Intimancer

Chapter 4

The walls surrounding the city of Shatak came into view at about midday.

“Just got ta get past these hills.  Almost there.”  Tyr chirped happily from the front bench.

“Why, in every hell that exists, does this road have to be so bumpy?”  Sade whined from her prone position in the back of the cart.  She was lying face down on every pad and blanket they had, whimpering in pain with every bump and jostle the road provided.  Hilariously, she conjured an icicle and gingerly shoved the end up her long skirts in an effort to ease her pain.

Tyr winced.  “I really am sorry.”

Sade sighed deeply before a sudden bump brought another long suffering groan back to her lips.  “I am not mad at you.”  She paused. “Well, not anymore I should say.”  All three of them laughed at her attempt at humor.

“But I swear, whatever foul spirit that possessed you into thinking that the first thing you should do after growing a penis is to SHOVE IT UP MY REAR, I will personally hunt it down to whatever foul place it could hide and remove it from all existence!”

“I mean, anal sex isn’t that odd to consider.  Especially when the tool used is as small as Tyr’s.”

Before Rick could register that he just shoved his whole metaphorical foot in his mouth, his incensed friend turned her full fury on him. “You be quiet!  I do not care if the entire nobility considers it the highest form of pleasure.  It is NOT something you just suddenly spring on someone unprepared.”  Her tirade was thankfully cut short as the cart hit a noticeably deep hole in the road and Sade shoved her head into the blankets to scream out her pain and frustration.

While she felt fine the night previous.  It seems the shock of sudden penetration decided to visit Sade in the morning with extreme prejudice, and her body did not like what Tyr did to it.  What was once a pleasurable and novel experience had then morphed into the most hated of actions once the sun’s rays poked their way through the green canopy and Sade had registered the complaints coming from her rear.

Sade’s mood had understandably soured at the thought of letting either of them try anal play from that point forward.  Neither Rick or Tyr could really blame her for the sudden switch.  Icing her sore hole seemed to help somewhat, and that was thankfully one thing Sade could provide herself with ample supply.

“So tell me a bit about Shatak.  I don’t think I’ve ever been.”  Rick said, hoping the change in subject could distract his lover from her pain.

“Oh, uh… Shatak is the second largest city in the kingdom of Shivani outside the capital.  And the largest port city on the coast.”  Sade began explaining.  Rick suspected she was also grateful for the distraction.

“Aside from it being a center of trade, there is also Mya University, a school for the study of magic and all the myriad forms it can take.  I believe it is the oldest university in the kingdom”

Tyrillian gave a slight snort at that final remark. “What?  The school has been around for as long as the kingdom has existed.”  Sade asked her.  “That is nearly five hundred years.”

The elf snorted again.  “That's not very long ya know.”

Sade looked incredulous, but Rick stopped her upcoming rant short with a single word.

“Elf.”

The young human gaped like a fish for a few moments, desperately trying to find a retort to his meager argument.  She eventually just shut her mouth and shrugged. “I suppose that is a fair point.”

Tyr gave a loud laugh.  “Ta be fair.  The land's current overseers have kept things together a lot longer than most.  The last lot only lasted a century before the idiot up top did something stupid and the whole thing collapsed.”

Rick was intrigued. “What happened?”

“The dwarf emperor considered the elves ‘impure beasts’ and attempted to remove them.”  Sade replied dryly. “He marched an army into the forest and his head was returned in a pine box a few days later.  Neither his body or the army that escorted it ever came back out.”

Tyr started chuckling darkly while Sade continued her explanation.  “Due to the sizable written records that covered events before and after the… invasion, the kingdom’s historians were able to corroborate the account about the fall of the old empire given to our people by the elves when the kingdom was first formed.”  She paused as another jolt from the cart sent another spasm of pain to run through her.  “Sadly, while the elves of the forest shared many tales of the land's previous rulers with our first queen, ascertaining their veracity has been quite… problematic.”

“Aye, I’ve been told that lass that led yer people over the mountains made a good impression on mine.”

“What made her so good?”

Tyr faced Rick and gave a smug smirk. “Because she actually listened ta our warnings.  Do ya have any idea how hard it is ta find a king, or empress, or what have ya, actually remove their heads out of their arse’s and hear what someone with sense has ta say?”

Rick could imagine that finding a leader like that would have indeed been rare.

“We only ask two things;  Keep the peace between the tribes, and don’t damage or invade our domain.  How hard is that?!”

