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Time was short and the day was already past noon. And the paperwork was done!
Kason dropped the pen, letting it bounce on the table till it stopped. Filling out the various forms was so annoying, sad and regrettable. He was to reduce his subordinates to numbers. To reduce the mistakes of the living. Reduce the dead's importance to so small things that the rest of the guards wouldn't be subject to sanctions. Like pay cuts or even terminations.
'Yeah, a little something there for the dead ones.'
The captain was a coot. Biting Lieutenant Danny in the butt at every opportunity. Even assigning him such a tough job alone. Killing the monster that prowled the night.
But they've done it!
Kason just flipped off to the ceiling. Suck my balls, asshole!
"Sir, Sergeant?"
Thunder rumbled as Kason slammed his palms on the table in a moment of embarrassment. "What?" asked the sergeant in reply back to the guard.
The guard coughed and gave a smile. "Hungry?" He had a basket, filled with home-baked pastries. Doughnuts with cottage cheese and jam.
Oh, God. If I would get two every time I kill a monster, I'd fight a battalion. "Thanks." Or maybe I should get married?
The thought of marriage brought a flashback of the recent night to the surface. Of the fighter that assisted him and his comrades. Beautiful, full of curves and fine muscles to match those of men.
He shook his head, casting such fantasies away. Nyx... and Kason... Stupid ass through and through.
Look at you, falling for tough girls at every turn. In the man's honesty, even the vamp looked hot. Munching on the cheesy donut, he gave it one last peek over the report before stuffing it in an envelope and cupping it firmly in his hand.
Kason followed the short hallway to the exit, his eyes searching the courtyard. Taking hold of one of his guards, he saluted for the man to approach. "Is the lieutenant still out?" Kason asks, resting a hand on his right hip.
The nameless guard just nodded. "Yes, Sergeant. I don't think he's coming back today though."
Kason just rolls his eyes. Going alone to report to his superior's superiors wasn't exactly a... proper thing. "Maybe I can wait for him...?" Kason thought outloud.
A rhetorical question from his point of view, to which the guard rose to answer. "The sorcerers hang out at that inn, 'The Cave'. Perhaps the lieutenant is spending time with his friend?" An answer not directly requested, but a good one nonetheless. Kason just nodded softly, dismissing the man.
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"I'm telling you! It's impossible. Impossible!"
"Some teacher you are, neglecting her education like that."
Dörk and Jerry were beginning to have a bit of an argument. About Nyx. "It's already stupid. She can mend stuff back in shape, but not this?" Dörk says in between rummaging through his man bag and returning his gaze back to Jerry. "Awesome mana controll but this shit blows!"
The second man hadn't said yet his next words when Callahan had butted in. "What are you two doing here?" The tall man seemed naturally curious about the two men's argument. Yes, he knew the conversation was about the new girl of the group, but the details were more appetizing. "What did the girl do?"
Dörk gave a long sigh. "Eh... Having trouble working out why she can't do 'Catapult' the right way." The wizard finally pulled out of his bag... a candy.
Jerry continued in Dörk's place while he chewed on the candy. "If she pushes too much mana, the blade loses direction." Jerry said, leaning against the wall.
The thin bearded wizard continued his continuation. "And if there's too little mana, the blade barely does anything."
Callahan only blinked for a few seconds, his face betraying his habit of not showing emotion. "You guys are both idiots." The tall man stroked his beard. "This is exactly what happens to amateurs when they learn 'Catapult'. It calls for both balance and power between object and user!"
As if in synchronization, Jerry and Dörk commented back. "Really?" looking at each other.
Callahan just cringed. "Okay how did you guys learned, uh? Especially you Dörk!" the tall man pointed out with his finger." You can barely cast spells! You're skilled only with glyphs!" Callahan asked him sharply for an answer. The bold-mouth sorcerer was known for his sharp tongue and his peculiar gliphs. Though if he pulled a few strings to skip or cheat, sure he would.
Dörk mumbled two things that escaped the wizards present before answering. "Fuck if I bloody remember. It must have been thirty years ago? When I left for university."
"My sister taught me when I was a kid." Jerry offered his side of the story seemingly reaching back to his childhood years.
Callahan frowned. "Well, I've taught before. You don't know when something like that can save a child's life or a woman's or... anyone's." The bear of a man's last facial expression was somewhat blank. Just then, Callahan turned his head. "Yo, girl. Come here."
Nyx was with Silvia, doing nothing special, just sitting seated at the disabled woman's level.
In Callahan's eyes, the girl was solid, plus adding to her odd physiology. For some reason, he felt a sense of threat when watching the woman move toward him. Her moonstone-white eyes were fixed directly on him, giving him a sinking feeling that time slowed down.
Callahan understood it. Complete attraction for her. How shameful of me. He thought to himself. Maybe he was as weak as Dörk. HA!!! Never! This heart belongs to my wife!
Nyx stopped beside him. She gave a short nod as a silent greeting to everyone, giving the man a few precious seconds for Callahan to get his head out of the gutter, tossing the fascination aside. "THESE TWO FOOLS HAVE NO PATIENCE! YOU DID A GOOD JOB! KEEP GOING!"
