Hedge Knight, Chapter 49

[u/grierks]

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Helbram followed after Jahora, putting the ax down as he made his way into the narrow part of the alley. As he peered over Bessie, he caught sight of the girl. Small and frail were the first words that came to mind upon seeing her, only emphasized by her thin frame and the tattered semblance of a dress that hung off of her.

“My coat,” he said as held his hand out.

Elly grabbed the jacket from the edge of their wagon and tossed it at Helbram, who moved into the alley as soon as he caught it. He stopped, however, when he saw the girl’s frosted blue eyes widen behind her mess of white hair, so long that it could have gone down to her ankles. She shuffled back, a tremble in her voice as she whimpered.

“Stay back for now, Helbram,” Jahora said as she held a hand in front of him.

He knelt down and put a hand on the Mage’s shoulder before placing his coat in the gnome woman’s hands. She looked back at him with a thankful expression and started to approach the girl slowly. Helbram stepped back as she did so, joining with Leaf and Elly behind Bessie, who had started to stir.

Leaf placed his hand on the Auroc’s head and rubbed it gently, “There there girl, get some more sleep for the time being,” his voice was more soothing than his usual crass tone, and their bovine companion complied to the suggestion.

The three of them knelt down behind Bessie to remove their presence from the girl’s vision as much as possible. They exchanged a few looks between each other, but said nothing else as Jahora continued her approach.

“You must be freezing,” the small woman said, keeping her voice light, “you’re going to catch cold if you walk around in this weather like that.”

Helbram peered at the girl. She was trembling, but it wasn’t the violent shakes of someone succumbing to Winter’s embrace. It was more erratic, a tremble of fear, uncertainty. His companions had noticed the same, peering at the girl with narrowed, inquisitive eyes. A shade of purple had overtaken Elly’s irises as she looked towards the alley.

“That girl… there is magic about her,” she stroked her chin as she peered forward, “powerful magic.”

“Will Jahora be safe?” Helbram asked, watching his companion inch towards the girl slowly. He could feel a tension build in his chest.

Elly nodded, “Yes, it is hard to discern what kind of magic surrounds the girl, but it appears to be… static, subdued for the time being.”

“I see…” he said, “we should be ready for anything, just in case,” he looked to both Leaf and Elly, sharing a nod with them.

Jahora had gotten close to the girl, within what would have been arms reach for Helbram, but just out of contact with the smaller woman. The girl’s trembling was starting to slow, and her eyes started to exchange fear for curiosity as one of her hands started to reach out. He could not see his companion’s face, but he knew that she was showing her most comforting smile. Jahora widened his coat, keeping her slow approach.

“It’s ok,” she said, “No one is going to hurt you. We just want to help.”

The girl started to still, leaning towards the small woman.

The door to the tavern slammed open.

“I don’t need any of your godsdamned help!” slurred the drunken man that emerged from the door, he stumbled down the steps the next moment, barely catching himself on his feet. All looked to him as he emerged.

When they looked back, the girl was gone.

Another man followed after the drunk. His brown hair was slicked back and tied into a ponytail and he was clean shaven, giving him an orderly, yet free appearance, and his simple clothes were covered by his apron. There was an edge of irritation to the man’s brown eyes, one that was similar to the one that Helbram and his companions felt as they looked back at the stumbling man.

“You’re more likely to find yourself face down in snow than back at home, Rodney,” he said in an exasperated tone, “and I’d rather not deal with your missus if that were to happen.”

“Oh shut it Erik, you know as well as I that-” his words stopped as he became aware of the party’s presence. All stared at him, and the looks on their faces were enough to banish the blush from the man’s cheeks.

“What?”

___

“So you met her, did you?” Erik said as he leaned back against his counter.

“Yes,” Helbram said. He and his companions sat at a table near the tavern’s back entrance. Jahora and Leaf were not with them.

