Holy Opposites 15

	The old trapper thought about that.  “Magic, though, you say.”

	“Well, I suppose it could be a non-magical creature, but it would have to be able to fit between two cramped buildings, on a narrow ledge, in the middle of the night, without raising suspicion.”  Cavria raised her hands.  “We suspect magic.”

	“And it needs to be under the control of a person, or at least working for it?” Amsha asked.

	“Yes.”

	He nodded.  “Sounds like a gargoyle, to me.”

	Axio had seen gargoyles in battle before.  “They’re controllable?” he asked.

	“They can be controlled remotely, by a mage, if he knows what to do,” Amsha said.  He downed a gulp of his drink and stared into it.  “Yeah, that’s what I’d say.  They haunt the rooftops, they can manipulate tools… I’d say gargoyle.”

	The two Paladins exchanged a look.  “Got it.  Anyplace around here have a gargoyle problem lately?” Cavria asked.

	Amsha belched.  “A few.  One of the buildings that led into Undermountain, you know, the ones that got exposed during the whole Tarrasque thing,” he said, waving his hand in a vague circle.  “Some store.  Lodhart’s, I think it was.”

	“We’ll check it out.”  Axio rose to his feet and dropped some money on the bar for the drinks.  “First ones are on me,” he said, passing Amsha the change to cover his own meads.  “Thanks for your help, my friend.”

	Amsha tipped his glass and pocketed the coins.  “My pleasure.  You go put the critters to right, now.”


	Outside, Cavria rolled her shoulders and looked around.  Busy night.  There were people on the roads, even after sundown, shopping and drinking and having a good time.  This was a packed district, even now, with hundreds of soldiers making off to the campaign and families rent asunder.  “How did you know Amsha?” she asked, just to have something to say.

	“My parents hired him a lot, when I was younger,” Axio explained.  “The Ward where I grew up had a problem with Halaster Blackcloak’s experiments escaping when his portals went haywire, when the Spellplague ended.”

	“Oh, wow.”  Cavria shook her head.  “I don’t envy you that, that must have been terrifying.”

	Axio pulled a face.  “Ugh.  It really wasn’t, but it was annoying.  You had to move around the Ward in groups at night, it got so bad.  They’d call in the Guard for the real problems, but individual families were on their own.  It could have been worse,” he added as they walked away, back up to the temple.  “It could have been undead.”

	“Yeah, that’s worse.”  Cavria rubbed her hands together idly, thinking their new intelligence over.  “So… should we actually pursue this tonight?”

	“You mean, go stake out the store?” Axio asked.

	“Yes.  And maybe give this new idea to the Watch, just to keep them in the loop,” Cavria suggested.  “We’re supposed to be working together.”

	Axio scoffed.  “The Watch barely trusts us to stay out of the way.”

	Cavria caught his arm and turned him around, frowning.  “Axio.”

	He huffed in irritation.  “Fine.  We’ll drop by a Watch post on our way to the site.  Do you need to sleep tonight?”

	“No.”

	“Nor do I.  Let’s watch the place, then.”  He turned and resumed walking.  “We must be cautious.  We can see in the dark, but so can they.”

	“Have you ever killed a gargoyle?” Cavria asked.

	“Once.  It was attacking a pilgrim convoy.  Tore right through the canvas on the covered wagon,” Axio recalled with a shudder.  “The driver shot it with his crossbow, and I managed to throw it to the ground long enough for us to jump on it and pin its wings.”

	Cavria shrugged.  “My weapon is a glaive.  I can do reach, but up-close, not so much.  My javelin would work, but it only works once.”

	“Then we go right in.  We find this store, Lodhart’s, and we just walk right in,” Axio said.  “If there’s a coven of Baneites there, we’ll know in seconds.”

	His new ally looked unhappy.  “We should bring backup.”

	“What do you have in mind?”

	“I dunno, some Guards, maybe?  If there’s a Baneite coven in there, or gargoyles, or both, we shouldn’t go right in.”

	“True enough.”  Axio looked over at the market, trying to place the name to a location, and was unable to do so.  “Then… we reconnoiter it tonight, and hit it tomorrow, during the day, when the gargoyles will be more lethargic.”

	“Seems good to me.”  Cavria followed him back up to the Temple, marveling at the press of people.  “Wow.  You really grew up in the city like this?”

	“Huh?”

	“I’m not used to all these people,” Cavria admitted.  “Not living ones.”

	Axio held the door of the temple open for her and flashed her a smile.  “You’ll get used to it.”