“You must also realize that for a short lived human, it is far from the most believable that the land of the elves was occupied nearly a half dozen times, and every one of them was wiped out by said elves.”  Sade quipped. “Even more so when it is those same elves who are telling the story.  That is why having non elven records corroborate some of the details was so important.”

“Well okay then.  Note to self; Don’t piss off the extremely dangerous looking elves.” Rick joked and all three of them shared a chuckle at his statement.  It seems that Sade really did need something to distract her from her ordeal.

It was shortly after their impromptu history lesson ended that they entered within the shadow of the city walls.  The sight filled Rick with a sense of awe and mild trepidation.  Sade gingerly got up from her position on the floor and stood on her knees behind the headboard as Tyr guided them into the line of other carts waiting to cross the gates.

Rick wondered where all the traffic came from.  They encountered only a single monster on their journey from Valmik.  He then remembered that Captain Foltig mentioned that their route would be less populated, Rick just didn’t think it would be all but abandoned.  Looking around he saw a network of various roads coming in from all directions, all feeding into the main artery leading to the gates of the city.  Those must lead to the nearby villages.  He thought.

“Welcome.  And what is your reason for coming?” The bored guard asked the trio when it was their turn.  He looked at their meager belongings with a raised brow.  “I doubt you are here to sell goods.”

Tyrillian hopped out and moved over to the lone blanket covered pile in the back.  She ripped off the cover to reveal the corpse of the monster they slew and the guard jumped back in surprise, his hand resting on his weapon.

“What is that thing?”  He hissed at the elf.

“That’s what we would like ta know.” She replied in a far calmer tone than the guardsman.  “The bloody thing nearly ripped our throats out, so we are turning the bugger ta the hunters ta find out.”

“You actually killed that thing?”  The man asked, sounding impressed.

“Actually, he did.” Tyr replied, jerking her thumb at Rick and giving a knowing smirk.  He turned to face Rick, who gave a slight wave, before doing a double take after Rick’s features finally registered.

“Wha? This scrawny lad!?”

Rick was almost offended at the remark, but he was well aware that it was mostly luck and a team effort to take the creature down.  Plus, if he didn’t get his lucky shot, Tyr most certainly would have torn its head off once her ‘mild’ bump to the head wore off.  The woman was certainly as vicious as she looked.  He could most certainly believe the stories of whole armies disappearing in their forests without a trace.

“Yep.” Tyr chuckled. “Can we go in?”

The guard nodded his head, gave them directions to the hunter garrison, and let them pass into the city.  Now that he was no longer blocked by the large stone walls, Rick finally got a good look at Shatak.  The rolling hills that dominated the landscape on the route to the city continued past the stone barrier that surrounded the city.  Two or three story buildings rose and fell as the landscape undulated down towards sapphire blue waters.

When the city lanes opened up again, he saw a spiraling complex rising over a cliff on the far edge of the city.  The steep earthen walls fell straight to the ocean below.  Beyond the cliff rose a large statue of a woman sitting on a throne, gazing at the horizon where water met sky.  There were all sorts of decorations on the statue itself but details like her face were strangely absent.

“Fascinating.” he breathed out.

Sade seemed to follow where his eyes were focused. “Ah, the ‘Goddess of the Ocean’.  She is indeed a fascinating relic of history.”

“Relic?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “She was here long before my people arrived.  Many suspect that she was built during the first or second founding.  That is, either when the first or second non-elf country was still in power.  Why the statue was made and of whom, no one knows.”

Rick turned to his other companion. “Not even the elves?”

“Nope.” Tyr said simply. “There wasn’t a city here when she got carved out of the island there.  My people like ta keep to themselves most of the time.  Unless something threatens us or the land as a whole, we let it be.  So none of us were around when the madlads did the deed.”

“Fascinating.”  He said again.

The tantalizing scent of a good mystery tickled his nose.  He was almost looking forward to diving into whatever library he could find for answers.  Perhaps it was because he felt a sort of kinship with the stone woman.  Both of them suddenly found themselves in this new world with no answers as to how or why.

Hopefully I can find answers for the both of us one day.  He thought as he gave the statue one last look before focusing on the rest of the city before him.

The trio maneuvered their cart slowly through the city towards the hunter garrison.  If Rick thought that Valmic was incredibly diverse, the city of Shatak made him realize what he saw in that rural town was merely a small taste.