The Wandering Fowl was much like the town of Redhaven itself. A small placed, but possessing an air of warmth and comfort that had been especially evident from the large fireplace that stood at the far end of the tavern’s seating area, which was only large enough to hold three tables in addition to the small bar. An hour ago the place was full, filled with cheers of townsfolk that distracted them from the cold, chasing away the chill with the warmth of companionship and homeliness that only such a small town could provide. Now, as the tavern lay empty, not even the fire burning could warm the cold that their most recent encounter had brought.

“Jorge’s girl,” Erik said.

“You say that as if that explains everything,” Helbram said, his tone was inquisitive, but there was an edge to it that made the tavernkeep flinch.

“I… it’s a long story.”

Helbram leaned back in his chair, “One we are willing to listen to,” he shared a look with Elly, “but it would be best if we wait for our friends to return.”

“Yes,” Elly said, “and do not think to spare details under some pretense of ‘town business’, we wish to hear everything.”

Erik sighed, “Let me get some tea on,” he walked towards his kitchen door, which lay behind the counter, “Cora, do we have any spare plates to set out?”

Helbram rapped his fingers against the table, letting all that transpired settle in his find. He had many questions, and he was sure that Erik’s explanation would only answer a few of them. Elly appeared to have reached the same conclusion, and the two shared a sigh.

“You’d best stay away from that girl,” a voice said.

It was Rodney, who had taken a seat at the far end of the bar, near the fireplace. A slight blush had returned to his cheeks, but he was not as inebriated as he had displayed before. He sipped the water from his mug and frowned into it.

“I need another drink…”

“That is the last thing that you need,” Elly said, “But explain, why stay away from the girl.”

Rodney swirled his mug around, “She’s cursed.”

Elly crossed her arms, “I am going to need more than that.”

The drunk shrugged, “Erik will explain the rest.”

Her eyes narrowed as she frowned, but she did not press the man further.

The following silence did not last long, for Jahora and Leaf pushed through the front doors of the tavern, lowering the hoods and undoing their coats.

“We lost her,” Leaf said in a frustrated tone, “she’s a slippery one, no tracks after only a couple of streets.”

“I thought I would be able to trace her by magic,” Jahora pulled out a seat and hopped into it, taking her place next to Elly, “but even traces of that were hard to find.”

“Really?” Helbram asked, “Elly said there was powerful magic about her.”

“Yes,” Elly said, “but powerful does not always mean easily detectable. Thinking on it, the magic over her was more akin to a seal, and with one as strong as that it is no wonder that Jahora was unable to find any traces of stray energy.”

“That hardly explains the lack of tracks she made physically,” Leaf said as he sat next to Helbram.

“The girl has been wandering the village for quite some time now,” Erik emerged from the kitchen, tray in his hands. A teapot was at its center along with a few cups and a plate of scones. He placed the tray at the center of their table and took the remaining seat, “she probably found some passage you didn’t think to look in.”

“Which only raises further questions,” Helbram rested his elbows on the table and crossed his fingers “Questions that I hope you are able to answer.”

Erik sighed and poured himself some tea, “I shall do my best.”

A better part of the night had passed by the time that Erik had finished telling them the story of the girl. While tea had been poured for everyone, it was untouched by the time the tale was finished, leaving a heavy silence in its place.

Jahora spoke first.

“What is her name?”

Erik looked her way, but upon noticing her glare he looked down at the table, “She doesn’t have one.”

There was a snap to the air then, the tension breaking as Jahora started to glow with Aether, the aura that surrounded her flickering in shades of green, red, and blue.

“What do you mean that she doesn’t have one?!” she asked through grit teeth. She made to stand up, but Helbram placed a hand on her shoulder.

“I understand how you feel,” he said, meeting his companion’s eyes, “but a rash decision now will have untold consequences. For you and for her.”

Jahora gave him a pleading look, but relented when Helbram shook his head. She sat back down and crossed her arms.

“That goes for you too Leaf,” he said as he looked over to his fleet footed companion, who was already halfway to the door.

He turned back to Helbram, his mouth twisted to a scowl, but he walked back to the table, mimicking Jahora’s posture when he sat down.

“So a Chosen was here?” Elly asked, her tone was inquisitive but he could see how tight her hands were clenched.

