Triple Strength

238. Heroes: Wiremu

We are going to get a medal when we get to Waiouru. Two, actually, but one will be public and one private. The public one will be for taking out the notorious bandits Dragons Breath, which has plagued the area for decades. It comes with a financial reward on top of the Mercenary Guild Bounty.

The private one is for stopping the invasion of Skog, but no one is admitting that was a thing, so we everything around it is hush-hush. That one is the Kingdom's highest award, but it doesn’t come with any other perks. I guess when I wear it, people have to treat me with respect or something.

Tabitha says I need to decide who is actually going to get the award. It can’t be Wiremu Hunter, as he has this massive bounty on him, and I will be identified and targeted. It is probably best not to be Wild Bill, as this was to be my main disguise into the Empire. It could be Dianne Prints, as she is a known associate of the Countess Auditor. The Kingdom recognises Quinn Fletcher, as they gave me that ID. I can get a new ID as long as I do it before we leave Skog. While she is Acting Duchess, she can create ID’s for free. I know she has made herself a couple of extras. I am leaning toward Quinn being the hero.

Kelda is very pleased. She might be going home maimed for life, definitely scarred for life, but she is going home a hero, or heroine in her case, even though she can’t talk about it. She hasn’t said directly, but from how she talks, she is probably heading home to Hrothgar after we have been in Waiouru. It is starting to depress me, but I don’t want our last few weeks together to spoil. I want to make them memorable for us both.

Two weeks after Krov’ left, we also left Skrog and rode for Waiouru. We rode slowly as Kelda was still building stamina after her convalescence.

“Mayakku,” I grabbed her attention, “I understand you and Cōmpēṟi got a Monster Kill. You never did tell us about your new Specialisation Class.”

Mayakku was looking a bit reluctant.

Tabitha added, “You have been hiding away with various materials. What did you get?”

Mayakku was riding Cōmpēṟi in the centre of our group. Colonel Peters would not let us go without an escort, so we had a captain, a lieutenant, and two ten-person squads as escorts. It was the smallest he would go. There was one squad ahead of us and one behind, but we had a bit of privacy with a gap between us. The Army horses really didn’t like getting too close to Cōmpēṟi and Težka. I figured that by the end of the two-week journey, they will be just starting to get comfortable with them.

“I got a specialisation called Flesh Enchanting. I didn’t even know you could enchant living flesh. I thought it was only possible to enchant nonliving things, metal, stone, leather, cloth, etc. It is very complicated. I need different inks, or it won’t last. The runes need to be carefully chosen as well. There may have been an accident or two as I tried it,” She glanced at Astrid.

“Don’t look at me, girl. Patient confidentiality is a basic rule for us healers.”

“You may have noticed that Cōmpēṟi is no longer wearing the bands around his feet with the sharpened enchantment.”

“We figured he didn’t need it with his affinity,” Tabitha said.

“That’s true, but I also have learned to enchant his claws directly,” then she said quietly, “and mine.”

“Wow. That must be incredible. What else can you enchant?” I asked.

“Nothing yet. It is what I know best. I have tried Toughen Hide, but the skin became inflexible, and we had to cut it out. I am not sure if it is the ink or if I need to alter the Rune slightly. Possibly both.”

“What Skill did you get with the Class?” I asked.

“Analyse Flesh. It helps me to know what sort of enchantment might work or, more commonly, what won’t work.”

“Can you practice on corpses so you don’t kill yourself?” Tabitha asked.

“Fresh corpses, possibly. It is something else I need to experiment with.”

“I’ll go hunting later and see what I can bring back,” I said.

It was overcast on the sixth day of travel when Kelda suddenly yelled, “Stop! Ambush ahead!”

Captain Ashbee didn’t hesitate to ask questions. She immediately blew the whistle for defensive formation 3. I guess she thought if it was a false alarm, it was good practice. The front squad immediately stopped, dismounted and formed a defensive line. The rear squad closed on us and dismounted, forming around us.

“There is a rock escarpment 100m to the left,” Keld said to her.

The Captain immediately had us moving through the bush toward the escarpment. There was a flurry of movement ahead of us as the ambushers realised they had been seen and moved to reposition. They didn’t run away, so they were not weak bandits. They might be stupid bandits.

“How did you know?” I asked Kelda.

“A number of small things, but nothing I can really point to. It made me use Seek Hidden, and then I knew.”

“Keep following those small clues or intuition.”

She nodded, knowing I thought that might lead to the Oracle-type classes.

We got the rock escarpment to our backs. The horses were corralled in the centre, and a line of soldiers in a semi-circle.

I noticed a slight change in the brightness of the day, and Tabitha said, “There are fifty of them.” Tabitha had remained mounted on Dusk, Modrica mounted on Težka next to her. Everybody else had dismounted.

“That’s a neat skill,” said Commander Olga as she stepped out of the trees with five other Blood Bitches identified by their collars.

“It is only counting. I am sure you can find someone to teach you how to count,” Tabitha replied.

Several of the Bitches snarled at Tabitha for that. Olga ignored the remark and said, ”I was wondering who we would capture. Would it be the airheaded noble or the cunning commander?”

“Neither of those people are here,” said Tabitha as she started trimming her nails with her Blacksteel knife.

The implication was lost on Olga, who said, “As the lady said, there are fifty of us. All of us Blood Bitches.” They stepped out to be visible, trying to intimidate us. It might have worked on some of the soldiers, but they were a well-disciplined group.

I moved forward to Tabitha and Modrica and stood between the Dusk and Težka, feeling dwarfed by them. No offence, Runa and Astrid. They sheltered me from being seen by most of the Bitches. Tāoke was making his way through the bush to come up behind the wolfkin.

I spoke quietly and quickly to Tabitha and Modrica while the Bitches were posturing. “This is a problem. There is a pack bond from Krov’ flowing with Blood Affinity. The life energy from 200 Bitches flows to Krov’ and out to any who need it. They can probably regrow limbs and organs in minutes. Killing the brain is the only sure way to kill them. The collars are to protect against decapitation, and I would bet their Tough Hide is Masters Level or close.”

“Shit,” Tabitha said.

She knew she would have trouble cutting through a Tough Hide. Physical Strength was never her best area. Tabitha’s main role will be controlling the environment with her shadows. Modrica and Težka will be fine if she bashes the head and Težka rips them apart properly. Cōmpēṟi can also rip them apart with his sharpened sharp claws. Liten could burrow into the brain with her acid bite. Tāoke, Puia and I will be fine, but everyone else will struggle. The soldiers will die.

The Bitches moved into some sort of intimidating tribal dance, which gave me a chance to warn the Captian and the others. The dance culminated in an intimidating combined howl. I wasn’t even paying attention to them, and I was intimidated.

Olga stepped forward again, “We could kill you all. The hardest part will be the pets, and that won’t be so hard. But we only want one thing.” She pointed to Tabitha, “Give me her head, and we will let you live. If you want to try to be heroes, you will just end up dying. You have got ten minutes to deliver her or just her head. Ten minutes, or until I get bored, whichever comes first.”

That got a few chuckles from some of the Bitches. I guess Olga wasn’t known for her patience.