	Inside, the two Paladins retrieved their heavier weapons and prepared to leave.  Both slung dark cloaks over their brilliantly polished armor, to keep from showing up in the night.  Cavria couldn’t conceal her glaive, so she left it behind, packing only her javelin and her own two fists.  Axio awkwardly slid his shield and sword on his back, over his cloak but under his coat.  Cavria looked at him sidelong as he did.  He must have been sweltering in that getup.  Undershirt, tunic, padding, breastplate, cape, cloak, shield, coat.  Eight layers, two of them metal.  At least he would move quietly with all that fabric padding the metal.

	Axio secured his dart under his arm, where he could draw it quickly, and turned to the exit.  “All right.  Now, let’s see… where’s that map?”

	Cavria had been studying it.  She set it down on the table and pointed it out.  “Here it is.  Abandoned silverware store.  It’s at the very eastern edge of the Trades Ward.”

	“Near where the Wall Roads are?”

	“Yes.”  Cavria pointed.  “Right up by the walls, actually.”

	Axio squinted.  “They must have already been out of business when I was a kid.  I don’t remember them at all.”  He loomed over the map, staring it down.  “Looks… there’s no real Watch presence in the area.  We should be careful.”

	“Careful, we can do.”  Axio glanced over at Cavria and peaked one platinum eyebrow.  “What?” she asked, noting his scrutiny.

	“You don’t have a blade.”

	Cavria clenched a fist.  “Trust me.  I can palm strike through solid stone,” she said proudly, cracking her knuckles.  “Besides, if we get hit by something tougher than a gargoyle, we should just withdraw entirely.  We’re here to reccie the place, not lay siege.”

	“I suppose.  Which spells do you have prepared today?” Axio asked.  “I brought Detect Magic, Lesser Restoration, Divine Favor, and Cure Wounds.”

	“I’ve got Cure Wounds and Detect Evil,” Cavria said.  “Thanks to my whole thing, neither of the Detect spells will actually show me,” she admitted, “I’m sort of… outside that definition.”

	Axio nodded sympathetically.  “I understand.”  He hefted his sword and slid it into its scabbard.  “Let’s go.”


Chapter Twelve:


	I watched the front of the store carefully.  The wind was picking up, by a lot.  In a seaside town, I supposed that was to be expected, but it was still irritating.  I slid the hood up a little higher on my head and looked over at Axio.

	He wasn’t having any problems, I noted.  Maybe having that many layers was a wise idea.  He was standing stock-still on the landing of the little side stair that snugged up between two buildings.  He didn’t blend into the darkness as well as I do, but his attention wasn’t flagging at all.  He had an intense look about him, too, as if his whole being was focused on the place.

	I looked back to the store, reassured.  It felt nice to be working with him, actually.  Beyond simply being the best of causes, he took it with absolute seriousness.  It was a sign of loyalty I appreciated.  I wasn’t as sure about this whole thing.  The Baneites were scum, and I agreed they needed to die, but I thought it would be smarter to figure out exactly what ritual they were trying to use before we-

	There.  Movement.  Our heads snapped up at the same time.  There was something moving in the windows.  Our darkvision showed us the same thing: a large object, easily the size of a man, moving quickly.

	“Good to know,” I whispered.

	He nodded.  “Speak lowly without whispering.  Whispers carry farther.”

	I lowered my voice.  “So this place isn’t abandoned.  Should we withdraw?”

	“Yes, and find out whether the place has been bought lately,” Axio replied in the same tone.  “But not quite yet.  If they take a child tonight, I want a chance to intercept them.”

	“Good thinking.”  I focused on the windows again.  “When do we leave?”

	“Sunrise.  Not before.”

	“Okay.”

	We sat in silence for another hour before we saw more movement.  This time, it was on the roofs next to the store.  We watched as a huge creature, flapping ugly wings, landed on the store’s skylight.  It fell right through like the skylight was smoke, and we saw it land inside.

	“Did it have a child?” I asked.

	“No.”  Axio relaxed against the stone.  “No child was taken tonight.  Not by those things, anyway.”

	“Should we stick around and see the place in daylight?” I asked.

	“No.  We return home, get your glaive, and inform the Watch,” Axio said decisively.  “If there was an attempt at a kidnapping tonight, they need to know, no matter how surly they are.”

	“Yes, sir.”  I straightened up and melted back into the shadows of the stairway, then circled around behind the block and walked off to the temple.  I could feel the tension.  We were about to go into battle.  We could handle a few gargoyles, I was sure, but there could be hostages in there.  I was worried, too.  What would happen if my amulet came off in battle?  How would the children react to a big red devil coming at them with a weapon?

	I gritted my teeth and forced myself to focus.  I couldn’t let Ryaire or Axio down, and I wouldn’t.  I simply wouldn’t.