Feral Mage 3: Chapter 25

When Bryce and Callie returned from the stream, all the girls were staring at them. Feeling their gazes on him, he took a seat on the large stone he had been sitting on earlier, Callie joining him. Janna blushed from where she sat, and Vex smiled, her tail wagging frantically behind her. Charlotte just glared at them, her face red, but the gag was shoved back in her mouth.

“Did she give you any trouble?” Bryce asked, nodding toward Charlotte.

Janna shook her head.

“She’s been pretty silent, but we heard some odd noises in the woods and decided to gag her,” the kitsune said with a smirk. “Just in case.”

Bryce nodded, then picked at the fabric of the looted gambeson. The size was a little too small for his build, but it was cleaner than the rags he had been wearing, and it covered the bite marks and scratches Callie left on him. Well, most of them.

“So, are we ready to head back?” Janna asked, her gaze darting between him and Callie.

He stopped messing with the gambeson.

“I’m as clean as I’m going to get. Callie thinks there’s a chance the Duke may have left for Witchbrook, given the news the city guard brought. Regardless, our wagon is at the estate, but if the Duke isn’t there, I say we take Charlotte straight to Mark. I’d like to ask her more about the marionette.”

Vex stood from where she was sitting and approached Callie, sniffing her when she arrived by the swordswoman.

“Don’t say a damn word,” Callie growled. “I don’t want to hear it.”

Laughter erupted from the wolfkin as she grinned at the snow elf.

“I knew you were walking funny,” Vex declared in beastkin. “Are you no longer grumpy?”

Thea looked from the odd exchange to him, her brows furrowed.

“What happened while you two were gone?” she asked. “Everyone was acting a little strange, but I don’t have the hearing of a kitsune or beastkin. Did you two run into trouble?”

Bryce fought back a grimace. He forgot about the girl’s enhanced hearing in the heat of the moment. Even though he had followed the stream a bit to find a deeper spot, they still probably heard everything.

“No. Callie just helped me with something,” Bryce answered, unsure how the Princess would take the truth.

Thea still looked confused about the matter, at least until Vex blurted it out.

“They mated!” the wolfkin declared happily.

Thea’s eyes widened, and her face turned red. Bryce was worried about how she would react, but Thea schooled her expression.

“Congratulations on your relationship,” she said meekly.

Callie shook her head and glared at Vex.

“Damn it, mutt,” she muttered as she moved over to where Princess Charlotte was and started to untie her tether from the tree.

Soon, they were back to walking through the woods toward the Duke’s estate. Thea remained silent, while Vex did her best to stay by Callie’s side. The wolfkin pestering her in a combination of beastkin and common about her and Bryce’s new relationship. The look on Callie’s face told him she had expected this, though.

“So the pack grows,” Janna said, walking beside him.

Her naginata rested on her shoulder. Bryce stared at the strange weapon, recalling how Charlotte had reacted to it touching her.

“It does,” he replied, feeling Janna’s tails brushing up against him. “Vex seems pretty happy about it.”

Janna laughed and shot him a smile.

“We’ve both been waiting for Callie to have her serving of rice ever since she joined our little band. The only reason Vex hadn’t tried to lock you two in the bath already was because I did my best to rein her in,” Janna stated.

Bryce returned the smile, then glanced back at Vex. Callie was currently holding the struggling wolfkin in a headlock. Thea caught his gaze and gave him a small smile.

“Thanks for that, Janna. Not sure that would have played out the way Vex hoped it would,” he said, then looked back to her weapon. “Also, thanks for whatever you did to shut Charlotte up about Alice.”

Janna drew a deep breath.

“I guess I’ve kept it a secret long enough,” she said before looking back to Thea and Charlotte. “When we have some time alone, I’ll tell you. Though I want to show you first before sharing with Callie and Vex.”

She bit her lip nervously, and he reached out, taking her hand in his.

“That’s fine,” he said, squeezing her hand. “Whenever you’re ready is fine. I have my own secret I need to reveal as well.”

When they arrived back at the Duke’s estate, they found the Duke, along with the other nobles, had gone to Witchbrook just as Callie had thought he would. Only the maids and staff remained at the estate. Many of them were now armed and watching the forest’s edge nervously. They only stayed long enough to load Charlotte into the wagon, then left.

The journey back to Witchbrook took the better part of two hours, and by the time they arrived, the city was already bustling. Double the guards waited at the port gate, with more rushing through the city streets. People were watching the guards with worried looks as they passed, no doubt sensing the tension in the air.

None bothered Bryce as they rolled through the city, even with Charlotte bound and gagged in the back of the wagon. Both Vex and Janna’s ears were flat as they took everything in, while Callie rested her hand on the hilt of her sword. Bryce felt on edge himself as they passed by familiar streets. The air was thick with fear, and fearful people did rash things.

“At least looting hasn’t started yet,” Callie said, watching the people gathering along the streets.

Bryce nodded.

“I’ve never seen Witchbrook like this. I wonder if the city will be hiring mercs to fill out the guard.”

He also wondered how much worse everything was going to get. Not enough time had passed for word of the upcoming attack to spread much. Right now, the tension was solely caused by how the city guard was acting. However, things would only get worse when people started to learn the truth. Bryce knew some would try to flee the city while others would seek to take advantage of the chaos.