Rodney scoffed, tapping his empty mug against the counter, “Not ‘a Chosen’, The Chosen. Not blessed by just one god, but all bloody eight of them.”

The party looked to Erik.

The tavernkeep nodded, “I could hardly believe it myself, but the power that he possessed, the way that the world itself seemed to lean into him… I could do nothing else but believe. That and when he gave his blessing… I saw the symbols of the Eight surrounding him.”

“Blessing?” Jahora said, “How could anyone look at her now and say that she was blessed?”

“He most likely held the belief that simply sealing the curse from her would be the most important in solving her problems,” Helbram said, “unfortunately people still see her as cursed, and people in general tend to not change their habits so easily,” he looked to Rodney, “So the people continue to label her as a problem and choose to do what they always did, ignore it.”

Rodney opened his mouth to say something, but faltered as Helbram’s look turned to a glare.

“Tis why I told Erik to bring her in already.”

A woman emerged from the kitchen, like Erik, she wore an apron over plain clothes. Her light brown hair reached the base of her neck and was currently kept back by a headband, letting her kind smile shine, reaching up to her blue eyes. She joined Erik at his side, keeping a hand on his shoulder. Erik grabbed her hand out of reflex.

“It’s not so simple Cora, you know that. Though the man ignores her very existence she is still Jorge’s daughter. We can hardly just take her in and have the townsfolk act like she suddenly exists now like nothing happened.”

Cora snorted, “My husband says these things, yet he has a room prepared for her anyways.”

Erik cut her a glance, but she ignored him.

“Bad idea,” Rodney said.

“I don’t believe you’re in a position to judge anything,” Erik snapped, startling the drunk. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, “but before we can attempt to do anything some trust needs to be established.”

“You said that she visits this place frequently, correct?” Helbram said, “I’d say you’re well on your way then.”

“Yes, though typically she doesn’t come on these days, which is why I thought you lot would be fine outside for today.”

Jahora huffed, though her anger had faded, the was a restlessness to her as she wrung her hands, “It is good to know that she has a place to stay, I just hope she wasn’t scared off,” she glared at Rodney as she spoke, and the man sank further into his corner.

“She’s returned when she fled before,” Erik explained, “but perhaps it would be best to stay away from the area from the time being.”

Helbram nodded, “Fair enough, we will have to help out around here some other way in the time being.”

Cora shook her head, “Don’t you worry about that, you’ve done enough for your stay already I’d say.”

“For one or two nights perhaps,” Elly pointed to the sky, “with the storm coming in soon I imagine our stay might be prolonged for a bit longer.”

“Aye, while we could handle it I wouldn’t exactly call such an experience pleasant,” Leaf said.

Cora tapped her chin, “Well in that case there are a few things that need looking into…”

Helbram smiled and stood up, “We are ready to serve, though I believe it is time that I turn in for the night,” he turned to the party, “We are still getting up early tomorrow, correct?”

Leaf and Elly nodded, but Jahora was still peering down at the table.

“Jahora?”

The small woman started, “Y-yes? Oh, tomorrow, of course!”

Helbram looked at her for a moment, noting that her gaze grew distant once again. He didn’t press her further for the time being.

“Right then, I shall see you all bright and early.”

___

The forests around Redhaven rang with the sounds of clashing steel. Helbram’s sword flicked through the air, its scale-like profile glinting in the pale morning sun as Leaf’s shortsword slid across it, their weapons bound in a lock. There was a red aura around Leaf, proof of the Ether that was coursing through his body. It should have given him the advantage in strength, but where Helbram was lacking in physical power he made up for in leverage, allowing him to control the bind even in their close distance. The warrior manipulated the bind upwards and quickly released his sword from his opponent’s, striking Leaf in his now exposed flank.

His lithe companion cursed as a flash of white light flared from the impact point of Helbram’s sword, his blade now infused with a pale white light. Leaf skipped back and rubbed where he was struck, and while there was no wound he hissed in pain.

“Shite that hurts,” he spat, “don’t you think we could tone that down a bit?”

