"Kill them all!" Rand cried, charging the temporarily blinded men.
The battle-mage tried to stop him, but the dwarven warrior was too fast. Even Tiana attacked. The nobleman and his men charged forward, swinging their swords despite being unable to see. Rand cut down one man-at-arms, while Tiana gut-stuck another. Fergus began peppering them with arrows.
"Don't kill them!" Killum cried. "They're nobles!"
Too late. Fergus accumulated five kills with five arrows. Rand and Tiana each claimed a kill, too. But Lord Seth shook off the blindness quickly, and smashed Rand's axe aside. He was thrusting at the dwarf's heart when Killum lunged forward, parried his blade, and sliced open the nobleman's throat with his backstroke.
"Oh shit," Killum said. "What are the chances we can get away with killing a nobleman and his bodyguards without getting hanged?"
"Loot them, and then let's get out of here," Tiana said. "We can meet Asha on the road into town."
They had just enough time to cut off the eight dead men's purses when a squad of soldiers marched through the front door. The battle-mage counted fifteen men, all heavily armed and armored. Their officer stepped forward, looking the bloody scene over as he shook his head.
He looked up at Killum. "Are you the leader?"
"I guess," he said.
"Who started it?"
"They did," Tiana said. "Killum tried really hard to avoid a fight."
"It's true," Alisara said. She stood up from behind an overturned table. "Lord Seth heard they were asking questions about his lost castle, and you know how he feels about that."
The Officer of the Watch nodded, but gave Killum a stern look. "There's still a fine for fighting inside the city walls and a clean-up tax."
The Watch took all eight purses, and the dead mens' arms and armor. Killum found it interesting the fine and tax equaled all of their foes' worldly possessions. So he and his friends gained nothing from the fight.
"Let's get out of here before trouble finds us again," Killum said.
Chapter 25
The mouthwatering smell of roasting meat filled the early morning air. The cold clung to her bare skin, forcing the sorceress to curl up close to the fire. Then a rustling sound, followed by the crack of breaking wood, roused Asha from her sleep.
Asha rose up on one elbow, facing the fire, while she knuckled sleep from her tired eyes. Deidra was busy feeding their campfire with small branches she was snapping into six inch lengths. A skinned rabbit was spitted over the first. To the ranger's side was a pair of wide leaves with small piles of wild vegetables.
"Why is it so cold?"
"It's not really all that cold. Maybe upper 60s," Deidra said. "I guess if feels cold because of how hot it was when we went to sleep."
The elven sorceress converted Deidra's "upper 60s" to 20 degrees Celsius. It felt colder than that, but she was barely covered in her Elven Sorceress Dress, while the ranger was covered head to toe in her soft ranger leathers. The outfit was Bound to Deidra so returned to her on a command shortly after they escaped, just as Asha's elven sorceress dress could never truly be taken away.
I need to get a set of warm clothes for early morning, Asha thought. Maybe furs.
"How far is Knaresburg?"
Deidra looked northward and frowned in concentration. "About two hours ride."
"We should've continued on last night instead of stopping to camp," she said. "A room in an inn would've been so much nicer."
"I didn't realize we were so close until I went hunting his morning," the ranger said. "And Knaresburg is bigger, and more dangerous, than Oxenbluff. It is not as safe to spend the night outside of the town's walls. We were safer here."
Asha frowned. She used to not worry about being safe. The sorceress thought others should worry about her.
"For every positive in this realm, there are two negatives."
Deidra chuckled. "Truth."
"Is it true? Are we stuck in this realm of the Game forever?"
"Pretty much," Deidra said, concentrating more on checking the meat. "Breakfast is ready."
"You don't seem too concerned."
The elven ranger shrugged as she tore off a hind leg and placed it on one of the two wide leaves. "I like it here. My life sucked in the real world. I'm living my dream in this world."
Deidre handed the leaf piled with meat and veggies to her. Asha accepted it gratefully, because the hunger pains were starting to make themselves known.
"But you were captured and about to be sold into sexual slavery," Asha said. "It seems awful easy for our idyllic lives to take nasty turns."
Deidra tore off the other hind leg, and sank her teeth into it. Pure bliss spread across her lovely face as she savored the juicy meat. Her low moan of pleasure spurred Asha into taking a bite, and it was just as delicious as the other elfmaid made it sound.
"Interesting," Deidra said. "I know you just well enough to know you are Indian, and I didn't think Indians were allowed to eat meat."
The sorceress gave her a look. Why give her meat if she didn't think she'd eat it? Was it a test or something? And why did everyone seem so concerned about what she could and couldn't eat or drink?
"Some aren't, but I actually can," she said. "And even if I were a vegetarian, this is delicious. You are a great cook."
Asha also enjoyed the wild carrots, greens she didn't recognize, and some nuts and berries. The ranger's foraging skills were amazing. To her surprise, Asha ate every bite. She normally didn't eat so much, but she needed it.
"Shall we go into Knaresburg now? Killum, Tiana, Fergus, and Rand will love seeing you."
"Sorry, Ash, but this is where we part company," she said. Deidra pointed to the east. "I live about four hours ride that way. It's a thriving Elven Community." She wagged her brows at the elven sorceress. "You'd be welcome to join the Community, but not your friends. You should think about it, because being part of a Community provides certain benefits."
"Like what?"
Deidra reached over and touched the wound on Asha's left forearm. The ranger closed her eyes, whispered something, and Asha felt a tingling under her bandages.
"I'm not a spellcaster of any sort, but my Community gives me the ability to heal," the ranger said. "Go ahead, remove the bandages."
There was no pain, so Asha did as she bid. She unwrapped the bloody strips of cloth to find smooth skin. No wound. Not even a scar.
"You can buy a spell to do that, but it will cost a lot of mana every time you use it, while I only needed four mana to perform that," Deidra said. "It's good to be part of a Community, and especially an Elven Community. All elves are magical."
The ranger explained how it worked. Her Community lived in homes high up in massive oaks. They farmed and hunted and fished for their food. Everyone shared the work and rewards equally. Indeed, Deidra even winked and said they shared their mates.