While humans of all shapes and colors still made up the majority of the crowds, they were still only a small majority.  Dwarves could be seen manning many of the various shops and stalls.  Centaurs were trotting through the streets or pulling carts of their own instead of horses.  Beast people of nearly every type, from birds, to lizards, canines, and cats filled the streets.  Some had more human features than others, but Rick couldn't find a pattern on why that was.

He would add that question to the ever-growing pile of things he wanted to research.  Or just ask Sade.  She was super adorable when she slipped into her teacher mode.

Note to self;  Try to find some empty glass frames for Sade to wear during lectures.  It would be almost criminal to let the chance of a sexy/adorable teacher cosplay go by.

Shaking his head to clear the mildly lewd thoughts, Rick continued to observe the various people around him.  Unsurprisingly, he found very few other forest elves like Tyr wandering around.  He would have to ask her a few more questions about her people.  All he really knew is that they lived in the forest, mostly all amazonian in stature, were extremely carefree, and to never, never piss them off.  Oh, and sex with them was absolutely mind blowing.  A good start really, but his curiosity to experience even more was absolutely ravenous.

He wanted to learn and explore everything.

Eventually the crowds thinned and the party stopped before a large stone building.  Unlike the small and well decorated houses and shop fronts they passed by earlier, this structure was almost brutal in its utilitarian purpose.  Everything, beside the colorful banner by the front door, just screamed ‘military building’.  Rick had seen plenty of those back when he would visit wherever the military had his uncle stationed.

“Wait here.”  Tyrillian told the other two as she parked their cart under an overhang and headed towards the front door.  After a few minutes she came back out with a slender man dressed in an official looking uniform.  Tyr pulled back the tarp once more and the man recoiled in a similar fashion as the gate guard.

“By the hells!”  He cursed.  “Where did you find such a beast?”

“On the old road, between here and Valmik.”  She replied. “Ya know what it is?”

“No, I do not.”  He answered her gravely. “This is the first I have seen.  And to have found it so close to the city.”

The man looked almost lost in thought for a moment before he turned back to Tyr. “I will discuss payment for your services with my colleagues.  I thank you for bringing this to our attention.  There has been a great increase in attacks lately, but few if any survivors.  Be safe out there.”

Sade perked up at that new bit of information.  After the body was taken to the building by a couple of attendants the man called over, she spoke up.

“Were any of the victims mages?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“The increased attacks.  Were a significant chunk of the victims people with a magical vocation or talent?”

The man paused from his walk back to the garrison when Sade spoke and now he had a serious look on his face. “I honestly do not know.  I will look into it.”

She thanked the man and the group set off once more.  It was still early afternoon so Tyr was going to drop off the two of them at Mya University so Sade could register for the semester before meeting back up later for food and a place to stay.

“Okay… Care to explain to the class what that was all about?” Rick said pointedly to Sade.

“To what are you referring?”

“That last question to the hunters about whether or not mages were attacked.”  He gave her a pointed stare. “You are the smartest woman I know.  You don’t just ask random questions out of the blue.  What theory are you trying to confirm?”

Sade was quiet for about a minute before she let out a small sigh.  “Nothing conclusive, just a feeling.”  She let out another soft sigh as she gathered her thoughts. “The caravan I originally was traveling with.  Most of the passengers had a mage vocation.”

“And they were all attacked by something extremely vicious.”

“Indeed.”  Sade confirmed. “And then the three of us were attacked by that… thing.”

Rick was struggling to connect the dots.  “I’m not sure I follow.”

“All three of us are able to cast spells.  You have a mage vocation, Tyrillian is an elf and can cast spells as easily as breathing, and I have been training to become a mage most of my life.”

“That all sounds coincidental.  How do ya figure that it was because of our magic that we got jumped?”  Tyr pipped up.

“It is conjecture.  But Captain Foltig mentioned that mages were being harassed or attacked.  And now the hunters are also mentioning an increase in attacks to travelers.  Then there was the event with the innkeeper in Valmik.”

“Where the dick got all pissed and complained about our magic literally stinking up the place.”

“Exactly!”

Rick suddenly grew concerned. “You think the innkeeper sent that monster after us?”

Sade gave a nonchalant wave. “Doubtful, but I would not rule out the possibility.  There is too much we do not know.  I just have this feeling.  That is why I wanted to see if there was a pattern with all the attacks.”

“And If ya are right?”  Tyr asked, her expression grave.

“I hope I am wrong with almost every fiber of my being.”  Sade replied, her expression a mirror to the elf’s.  “But if I am right, then someone or something is trying to cripple this kingdom by removing a core pillar of both military and technological might.”