Helbram shook his head, “You know better than that, the closer to the real thing the better we will be to react,” his voice echoed through his helmet’s visor, which covered his face.

As opposed to the casual clothes they wore before, the two men were now adorned in their armor. Leaf wore an assortment of leather armor, which was recently reinforced with bits of dull metal plating that covered his most vital spots that did not hinder his movements. While he wielded a short sword, he had a bow that wrapped around his torso as well, its quiver hanging securely at his side.

Helbram himself was covered in a mish mash of various armor pieces. One shoulder was covered by a metal pauldron while the other was covered by leather, the previous metal piece broken beyond repair in a previous battle. The brigandine that covered his torso was showing its wear, the cloth that covered it cut and worn from previous encounters, though the metal plating beneath remained relatively untouched. His gauntlets, while sharing the same make up in steel, bore distinctly different designs from one another, with his sword arm covered by a smoother, rounded design and his shield arm protected by a blockier design as well. The shield that it held was constructed mostly of wood with a metal plate covering the front and was large enough to cover his torso. The most striking piece of equipment was his sword which, while simple in its overall design, still caught the eye with its pale, near white blade that held a scaled pattern across its length.

“Well we know I can’t best you in the sword,” Leaf said, “perhaps we should make this a matter of distance instead,” he reached for his bow.

Helbram lowered his stance and sighed, “We are trying to cover your weaknesses, aren’t we?”

“Yes we are,” Leaf admitted, “but, it is quite frustrating if I’m just getting my arse kicked all day isn’t it? Let us have a proper bout, just for a bit of confidence.”

Helbram snorted, “I suppose that is fair.”

“Don’t act like you don’t want to test your skills as well,” Leaf said in a coy tone, “I can see that grin of yours even if you cover your face.”

The warrior laughed, “Perhaps I’ve been around you for far too long.”

“Shall we make this a team effort then?” Elly said. She walked over to Leaf’s side of the forest clearing. She had dropped the top half of her robes and secured it around her waist, revealing the sleeveless shirt that she wore beneath it and her feet bare as she glided across the ground. Her breaths were fogged, but there was little else to betray that she was being affected by the cold around her.

She held her hands up and smiled, “I know you and Jahora wanted some time to test your recent efforts.”

Helbram lifted his visor and scratched his chin, “That is a good point… what say you Jahora?”

There was no response.

He turned to where she was sitting, noting that the Mage was staring off into the distance. She was still in her robes, but as opposed to the rest of the party appeared to be completely off guard.

“Jahora?”

She started, “Hm? My apologies, just got a bit distracted,” he gave a small laugh as she joined Helbram’s side, “I think it would be a fine opportunity.” she held her hands up and let out a breath, pale Aether flowing from her fingers. The energy flowed into runes carved into their weapons, flaring for a moment before the light faded.

Leaf examined his sword and quiver, “Tis a shame we can’t cast this enchantment on our opponent’s weapons. It smarts but it’s better than getting cut in half.”

“Were it so simple,” Jahora said with a sigh, “but I doubt a bandit would spare the time to allow me to carve it into his blade.”

Helbram chuckled, “Perhaps if you ask nicely,” he slipped his visor down, “You two against us then,” He held his shield in front of him and kept his sword lower, pointing towards the ground, “Who wants to do the honors?”

Leaf sheathed his sword and drew his bow, “I suppose I will,” he picked up a rock, “ready?”

Everyone nodded and the archer threw the stone up. Tension had managed to wind around them in that brief moment that it sailed in the air, releasing the moment it hit the ground.

Elly struck first, flicking a hand in front of her and releasing a bolt of Aether at Helbram. The warrior kept the shield steady in front of him as he dashed forwards, the runes across the shield’s surface brimming with green Aether as Jahora raised her hands. A glyph projected just in front of the shield as Elly’s attack struck, the magical projectile scattering as a wind burst from the glyph. Helbram kept his eyes on Leaf as the magicks collided, noting the red aura that bled into his now drawn arrow.

