted light. The light only flashed for a moment, but it was enough to blind Xorvos who was not expecting it. While he was still blinded, Validus swung his sword and launched his holy fire flying into the Quanso. As the flames hit him, Xorvos screamed out in pain, dropping his rocks in the process.

With him dealt with, Validus turned back to Shuka only to find there were now two of her in the room. One was standing in front of the hole holding her sword pointed towards the paladin, while the other was badly hiding behind a toppled table near the back of the room. The one behind the table had arcane glyphs floating around her outstretched hands and a look of deep concentration on her face.

“You think you can fool me with your petty tricks, witch? I see right through your paltry illusions.”

Validus quickly advanced past the figure in front of him and towards the one further away. He had to go around the hole to reach her, but the Shuka with the sword made no move to stop him so he reached his destination unhindered. He lashed out with his weapon but found nothing but air as the figure in front of him disappeared. With the illusion dispersed, Validus looked behind himself to see the real Shuka running out the door. Infuriated, he chased after her.

Outside, Xorvos had recovered from the holy flames, having blocked the majority of it with his thick gauntlets. He was still burned on his forearms where his gauntlets ended but it was a small injury compared to what he could have suffered. Now he was running past his friend and towards the door. Shuka didn’t expect that and had to stop to look at what he was doing.

What is he thinking? We can’t beat him, we just have to get out of here.

Shuka soon found her answer as Xorvos tackled Validus just as he was exiting the building, causing them both to go tumbling back inside.

Shit! He’s going to die if I don’t help him.

Running back through the door Shuka found Xorvos and Validus on the ground wrestling each other. Xorvos was on top at the moment due to his larger body and the surprise of the tackle, but already Validus was starting to get the upper hand. The paladin slammed the pommel of his sword against his opponents’ head causing the grip on him to loosen just enough to move his shield arm. Shuka saw his shield begin to glow with magic and in a moment of quick thinking, struck her sword against it. The moment her blade touched the wood of the shield, the energy stored inside it was discharged in the direction of the blow. This concussive force ripped Shuka’s sword out of her grip and launched it across the room, out of reach.

It would have been bad if Xorvos got hit by that, better my sword than him.

“Push him into the hole!” Shuka yelled. “That’s the only way we will be able to get away from him.”

While Xorvos would have loved to drop the paladin in a pit, it was taking all he had just to keep him restrained. Shuka tried to help where she could but found it hard to contribute. She was no grappler and was as likely to hit her friend as she was her enemy with a sword.

This isn’t going to work; he’s just going to use another spell and escape somehow. But how do I get him in the hole before then?

While she was contemplating it, Shuka’s fears became reality. Validus’ sword had been mostly useless during the brawl, due to the close range and awkward angle. Any strike he might be able to get off wouldn’t have the strength or leverage to do any real harm especially if it hit armour. But now the blade once again lit up with the pure white holy flame that has caused so much pain before.

All he needs to do is touch Xorvos with that fire once and he won’t be able to fight back, at least for a few seconds. I know Quanso are tough, but that fire is too much even for them. I need to do something.

Shuka knew what she had to do and threw the edge of her cloak around the sword and then grabbed it. The fire seemed to ignore the cloak and burn only her hands, as if only flesh and blood were deserving of the wrath of the divine. Pure agony filled Shuka’s mind as the flames brought her pain of an intensity never felt before. The temptation to let go was almost irresistible, but she persevered. She held the sword with all her might, and still barely held it in her grip. Even while on his back and using only one arm Validus was still a neigh unpassable wall of might. Until he got punched in the face that is. Shuka keeping one of Validus’ arms occupied gave Xorvos the opportunity he needed to use his hands for more aggressive maneuvers. As the metal gauntlet struck the paladin, it left him stunned just long enough for Shuka to wrest his sword from his grip and toss it across the room. As the flames left her hands, the pain left with it, giving Shuka a blissful reprieve from the pain.

I hope I never have to touch holy fire again, not even the other times I got hit by it hurt that much. At least I managed to disarm him.

Looking down at her hands Shuka found that they were covered in odd, wavy burn marks. She recognised them as the same burn marks that she received during her first fight with Validus, but these ones were much more intense. The burns still hurt of course, but the pain she felt now paled in comparison to when she grabbed the sword.

I can still move my hands a bit at least, but it looks like I won’t be using them for anything useful for a while. The burns I got on my shoulder healed in a day or two, but my hands might take a bit longer… if they ever fully heal.

While Shuka was recovering, Validus had managed to escape from Xorvos’ grapple and was now standing with his back to the hole. He only had his shield left, but still left an intimidating figure that neither of his opponents wanted to approach.

The moment one of us get close to him he’ll use that spell that charges his shield with a repelling force and knock one of us out. But if we don’t do anything then he’ll just blind us with that light spell and take the initiative. Maybe if we get him to use enough spells, he will run out of mana but I don’t know if we can last that long.

Shuka didn’t need to make a decision because a brown hand appeared form the edge of the pit and grabbed Validus’ ankle. With one swift movement the hand pulled and brought one leg into the hole.

Is that Anirak? Was she hiding in the hole this entire time?

