girls eventually left at sunset.
Lamplighters used long poles to light
lanterns in the Mosh District as the young women made their way
home. The main avenues were busy, so Pelya took less traveled roads
that would still be relatively safe.
Ebudae was grateful to get away from the
press of the bodies, which had overwhelmed her again after leaving
the tent. She left the directions to her friend who had spent her
entire life studying the City Guard’s maps of Dralin and knew how
to get nearly everywhere.
“This has been the best day ever, Ebudae. I
had so much fun,” Pelya said with a happy grin as they walked arm
in arm. Ebudae stayed on the left so that Pelya would have her
sword arm free for any danger that might appear.
“I don’t know if it’s the best day. I think
that was when we first went exploring in the ruined academy.”
“That was amazing, but it feels so
good to be out on our own.” She let go and did a spin before
catching Ebudae’s arm again. “I really like the group,
especially Lizor. They’re so interesting.”
“Lizor scares me, but I like Juggles. Glav
asks too many questions and he’s . . .”
“I know. He disturbs me and I didn’t like
the way he looked at you a couple of times when he didn’t think
anyone was paying attention.” Pelya’s face grew severe and her eyes
narrowed.
“I thought he was looking at me. I
don’t like that at all!” It bothered Ebudae. She didn’t say
anything to Pelya, but Glav wasn’t the first man who had looked at
her in a way that made her uncomfortable that day. She was
beginning to think that freedom was overrated.
“I still like them and I don’t think he’d do
anything to you . . .” Pelya’s tone was defensive.
Ebudae caught the inflection and looked
worriedly at her friend. “I don’t think so either and I do want to go back.”
Pelya’s eyes were on an alley to their left.
The rest of the street had become oddly empty. “Danger, Ebudae,”
she said quietly. It was the method used in the ruins to alert each
other to peril. Ebudae knew their lives were threatened.
It took less than a second to cast the first
spell protecting them from magic. Ebudae had refined the spell to
be fast. It was powerful and a gust of wind hit her face as she
drew in the energy and then it smacked hard into her back as she
cast. Two seconds after that, another spell protected them from
some forms of physical danger, but Ebudae’s hair was a mess from so
much supernatural wind battering her. She had perfected the casting
so that she never went off balance or lost her concentration.
Once the protections were up, she took a
moment to assess the situation in order to determine what spell to
cast next. Pelya slid her sword out with a hissing sound. She had
explained in the past that it was an effective way to intimidate
people. The quality of the custom-made steel would add to the
intimidation.
There were four treacherous individuals
moving into the street from the shadowed alley Pelya was staring
at. Two more came from another alley behind the girls. Ebudae
concentrated on keeping her breathing steady while Pelya put
herself in a protective position in order to defend against the
brunt of the attack so that Ebudae could counter-attack with
magic.
One of the four was a wizard. Ebudae could
tell by the robe the man wore and the way in which he moved. The
two men behind were swordsmen, but Pelya backed Ebudae close to the
building behind them so that she could keep an eye on them too.
The wizard spoke in a powerful voice, but he
wasn’t casting a spell. “That was very powerful magic cast very
quickly, Boss. I have a bad feeling about this.” He was
speaking to a tall, confident man who was crouching in the middle
of the street a short distance away.
Ebudae decided she would kill the wizard
first and knew exactly how to do it. She reached for an ingredient
in one of her pouches.
One of the swordsmen said, “The girl isn’t
carrying a toy sword,
Lamplighters used long poles to light
lanterns in the Mosh District as the young women made their way
home. The main avenues were busy, so Pelya took less traveled roads
that would still be relatively safe.
Ebudae was grateful to get away from the
press of the bodies, which had overwhelmed her again after leaving
the tent. She left the directions to her friend who had spent her
entire life studying the City Guard’s maps of Dralin and knew how
to get nearly everywhere.
“This has been the best day ever, Ebudae. I
had so much fun,” Pelya said with a happy grin as they walked arm
in arm. Ebudae stayed on the left so that Pelya would have her
sword arm free for any danger that might appear.
“I don’t know if it’s the best day. I think
that was when we first went exploring in the ruined academy.”
“That was amazing, but it feels so
good to be out on our own.” She let go and did a spin before
catching Ebudae’s arm again. “I really like the group,
especially Lizor. They’re so interesting.”
“Lizor scares me, but I like Juggles. Glav
asks too many questions and he’s . . .”
“I know. He disturbs me and I didn’t like
the way he looked at you a couple of times when he didn’t think
anyone was paying attention.” Pelya’s face grew severe and her eyes
narrowed.
“I thought he was looking at me. I
don’t like that at all!” It bothered Ebudae. She didn’t say
anything to Pelya, but Glav wasn’t the first man who had looked at
her in a way that made her uncomfortable that day. She was
beginning to think that freedom was overrated.
“I still like them and I don’t think he’d do
anything to you . . .” Pelya’s tone was defensive.
Ebudae caught the inflection and looked
worriedly at her friend. “I don’t think so either and I do want to go back.”
Pelya’s eyes were on an alley to their left.
The rest of the street had become oddly empty. “Danger, Ebudae,”
she said quietly. It was the method used in the ruins to alert each
other to peril. Ebudae knew their lives were threatened.
It took less than a second to cast the first
spell protecting them from magic. Ebudae had refined the spell to
be fast. It was powerful and a gust of wind hit her face as she
drew in the energy and then it smacked hard into her back as she
cast. Two seconds after that, another spell protected them from
some forms of physical danger, but Ebudae’s hair was a mess from so
much supernatural wind battering her. She had perfected the casting
so that she never went off balance or lost her concentration.
Once the protections were up, she took a
moment to assess the situation in order to determine what spell to
cast next. Pelya slid her sword out with a hissing sound. She had
explained in the past that it was an effective way to intimidate
people. The quality of the custom-made steel would add to the
intimidation.
There were four treacherous individuals
moving into the street from the shadowed alley Pelya was staring
at. Two more came from another alley behind the girls. Ebudae
concentrated on keeping her breathing steady while Pelya put
herself in a protective position in order to defend against the
brunt of the attack so that Ebudae could counter-attack with
magic.
One of the four was a wizard. Ebudae could
tell by the robe the man wore and the way in which he moved. The
two men behind were swordsmen, but Pelya backed Ebudae close to the
building behind them so that she could keep an eye on them too.
The wizard spoke in a powerful voice, but he
wasn’t casting a spell. “That was very powerful magic cast very
quickly, Boss. I have a bad feeling about this.” He was
speaking to a tall, confident man who was crouching in the middle
of the street a short distance away.
Ebudae decided she would kill the wizard
first and knew exactly how to do it. She reached for an ingredient
in one of her pouches.
One of the swordsmen said, “The girl isn’t
carrying a toy sword,
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