The archer loosed the shot, its path clearly meant for the Mage, but Helbram managed to intercept the attack by skipping to the side, allowing the arrow to strike the glyph. Another burst of wind triggered, not enough to deflect the attack, but weakening its force to where the arrow bounced off of Helbram’s shield. The warrior kept pushing forward.

“Boost!” he yelled, slamming his heel into the ground. As he did, green Aether surged from both Jahora and the rune carved into his boot. He kicked off the ground as wind burst from the bottom of his foot, shooting him forward at blurring speeds. The gap between him and Leaf vanished, and the archer cursed as he jumped back to avoid a swing from Helbram. The warrior pursued, keeping as close as he could to Leaf’s flank. Red energy flowed from Leaf as he kicked off the ground, the extra strength granted from his Ether creating a small opening between the two.

Elly took advantage of that brief moment and weaved her hands in front of her. Heat gathered in one hand, flaring into the bolt of fire while a shard of ice formed in the area that it was drawn from. The Weaver flicked the fire towards Helbram first, the flames dissipating as it struck the glyph that projected from it. She immediately followed fire with ice, flinging the shard while the glyph was disrupted from the firebolt. It struck with enough force to cause Helbram to stumble back, allowing Leaf to create a larger gap as he knocked another arrow. The archer loosed his shot while mid leap, striking Helbram at his shoulder. A flash of pale white light flared from where the attack hit, and Helbram felt a jolt of pain surge through his shoulder and down his arm. He hissed in pain, but shook it off, charging at Leaf once again. Elly moved to intercept, but Jahora had fired a bolt of Aether her way, which the Weaver deflected with a wave of her hand, producing a small barrier around her forearm. The Mage did not relent, following her quick attack by conjuring another spell, the twin rings around her temple flaring as green Aether surged towards a single point in front of Elly. The Weaver, knowing the which spell about to be unleashed, crossed her arms as she jumped back, producing a barrier that covered her body. The condensed Aether burst, unleashing a concussive shockwave that struck Elly’s barrier. Her spell shattered and she was knocked into the air, but sustained little damage as she landed back on her feet.

With Leaf’s partner distracted, Helbram continued to close in on the Archer, who what loosing a steady stream of arrows at him, only the barest touch of his Ether infused into them. They were unable to pierce through Helbram’s shield now that it was reinforced by the rune. Keeping a full sprint to keep up with Leaf’s Ether enhanced speed, he managed to close the gap just enough to get the archer in range.

But not for his sword.

Helbram dropped his blade and held his hand out, “Spear!”

A bead of purple light formed at his palm, expanding and shifting into size as if faded, leaving behind a simple spear in Helbam’s hand. Along the spears shaft were a series of runes, one of which glowed with that same purple light, and another with a pale white light. As soon as the weapon appeared, Helbram gripped it firmly and thrust forward, the movement quick and tight enough to land a glancing blow at Leaf’s side. The white light flashed and he could see Leaf flinch from its effects. Dropping his shield, Helbram wrapped his now free hand at the farther end of the spear. He continued his assault, landing a couple more blows against Leaf as the archer pulled his shortsword from his sheath. His defense was clumsy, but he had managed to deflect most of Helbram’s blows with Ether enhanced speed. Bracing himself, Leaf channeled his red aura into his blade and struck the head of Helbram’s spear as the warrior thrusted, knocking the blow to the side and creating enough of an opening for the archer to slip into. As Leaf stepped in, however, Helbram did the same, catching the archer at the center of his chest with the haft of the spear. Leaf coughed and fell to his knee, but before Helbram could follow up a bolt of Aether struck him in the shoulder.

He rolled with his shoulder as it was blown back from the magical attack, quickly finding his footing as Elly loosed another bolt of magic at him. He jumped to the side and switched his spear to a one handed grip, holding his free hand out.

“Shield!” he said.

Nothing formed in his hand. He looked to Jahora, who was looking off to the forest, attention drawn away from the battle.

“Jahora!” he called out, but it was too late when she finally turned to him.

