(Helga)
“So, it was obvious, really,” Helga said, settling into her glass of wine. “We didn’t stand a chance against that creature. It was too tough.”
She sat in the fanciest chair in the study, her feet up on Lord Vance’s table. The rest of the adventurers sat around her in vaguely horrified attention. Helga had a way of pulling vaguely horrified attention.
“I saw how little damage Fled’s arrow did, poor thing, and how quickly his little wolf went down, and I said to myself, ‘Helga, you’re not going to be a shish kebab today!’ No thanks!”
Fledinem sat further back in the room, quiet and alone, nursing a bandaged head. Helga reflected that there was a much less sociable individual.
She persevered with the story. “Fortunately, I could tell immediately that whatever this thing was, it was a clever brute, and that meant a little spell called ‘Suggestion’ would work on it. So, as my mission was simply to save our blue friend here, I decided to send the monster away.”
She leaned back, sighing grandly. “Ah, but to have killed it. I’ll have to get its soul another time. You’ll all help little old me with that, won’t you?”
She glanced around at her listeners. Ah, there was the horror again. Particularly from the dragonborn, who looked like he might be one of the only fully moral ones in the group. Marion was staring impassively, her arms folded and her face neutral, no doubt hiding her judgment. Fledinem wasn’t paying attention to his own story, his eyes staring out the window. Solstice looked openly angry – apparently that was normal for her, though.
The only one who was giving her proper attention was Bran, who was looking a little bit buzzed. Still, he apparently wasn’t too far gone, because he was able to nod certainly and say;
“Peryton. Heart eaters. Nasty lot, they’re said to have been once human, generations ago. Humanity’s long gone now though. All that’s left is in their shadows.”
Marion turned to him. “What’s in their shadows?”
Bran burped, and wiped a scarred arm on his sleeve. He had a tankard of something in his other hand. “Wee Missy here might ha’ missed it, on account of the near death an’ all, but their shadows are said to look human, not monster. Remnant of their true selves. ‘S bad that there’s one near town. They prefer human hearts.” He took a long drink of his tankard. He smelled of strong alcohol.
“So, how did you get there in time?” Dovakiin asked. “Didn’t you say you were ten minutes behind?”
Helga waved a dismissive hand. “Heh, but that was only at the start. That butler, Calli-boy, gave me a map. Much quicker to travel when you know where you’re going, hee hee!”
“Weren’t you worried about travelling in the forest?” Marion asked. “Aren’t there… things you must be careful of in there?”
Helga smirked. She allowed herself the luxury of showing off just a little bit.
Her eyes flared, and she whispered some words in the ancient tongue. The fire turned an ominous blue for a moment. Windows behind her rattled, and the door slammed under an eldritch breeze.
“Things in the forest need to be careful of me,” she smirked.
The dragonborn looked a little troubled, still, which just showed his lack of intelligence. “One thing. Did you say that it hurt Felden.. Flednerm..” His tongue twisted around the difficult word. Helga decided then and there to just call the sombre blue giant Fleddy-bear. For the good of the group.
“... Fled’s wolf?” Dovakiin continued. “Lupa, was it? What happened with her?”
Fleddy-bear winced.
“Oh,” Helga said, pausing for a moment to consider how to be the most tactful. “She died.”
***
“LUPA!” the blue giant yelled, despair filling his voice. He ran over to the still pile of fur. It wasn’t moving.
Helga put on her most comforting voice. “Well, looks like you’re going to have to get another one.”
Fledinem looked up at her with venom in his eyes.
“And take better care of it next time,” Helga cautioned. “A wolf is for life, not just for Winter Solstice.”
For some reason, the blue giant did not consider this comforting. He was leaning over the wolf’s body. To Helga’s surprise, the creature was still just about breathing. Its wounds looked bad, though. A deep gash was running up its side where the antlers had gored it. There was a lot of blood. Helga had seen dead bodies before. She knew that this was about to become another one.
“Lupa…” the giant spoke sadly. Stroking its fur. Trying to comfort the creature in its last moments. The wolf tried weakly to lift up its head to look at its master. It whined, quietly.
“Might be better to just put it out of its misery. I know a handy little spell…” Helga offered. Fledinem ignored her.
“It’s ok, friend,” Fledinem said quietly, holding the wolf close. “You’ve earned your rest.”
The wolf seemed to accept this. Its eyes shut.
And then, as it let out one final, shuddering breath, Helga watched as its spirit left its body.
She sighed. And this giant probably wouldn’t let her capture that-
Then the body shone green.
Its fur, its flesh, its claws – all were suddenly transparent and shining. Helga took a step back in shock. Fledinem seemed to be expecting this, and let go of the body, as it rose up into the air.
It dissolved, its form breaking down into pure… spirit. It seemed to flow, no longer a wolf, but something fey and curious. It danced through the air, playfully nuzzled Fledinem.
He scratched at it affectionately, his hands not truly connecting.
Then the creature seemed to draw within itself, and suddenly… wasn’t. The light was completely gone.
***
The door to the study burst open. A large wolf ran in, followed by Calliban the butler, and then finally, Lord Vance.
“Lupa!” Fleddy-bear yelled, before diving on the tricksy mutt. It licked his face affectionately. He then turned to the group.
“She didn’t die,” he protested. “Not properly. She just… needed to go back to her home to rest for a bit.”
“She was clawing at the front door,” Calliban said coldly, with the annoyance of a man who knew that that door had been in this family for generations. Lord Vance waved him aside.
“A fey creature,” Vance murmured. “Can it take other forms?”
The blue giant nodded. “Yes, but it wants to be a wolf right now.” Lupa wagged her tail happily. Helga rolled her eyes. Well, there went all the drama of her story.
“If it can come back so easily,” she said, “why were you so upset that it died in the first place?”
“Well, she was still hurt,” Fleddy-bear answered defensively. “It hurts to get stabbed. How would you like it?”
“Hmm, you might have a point, Fleddy-bear.”
“Wha-.. Fleddy-bear? I’m not-”
“That stabbing,” Lord Vance cut in, “is something we’re going to have to make sure doesn’t happen again. After a little orientation, you’re all going after that Peryton. Find out where it’s gone, and then kill it.”
He did not leave his language ambiguous this time. However, Fleddy-bear apparently noticed an implication in his words.
“All of us? You mean… because I didn’t…”
Lord Vance nodded. “Yes, Fledinem, you too. I wanted to see that you could act with a bit more restraint. This time you held back on your fire magic when you were in the middle of a flammable forest. You used discretion. I need that in my adventurers. And I certainly can’t fault your bravery, trying to take down the Peryton on your own.”
Possibly foolishness, Helga thought to herself, and then paused. She had not fully briefed Lord Vance yet on the full details of their success. Neither had Fleddy-bear, she was fairly sure. Had Lord Vance been watching, somehow?
One other thought struck her. Getting Fled to hold back in that fight nearly cost him his life. Yet Jezzy boy is praising him for it. Apparently our new ‘master’ would rather we died than besmirch the brand.
Interesting.
As the group all congratulated the blue giant on his success, Helga leaned back in Lord Vance’s chair, her eyes carefully watching the man who was hiring them. He was smiling, but he continued to wear those dark glasses, making it difficult to read his eyes.
Helga couldn’t fault him for his self-interest. But she had no intention of dying for him. This was a transactional relationship, and would only last as long as it benefitted her.
She looked around at her ‘companions’. She knew she was unlikely to become actual friends with any of them. But as long as they towed the line, as long as they did what she needed them to do, as long as they adored her…
Well, she would get along with everyone just fine.
Comments (2)
See all