He only had one foot touching the ground and someone was trying to pull him down, but the paladin refused to fall. Shuka saw this and decided to help out by kicking him as hard as she could. Even while distracted and off balance, Validus still managed to block with his shield at the last second. But dealing damage wasn’t Shuka’s goal. That kick was the one little push need to send him tipping over the edge. As he fell, he sent Shuka one last look. It was filled with hatred and contempt. That one look was enough to send fear into her very soul. A moment later he hit the ground and the fight was over.

“Oi, you gonna stare down that hole all day, or can we get out of here already?”

“Huh?”

Shuka was so focused on Validus that she didn’t even notice Anirak climbing out of the hole. Now the energetic swamp elf was almost bouncing on her feet, eager to leave.

“Dropping him in that pit bought us some time, but he won’t stay down there forever. And besides, I’m sure there will be more guards arriving soon.”

Shuka looked back down the hole and saw Validus was already getting up. He still didn’t have a quick way of getting back up, but it was still worrying.

“Hold on.” Xorvos said. “Why should we go anywhere with you. You’re a member of the Thieves Guild, we can’t trust you.”

How does Xorvos know she’s with the Thieves Guild? This should be the first time they’ve met.

“Fine then, don’t follow me, but I’m leaving. You can stay here and get arrested for all I care.”

“Wait, we’re coming. Just give us a second to catch our breath okay. And she did just save us Xorvos, I don’t think she’s an enemy.”

Xorvos was still scowling at Anirak but stopped escalating the situation. Shuka took this opportunity to retrieve her sword. She winced when she picked it up, her burns were still fresh, but she managed to get it back into its sheath without issue.

“Alright, I think we’re ready now.”

“Good, then let’s go.”

*

Half an hour later Shuka, Xorvos, and Anirak were hiding in an abandoned building in one of the unlit sections of the city. It wasn’t nearly as cozy as Anirak’s hideout, but it was still a lot better than stumbling around in the dark alleyways.

“Alright, now that we found a good enough place to hide for a while, we should probably do something about your hands.”

Anirak had walked up to Shuka in the darkness and was holding up a small vial. Shuka could just barely see the vibrant red liquid inside in the darkness, but even if she couldn’t she knew it must have been a potion of healing.

“Oh, aren’t those expensive? I think the burns will heal on their own, so you don’t have to waste a healing potion on me.”

Xorvos overheard their conversation and did not seem too pleased by it.

“A healing potion? Shuka you can’t trust anything she gives you, it might be poison.”

“Poison?” Anirak exclaimed, incredulously. “Why would I go though all the trouble of saving you two just to poison you?”

“You were just using us to escape. But now that we aren’t useful anymore, you’re going to kill us, so we don’t say anything to the paladin. You didn’t even help in the fight until the very end.”

“Of course I didn’t help until the end. Facing the Grand Paladin head on is about as dumb as you can get. I waited for the perfect opportunity instead of charging in and getting myself killed. And besides, if I wanted you two dead, I wouldn’t waste any poison. Two stabs in the dark would be all I need.”

What has gotten into Xorvos? He isn’t usually this rude. And we need all the help we can get right now.

“Xorvos, we can’t afford not to take her help right now. I get that you don’t fully trust her but without her we never would have escaped from Validus.”

“Why are you taking her side? She’s a thief, she only cares about herself.”

“All I’m saying is that I don’t think she will stab us in the back.”

Well, she probably does have ulterior motives, and I doubt she would risk herself too much for us, but I wont say that while she’s still around to hear it.

“Fine, I’ll leave.” Anirak said. “I can tell when I’m not wanted, and you two are just going to argue if I stay. I’ll leave the potion, but you two are on your own now. Find me in the Guild if you guys reach an agreement.”

She gently placed her potion on the ground, and then disappeared into the shadows.

There goes one of my few allies in this city. At least she left the potion, but I wish she stayed.

Shuka couldn’t see much but she still got the distinct impression that Xorvos was still unhappy. When she went to pick up the potion that Anirak left behind though, he got up and stopped her.

“Wait! Let me test it first. I know I am less injured than you right now, but if that potion is something bad, I think I have a better chance of resisting it than you.”

He’s not wrong but he could have still worded that a little better. Oh well, I don’t have the energy for another argument right now so I guess I will let him do what he wants.

“Go ahead, just make sure you don’t use too much. If it really is a healing potion then I might need a lot to heal my hands.”

“Of course.”

Xorvos picked up the potion, uncorked the stopper and sipped a tiny bit of the potion. After a second, the holy burns on his arms faded a bit and he seemed satisfied.

“It seems to be a genuine potion. I still don’t trust Anirak, but your hands come first.”

He handed Shuka the rest of the potion and she drank it down without hesitation. The effect was immediate. The constant dull pain in her hands faded and even the cut in her side and the bruises on her stomach were healed.

The potion healed those burns pretty easily. I guess holy fire doesn’t cause as much damage as normal fire, even if it hurts a lot more. Now that I think about it, I don’t think it even produced any heat.

“Now that your hands are healed and that thief is gone, we can plan our next move.”

Shuka was brought out of her musings by Xorvos’ statement.

“Yeah, okay then. Let’s talk.”