As the wagon neared the guildhall, Bryce saw the stable boy rush into the guild. By the time he had brought the wagon to a stop, the boy had returned with Mark.

“My office. Now,” Mark bellowed before returning to the building.

Bryce jumped from the wagon to follow, looking back at the girls before he entered the guildhall.

“We’ll find a place to secure the princess,” Callie promised.

Bryce nodded, then walked through the door. The tavern was packed with mercenaries, some even sitting on the floor because there were no free chairs. He saw the twins and Bellamy sitting at one of the corner tables, and Nicole tilted her head toward Mark’s office, then tapped the table. Her cue that she wanted to talk once the old Berserker was done with him.

When he entered the office, he saw Alice standing in front of the table with the map, holding one of the pieces.

“Bryce!” she said, rushing toward him and wrapping him in a hug.

“You all right?” he asked.

He felt her nod her head against his chest.

“I’m just scared,” she said.

He was sure that was a sentiment most of Witchbrook shared. Looking up, he met Mark’s gaze as the old berserker finally took a seat behind his desk.

Breaking away from Alice, Bryce moved and took the seat in front of Mark.

“So, before I ask why you have a Princess tied up and gagged in the back of your wagon, how much did Vex and Janna tell you about what’s going on?” Mark asked.

“Everything that they knew,” Bryce answered. “Charlotte told me more, seeing as she’s working with Harold Volson to launch this invasion.”

Mark swore.

“That little bitch,” then he looked up at Bryce, with a slight grin. “I guess that means I don’t have to worry about you trying to bring her into the guild as a barmaid.”

Bryce shook his head.

“Seriously? Making jokes at a time like this, old man?”

Mark shrugged.

“Sure. We’re mercenaries. Our livelihood is grim work. You ever meet a merc without a sense of gallows humor, then you met one miserable bastard,” Mark said. “So why is she here and not with the Duke?”

Bryce looked over and saw Alice moving the pieces on the map, not just examining them, but with a strategic eye as if she were contemplating an attack. He looked back at Mark, raising an eyebrow.

“I asked you a question, Bryce,” Mark said, deflecting Bryce’s own unasked question.

Deciding to hound the old berserker about Alice and the map later, he got to the heart of the matter.

“By the time I dragged her ass back to the estate, the Duke had already come to Witchbrook. I figured I’d bring her here for a bit, see if I could get a little more information out of her before handing her over. Particularly regarding a marionette Harold Volson gave her.”

Mark made a sour face, and Bryce went on, telling him about the strange wooden puppet that Charlotte had with her. How runes glowed on its body when she placed a folded piece of paper in its mouth, just for the person next to her to break out into a monologue as if it were from Harold Volson himself.

Mark tapped his desk in thought.

“Sounds like some kind of communication magic. Sure as hell beats carrier pigeon or using a rider. Though that also means that Harold could know Charlotte was captured,” he said grimly. “She told you everything else, but was silent about the marionette? You think that’ll change?”

Bryce watched Alice move one of the pieces on the map, then carefully examine it, even moving to the other side to view it from a different angle.

“Janna has a trick that I believe will make her talk,” he said, turning back to Mark. “The other issue is she knows who Alice is.”

He heard something hit the floor and looked over to see that Alice had dropped one of the pieces from the map. She was now nervously looking between him and Mark.

“I’m surprised she’s still alive then,” Mark said, his expression saying he disapproved of that.

“Janna’s trick made Charlotte swear to her Divine that she would keep Alice’s secret. She’s a cleric, so I’m inclined to believe she will.”

Mark scoffed.

“I’ll be honest, I figured you held the Divine in the same esteem as you do nobility,” Mark said.

He did until a few months ago.

“So, that’s about everything on my end. What’s happening with the city, and why is the guild’s tavern packed?” Bryce asked.

Mark sighed before leaning back in his chair and looking at his waraxe hanging on the wall.

“Many of those in positions of power, such as the city guards, nobles, guild leaders, and even the gang bosses of the Rim, know the city is going to be attacked in the coming days. Right now, everyone who knows is trying to get ahead of the chaos that’s about to happen as word spreads; some are handling it better than others,” Mark explained. “I pulled as many mercs as I could off contracts to help defend the city. That’s why everyone is here.”

Bryce had figured as much.

“So what’s the going rate to help defend the city?” he asked, figuring Mark had already worked out a price with the city guard.

The old man grimaced.

“You don’t need to know that because your team won’t be defending the city,” Mark said, pulling a contract out of his desk and sliding it across the table.

“What?” Bryce said, taking the paper and reading over it. “Guard duty contract?”

Mark met him with a stern glare from his remaining eye. The look said the old berserker wouldn’t tolerate arguing on this matter.

“Your job during the attack is to protect Alice and Princess Volson within the guildhall. Should the harbor fall, you are to use the drow tunnels to escape the city. I have a map of the tunnels Darren and I created. It will take you to a small cave by a cove south of Witchbrook, where I have a ship anchored.”

Bryce gripped the contract.

“So while my guildmates fight a battle, I’ll be watching from the upper floor of the guildhall and preparing to run away?” Bryce asked, not masking his distaste.

Mark nodded.

“I don’t know how to sail a ship, Mark,” Bryce growled.

The old berserker threw a bag of coins on the table.

“I know, but the twins do. I gave them the same contract,” he said. “That’s the payment, up front for a job like this.”