Chapter 183: Underneath the Mask

Beads of sweat dripped down Kyriil’s face. The elf couldn’t understand how this had happened. One second he was sitting on the wagon regaling stories of his carnal conquests to Crow, the next second they found themselves surrounded by black-cloaked magi, with that damned drow at the forefront.

“Get off the wagon, Marek, or I’ll burn it down with you!” Orange flames crackled in Loh’s palms.

“We’re surrounded,” Kyriil muttered under his breath.

“I count ten,” Crow nodded furtively.

“That bitch thinks Lord Marek is in here,” Kyriil’s eyes darted at the back of the wagon where the Unildyr hatchling rested.

“They’re closing in on us,” Crow whispered.

“How fast are you?”

“I think I’m in decent shape, why?”

Kyriil swallowed, “...On my signal I want you to run as fast as you can.”

“And get incinerated by a fucking fireball? Are you kidding me!?” Crow whispered anxiously.

“I’ll distract them, you just run and don’t look back. Get to Lord Marek and tell him what happened.”

“You’re an impressive mage, no one’s doubting that. But didn’t Loh Noir defeat Grim and you? This time she has nine others on her side and Grim isn’t even here.”

“I don’t plan on defeating her. Once you’re far enough I’m gonna release the hatchling.”

“That hatchling will kill you the moment you do,” Crow warned.

“I’m dead anyway. At least I can take some of them out with me,” Kyriil smiled shakily.

“Time’s up!” Loh summoned a giant flame orb above her head.

“Now!” Kyriil threw his hands up in the air, white mana flooding into his palms.

Crow covered his face.

A brilliant flash of light illuminated the grassy clearing. Loh and the others flinched away at the elf’s bright spell. Crow grabbed his book and jumped off the wagon. His legs hit the grass with a soft thud, he kicked off the ground and ran for his life.

The ten magi blinked hard and clenched their eyes in pain. One of the human magi forced her eyes open and caught sight of Crow escaping.

“Stop!” She yelled and slapped her hands on the ground.

The grass gleamed a bright green, it hardened and whipped around Crow’s legs. He tripped and crashed, his book fell out of his grasp.

The woman smiled, “You’re not going anyw- Agh!”

A beam of white light seared across her face, she rolled over in agony. The grass around Crow’s legs withered away. He glanced back at the wagon.

“Go!” Kyriil yelled and shot another light beam at an incoming mage.

Crow picked up his book and ran. He passed by the blinded magi and charged into the darkness. A torrent of red flame splashed in front of Crow, he fell back with a shout of surprise. A giant scaled face peered through the flames. Vayu’s fire drake hissed and blocked off his escape.

Gette’s undead warriors marched in behind the elemental lizard and surrounded Crow. War cries sounded in the distance, ten centaurs ran into the clearing, Maximus in the lead with a giant battle ax in hand.

“Did you really think you could escape, tribal scum?” A voice taunted behind Crow.

He slowly turned around. Tauri stood clad in battle armor, a perpetual scowl on her crimson face. She held her flail in a tight grip, a large spiked metal ball hung from the chain attached to a short iron stick.

“Get on your knees,” she growled.

“…Tauri.” The book slipped out of Crow’s hands.

~~~

“Shit!” Kyriil spotted Crow in the distance, surrounded by enemy reinforcements.

The elf ran into the wagon and he grabbed the blanket covering the Unildyr’s cage. Shadow tendrils wrapped around his arms and yanked him back.

“Where do you think you’re going!?” Loh shifted her hands, the shadow tendrils pulled taut and flung Kyriil into the ground.

“Get these off me!” Kyriil summoned an orb of light above him. A beam of light burned through the shadowy bindings.

A mage ran at the elf and tossed a red potion at his face. It shattered in a puff of sickly green smoke. Kyriil coughed over and over as the potion ravaged his lungs.

“Now, Thonul!” Loh ordered.

“On it!” The dwarven master mage dug his hands into the soil, sending waves of green mana in the ground.

The earth shifted under Kyriil as the stone spell took hold. His body sunk into the ground until only his head was visible. He wheezed with a painful grimace.

“I need a yellow mage to get rid of the toxin!” Loh ordered.

One of the magi walked over and casted a wind spell at Kyriil. The air curled around the elf and carried the toxic gas into a faraway breeze.

“Why is the bastard still coughing?” Loh furrowed her brow.

The red mage that had thrown the potion bowed his head to Loh, “The toxin's effect will last for a few hours. It won’t kill him, but he’ll wish he was dead with the pain burning in his lungs.”

“That’s fine by me. Now, where’s Marek?” Loh glanced around the clearing.

Vayu crouched down next to the captured prisoner, “...This man is an elf. There haven’t been reports of elves in the Ebon Realm for at least a century. If this elf wasn’t simply hiding in these lands, if he came here recently, then that means someone found a chrome gate and opened it.”

“He’s too short…” Loh mumbled.

Vayu looked up at her, “Are you listening to me? The enemy might be working with the Ivory Realm’s elves!”

Loh pointed at Crow in the distance, “That man in the feathered cloak is too short, he isn’t even six feet. Marek is said to be a dire human. He should be around 7 feet tall. Which means that isn’t Marek.”

“What?” Vayu asked.

Loh clenched her jaw, “Tomorrow is the summer solstice, a sacred day for the valley tribes. Any tribal negotiations done on that day are special, only two people are allowed on each side. Marek should have been here, he is the Cairn’s chief, the upcoming dawn is sacred to his people... So where the fuck is he!?”