The golem in question gapes slightly at the unexpected praise. Before he can manage someway a 'thank you' or anything else, Callahan steped back.
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On the other side of the dining room, two men in roughly in their 40s were watching the whole thing.
"Traveling with such a woman... I'll be doomed if my wife finds out."
The gentleman next to him just nodded in a silent agreement. "Not a word to anybody."
"Yep."
"Yep."
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Kason entered the 'Cave' front door and was greeted by two men standing in the lobby. "Sorry to bother you." He politely drew attention. "Have you seen my boss, is he hanging out with Dörk around here?"
One of them, sporting a bushy mustache, offered to help. "He's still here. Says he wants to kick Dörk on curve of the road himself." He points in the direction of the dining room. Kason contentedly exchanged a handshake with the two.
Stepping on the creaky floor and into the parlor, it looked like the entire wizard party was in attendance. Among them was the lieutenant, talking to the patron, George.
He approached his superior and their new acquaintance. "Hello, sir." he saluted, following to sit down comfortably beside him.
The lieutenant, still holding his mug of booze, rose it to take a sip but not before acknowledging the sergeant's presence. "Greetings, Kason. Everything all right?"
Kason just nodded. "No problem, sir. Eh... well, I thought you'd like to report in together." He pulls on his coat and removes the envelope with the report. "We've filed everything we have to report in here." Passing the papers to the lieutenant.
The man just nods, happy with his subordinate's decision. Yes, to rub his victory in front of the captain and the rest of his colleagues. Tangible bliss. Even if a small number of his men died, the victory was to commemorate the dead. No death in vain.
At that point in time, many of the wizards got off their butts and grabbed for their bags. In the corner of the room, that man, Jerry, nudged the 'undead' girl, Nyx. Both getting up. It was time to hit the road.
Likewise, the lieutenant got up. "Come on, Kason. I want to show them out , and then we can carry on with our own business." The man only nodded in reply, tailing his boss.
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Nyx waited by the side of the road, bag on his shoulder, watching from afar as the wizards dug a circle in the short grass.
"Eh it'll only take a few minutes. No worries, you'll be in between the guts and corpses soon enough."
Dörk's little assurance from earlier was a little disturbing, the fact that many of the wizards, himself included, had never before participated in a battle of this magnitude. Sure, adventuring sometimes meant killing something, but in this case, the numbers exceeded the normal human norm. Overconfident, perhaps?
No doubt, as the golem waited, birds began to nest around him. But no sign of the little flying gold 'coins'.
Their absence was a little disappointing, being that they had been following Nyx for some time. Nyx, turning back towards the humans, sees Jerry waving for him to approach.
Quickly passing the small hillock of dirt, Nyx stops in about 6 steps next to Jerry and the tall man that had encouraged him earlier. They both recognized his closeness, but were still following the marks traced in the dirt, at the same time comparing them to the drawing on a paper. The dug trenched lines were now filled with.. sand? From where? Making the entire shape and the runes even more visible.
One skybinder on the other side of the circle sat up straight , wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Ok guys, looks alright." He said in a half tone.
Jerry had just checked the last of the detales. "About alright." He nodded happily. "Call. Can you do the thing, please?"
The bear of a man next to Nyx nodded. "Yeah. I'll handle it." Pulling a booklet out of a coat pocket, he searches through the pages, eyes following as if hunting for frogs and ready to poke them with a sharp stick.
Seconds later. The book begins to glow purple. "Nasze dzieło, dzieło sztuki. Trzymaj się. Nie pękaj." Callahan closes the book and takes two steps next to the circle, leaning down and touching it, rubbing it with his finger. But nothing in the circle broke. "We're ready. But still watch your step."
Nyx was puzzled. A glance toward Jerry caught the man's attention. "Eh some trick he invented while painting. It's quite neat. Stops things from breaking down. Including the earth." He shrugged at the irony, the strangeness of the spell.
Maybe I can apply it over myself? Ha...Nah... the golem debates it briefly. Do wizards feel wronged if asked for their spells? A small anxious thought crossed his mind. Yes, Dörk and Jerry offered to help. But he... offered encouragement. There was a bridge between encouragement and help. Like between 'do it yourself' and 'let's work together'.
But Nyx mentally shook those thoughts away. Turning his eyes for few seconds to the tall man, Call seemingly named, he just tried to obliviate the moment. Maybe a question for later.
"Can't deny, as usual, amazing." Dörk stepped closer. Off to one side by a lone tree, the lieutenant and sergeant watched the whole scene. Both men saluted one last time before turning away, going their own way.
One by one, the skybinders entered the circle. Jerry signaled me to join him. Stepping next to him in the circle, Dörk was the last to approach.
He nodded his thanks to the others. "Guys, thanks again for helping me with my friend." He then nodded in the same sentiment toward me. "Ok, we'll jump on 3. No need to freak out, it's going to be a little awkward."
"3!"
The men held their palms crossed.
"2!"
The sand began to glow white.
"1!"
The ground began to shoot blue-white flames, but nothing alarming, everyone remained in place unaffected.
"Doprava! (Teleportation)"