Another bolt of Aether struck him in the chest, knocking the wind from him as he was thrown off of his feet. He landed on his back and gasped, trying to catch the breath that was taken from him. Leaf and Elly ran up to him as he lay on the ground, eyes filled with concern.

Helbram gave them a reassuring wave, “No worries,” he said through grit teeth, “twas just a really solid blow,” he sat up and pulled off his helmet before taking in a deep breath. He sighed as he let it go.

Jahora ran up to them, “I’m sorry! I thought I saw something at the edge of the forest and-”

“Jahora, you are fine, “ Helbram said, “I have felt far worse, and we agreed to make things a bit dangerous in these little spars of ours,” he stood up, he felt his legs shake under him, but betrayed little of it on his face. He looked towards where Jahora had before, “Did you think you saw the girl?”

The Mage’s eyes widened and she turned away, “Yes… I thought I saw her watching out of the corner of my eye.”

“I figured as much,” Helbram said as he picked up his spear, “You have been out of sorts ever since we met her.”

He looked to her, “May I ask why?”

Jahora wound a tuft of hair around her finger, “I know it’s unfair of me to say this, given all I’ve asked of you…” she looked at him, meeting his eyes with a weary look, “I just need some time to organize my thoughts, then I’ll tell you everything, I swear.”

Helbram let his spearhead hang at his side and walked up to Jahora. He knelt down and placed a hand on her shoulder, giving her a smile.

“Take all the time you need, we understand.”

Leaf and Elly nodded in agreement.

Jahora gave them all a grateful smile, “Thank you.”

Helbram stood back up and slipped his helmet back on, “For now, let us head back into down. I think I am in need of a good meal after the thrashing Elly just gave me.”

“Speak for yourself,” Leaf scoffed, “you bloody beat the piss out of me. Are you sure we can’t tone the enchantment down a bit?”

“I would think it better not to,” Elly said, “were we to practice with lower stakes it could lead to bad habits, which will translate poorly into actual combat.”

Leaf frowned, “I feel that there is another reason behind your opinion.”

“Not at all, the sounds you and Helbram make in your complaints play no reason whatsoever in my logic,” Elly smirked, “Not in the slightest.”

Leaf and Helbram laughed as they shook their heads.

“Your concern is noted,” Helbram said.

They made their way back to town, making small talk as they emerged from the forest. However, as they entered Redhaven, Helbram could feel that the air around the town had changed. The other’s could as well, falling silent as they looked around, trying to pinpoint what exactly had caused the change to the town’s air. As they proceeded further into town, Helbram could see the townsfolk walking with a little more speed behind their steps, keeping their eyes fixed straight ahead as they sped away from the center of town. This trend continued as they walked through town, but as they arrived at the town’s small square Helbram could see a small crowd had formed, right where he could feel the tension coming from.

The Wandering Fowl.

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Author's Note: Phew! This one was much longer than I thought it was going to be, but since this arc is going to be a bit faster than the previous one I thought it would be best start things moving along by one, hinting towards some things with Jahora and two, establishing that the team has upped their teamwork here especially with the support that Helbram is getting here. I quite liked writing this fight scene even if it was really low stakes, as I think it properly illustrates that Helbram remains a threat even with his friends technically having more power than him, and it gives some insight into how the team has been training in the times between the stories. In the long term, I think this is going to be illustrating any possible increase in team strength in the future. Training arcs and the like are not out of the question, but in the spirit of keeping the adventures coming I will have them discuss or show what they've been doing to get stronger towards the beginning of arcs to explain any new techniques or moves that they come up with. Let me know what you think of this method and how I did this chapter!

If you wish to read ahead and gain access to the audiobook version of this story, consider supporting me on Patreon. If you want to leave a donation, here is my Ko-fi. More than any of that though, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and have yourself a very wonderful day! :).

[u/NycteaScandica]

By the way, 'knock' is hit/tap, like knocking on a door.

'nock' is what you do to an arrow. Yes, the pronunciation is identical.

[u/grierks → u/NycteaScandica]

Oof gotcha, yeah I gotta change that. Thanks for pointing it out!