~~~

Crow stared at the screaming drow in the distance, “Loh doesn’t seem very happy.”

Tauri frowned, “How do you know our names?”

“I know all of you, Tauri. Including Vayu Glaz over there.”

“Who are you?” She narrowed her amber eyes.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” he sighed.

“Take off the avian-skull.”

Crow straightened his back, “No.”

“That wasn’t a request,” she said coldly.

“You don’t want to do this, Tauri. Trust me. You should forget what happened tonight and just leave.”

“Forget? I will never forget what you people did six years ago. You people killed the man I loved... He was innocent and you burned him to ash!” Tauri spun her flail, the metal spiked ball tore through the air menacingly.

Crow glanced at the spinning metal orb of destruction, “You won’t get me to talk through threats.”

“I don’t need to, that’s why we have Vayu,” Tauri pointed at the drow with her other hand.

~~~

“Find out what you can from the elf,” Loh ordered.

“I'm trying, but his mind is in too much pain, I can’t read anything,” Vayu twisted his lips.

Purple mind tendrils, the width of string, curled out from his fingers and brushed Kyriil’s skull.

“I’ll need to knock him out,” Vayu flexed his fingers.

The purple tendrils flared bright, Kyriil’s eyes rolled up.

Vayu smiled, “That’s better. It’ll take me a few minutes to delve deep into his mind and sift through it.”

“Very well,” Loh nodded. “While you do that I’m going to check out the wagon.”

~~~

Crow watched Loh make her way to the back of the wagon, “I wouldn’t go there if I were her.”

“Why? Afraid of what we’ll find?” Tauri asked.

“Not exactly.”

“Where’s Marek?”

“How do you know you’re not looking at him?”

“Marek is a warlord and chieftain of the Cairn Tribe. He may be a scumbag of the lowest regard, but he isn’t a coward who hides behind a mask.”

“Oh Tauri, our reasons may differ, but we all hide behind masks.”

“Does it look like I’m wearing a fucking mask?” She growled.

“Not a physical one, but you are using anger to mask the pain underneath.”

Tauri laughed, her flail spun faster, “I’m going to enjoy crushing that skull mask of yours. I wonder how much pain I’ll find underneath that?”

“You won’t like what you find.”

“I doubt that very much.”

“Agree to disagree then.”

“...Who are you exactly? You don’t look like a mage.”

“I am Crow, spymaster of the Cairn Tribe.”

“Spymaster? You’re telling me this now? Why?” Tauri tilted her head.

“Because I wanted to. That and the fact that Vayu will figure it out soon enough when he reads my mind,” Crow shrugged.

Tauri glanced at the ground, “What’s with the book?”

“…Hm?”

~~~

Loh pulled the wagon cover off the back and peered inside. A thick blanket covered what seemed to be a large crate.

“Gifts for the negotiation?” She guessed.

The crate rattled.

Loh frowned, “What the...?”

She reached out and grabbed the edge of the blanket.

~~~

“I asked you a question,” Tauri raised her flail above her head, the spin of the spiked metal ball whirred in the air.

Crow glanced between the flail and the book on the ground. He raised his hands in surrender, “It’s quite old… As is most of my collection. Books are quite useful, you see. This particular one details precious information that if I manage to decipher will help the Cairn greatly. So, if you’d please not throw my book away I’d very much appreciate it.”

Tauri blinked, “Wow, thank you for your honesty. I won’t throw your precious book away.”

With her open hand, Tauri pointed at the book. A bolt of flame ignited at her fingertip and burned the book to ash.

“Ah...” Crow stiffened.

“Whoops, did you need that book?” Her lips curved into a vicious smile.

“...Why?” Crow’s shoulders sagged.

“For the same reason I’m about to crack that shitty little mask of yours,” she pulled back her flail.

He lowered his arms and sighed, “Honestly, I never needed the book, but I did find the read enjoyable.”

Tauri flung her flail at him. Crow’s hand shot out in a deft flash and caught the spiked orb in the palm of his hand. Her eyes widened in shock.

“You, on the other hand, I find absolutely uninteresting,” Crow clicked his tongue.

The metal flail crumbled to dust in his hand.