Melody of Mana

The bells sounded harsh and clear through the morning light as our party sped towards the gate. Something was wrong, something was so, so very wrong, and I had an idea what. The only thing holding us back was the cart, which, while it could get a good bit of speed was limited by design, too much and it'd come apart.

As we got to the gate I could see the lone guard in a panic. He was looking everywhere, and behind him quite a bit as his hand white-knuckled his spear. When he saw us coming he looked like we'd been sent straight on to save him, recognition dawning on his face. With a quick motion the gate sped open, not some slow turning but an emergency mechanism he'd used to let us in as quickly as possible. Soon as we were through another motion slammed it shut.

"Situation?" Ulanion yelled up at him.

"Attack, bell pattern is monster or monsters!" He returned. It wasn't uncommon for a city to have a certain way to ring their bells for various emergencies.

"And you're not going to go help!?" Jewel, one of the women of our group screamed hysterically.

"Ignore her," I added. "Standard procedure to guard all entrances during attack, good job following." The girl glared at me but said nothing else.

The guardsman had clenched his teeth for only a moment. "Right, the ladies can shelter in the guardhouse here, but I see you gentlemen have weapons, mind going to aid?" He asked.

"I'm going," I said without explanation, and jumped from the cart over towards Ulanion's horse, the beast nearly jumped, but he managed to control it while plucking me from the air and settling me on the saddle in front of him. The guard looked surprised, but just nodded while the two other girls in our party headed for the large iron door by the gate.

Ulanion and I, as well as the three men from the waystation, rode with haste towards the far side of the city. The streets were clear and empty, and the only people I saw were those glancing furtively out of windows at our passing. Klaus, Ed, and Connor were all behind the horse I was on, having seen what the elven man could do and serving as backup as we streaked over the cobbles.

Finding the emergency was the easiest thing in the world. Right in front of the far gate the melee was on. Ten or so defenders stood, along with the town's two bards against nearly twice that number of beasts. Other men had gotten in on the fighting as well, and nearly a dozen were encircled by the battle line in various stages of injury. A few of the defenders had clearly fallen to the onslaught, dead eyes looking skyward.

The townsfolk were for their part giving an excellent showing, having killed a large number of the beasts, and as we came near I saw how. Several of the monsters darted forward, only for the mother of the caster pair to unleash a scream at them. It was the most basic of all bardic combat magic, but more than enough to disorient and stun the boa-sized snakes, who were then dispatched by guards that darted forwards.

I added my own scream as I reached down to grab the reins and the man behind me leapt from our mount. While it wasn't really the time for it, I couldn't help but feel a swell of joy at how much larger my area of effect was, or how much the silver monstrosities squirmed in pain rather than just being stunned.

Ulanion landed silently, like a cat, having drawn his sword midair. He pounced forwards and into the beasts, leaving a trail of severed heads and bodies as he passed. To a normal soldier these things were threats, but they were hardly much compared to most magical beasts, the main issue for us would be their numbers.

Our arrival ended the fight, not only were we backup the beleaguered defenders desperately needed, we had what was needed to slay these monsters. The mother-son caster pair from this city weren't trained for combat, and the soldiers likewise for magical beasts. They were mostly here for peacekeeping with the occasional drunken brawl or small infestation, not this. The soldiers of the city likely had little, if any real training beyond basic weapons and law. Not so with our group, both Ulanion and I were old hands at killing things that needed to die, and all of the waystation employees were given some combat training, just in case.

We also lucked out that the large amount off blood on the ground seemed to be attracting the silver snakes. If they'd spread throughout the city dealing with them would have been neigh impossible. With each body on the pile more and more of them came, a feeding frenzy. Until they stopped, their numbers depleted as the last few fell, not even trying to flee, but still attempting to get in and attack us.

Everyone was exhausted by the end of it though, several bending over to gasp and pant while others still looked on edge, eyes scanning for more enemies. I didn't hesitate to move forward to help the injured, some of which were bleeding quite badly. There were more varied wounds than I'd expected, with bites, and cuts, along with some who'd just been hit by the speeding monster's bodies and had bones broken by a whipping tail or whatnot.

"Are these things poisonous?" I asked Sloan, the younger male of the local bard pair.

"Venomous," he ejected before breathing in to continue.

"Venom is a poison jackass, now answer the question." I was not in a mood for grammar lessons from the local himbo.

"Yes, but not enough to worry about. We should focus on the other injuries first," his mother helpfully told me from the side.

"Thank you."

In the end there were five dead, eight injured enough that we only stabilized them, and over a dozen with less critical wounds. Nobody was trained in triage, and while there were three healers, it just wasn't enough. I got looks when I passed over a man coughing blood to treat two who were bleeding badly, but could be definitely saved, and it felt horrible like it always would. They didn't question it though, only looking on with narrowed eyes as I went about my work.

The mayor saw me, but waited until I finished with the healing before asking for a word.

"You're a caster," he said after we returned to his home.

He'd been at the melee, along with one of his sons. Their mail armor was old and slightly rusted, but among the only pieces in the town, their swords, more like parade weapons of display pieces than blades meant for battle, but they'd been here, and that counted for a lot.

"I am," I answered.

"You didn't tell me, you said you weren't a noble..."

"I did not, and I am not a noble."

"You've been out of the town for days, keeping your secrets and consulting none. I need to know, did you have a hand in this disaster? I need to know what happened?" He was on edge, clearly not ready for this kind of situation.

"I did, though this result was unanticipated in the extreme. As for what happened, I'm afraid I cannot tell you, and can only ask that you extend your trust a bit further," I tried to keep myself calm, but truth be told, we were all out of our depth.

"My people are dead, and others might well join them by nightfall, and you want me to trust you!? None of this has happened before, not like this, and you want me to just act as if it's of no issue? I thought the empire was different, I thought you cared about the people, and now this!" His hand thrust forward to grab at my shirt.

Physical magic users were so fast it was like they didn't move sometimes. Ulanion wasn't as strong as my father, and I suspected even my brother would outperform him in many ways, but he was no slouch. Before the formerly controlled mayor could touch me the man found himself slammed against a nearby wall, the plaster cracking where he struck.

"I understand you are angry, and in pain. I understand you need an outlet for it Mallowsweet, but we are not your enemies, and I will not permit you to put hands on her. Am I understood?" Ulanion's voice was firm, but calm, making it clear that he bore the man no real ill will.

"The empire is different," I said. "You and your people were never disposable, and never supposed to be in this mess. When things went wrong, I did what I could to keep you away from it all, away from the danger while we worked to set it right. Because there are things out there you don't need to be involved with, that could bring ruin onto your town. We didn't abandon you, we did what we could to protect you."

"You expect me to believe that! I saw you turn away while Jacob drowned in his own blood!" He must have known the man from earlier, known him well.

"When time, and resources are limited, you have to focus on those who will die, but who can absolutely be saved. It's... never good, but it saves the most lives in the worst situations," I answered, and I could see the pain on his face. He knew it was the truth, but it was easy to blame me for all that had happened, and not totally wrong. "For what it is worth, I am sorry."

"As if that changes anything at all! Very well, do what you will, you've already made it abundantly clear that you can. Though if there is any decency in you, you'll leave me and mine out of it." Ulanion let him slip away and stalk out after that.

As he slammed the door I sank into a nearby chair and buried my face in my hands. How had things gone so wrong?