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[Rough Draft] Chapter 70: A Deluge of Danger
A downpour of steady rain drummed against the glass windows and stone walls of Bastiallano. Through the darkening curtain of misery, Larissa could feel the knights’ spirits shift into a fog of coiling anger, waiting only for a moment of respite to spark into the wildfire of war.
The bodies of the fallen knights, wrapped in white sheets stained black and red, were carried through the gates on the backs of ox carts. All three wagons pulled up in front of the barracks, where the knights and their officers gathered to witness the carnage which would soon provoke a storm.
Larissa left the protection of the castle’s arched doorway to join Captain Arlo and Captain Silas as they finished confirming the identity of the six slain knights.
“What outrage is this?” Silas growled while Arlo nodded a stiff greeting to the Witch Captain. “An unprovoked attack on a Duchy’s knights by Witch Hunters? And they took the Colonel and Lady Hana captive.”
“What do we do?” Lieutenant Anders questioned from behind Captain Arlo. “Has the Duchess even been informed?”
Arlo shot his lieutenant a warning look but turned to Larissa all the same. The water witch pulled the rim of her hood down towards her eyes and shook her head silently in reply.
The waiting line of knights moved forward silently to lift their dead and carry the fallen into the barracks where they would be stripped, washed, and prepped for burial once the storm passed.
“I seem to recall it was you, Captain Larissa, who said that Bastiallano should go to war if Lady Hana was not returned,” Silas commented with a sharp look in the Witch Captain’s direction. “You stated very clearly that not responding would give weight to any rumors concerning the Duchess’s health.”
‘I anticipated that Jericho would be reluctant to let his sister return once he had her in hand, but not an outright attack on Kirsi’s knights. I should have stopped Colonel Isaac from going. The chances of him walking out of this alive are slim to none.’
“The Duchess is stronger than ever,” Larissa corrected bluntly as she swallowed down her mounting frustration. “While she amasses her power, we must be patient—”
“Patience be damned!” Silas cut in as he swiveled around to face her squarely. “We do not know when our Duchess will be able ready to lead us, and our Colonel has been taken hostage! That is the position we are in.”
“All the more reason we should avoid making rash decisions! You said yourself the attack was unprovoked. The Church is clearly in the wrong here, but they might also have a reason to force a response from us.”
“Lady Larissa is right,” Arlo stated quietly but firmly as he moved closer. “Only the Duchess can order Bastiallano’s forces to march into battle, and even she cannot march on the Capital without permission from the Crown Prince.”
“So, we sit here and wait?” Silas countered with brittle rage. “What other choice would the Duchess have if she wants to defend Bastiallano’s honor and rescue Colonel Isaac and Lady Hana. Surely even his Majesty would understand—”
“His Majesty is in a delicate position. His coronation is in two days,” Larissa interrupted and then held her tongue as the empty carts rolled by once more, disappearing beyond the endless stream of rain as they passed through the castle fortress’s gate. “If we move now without the Duchess’s approval while the Crown Prince attempts to placate this paradox of politics, we may force the King to side against us.”
“Bah! A monarch who relies on a foreign power to call himself a King is no King at all,” Silas snarled as he spun around towards the barracks.
“Watch your tongue!” Arlo stepped in to check his comrade with a glancing shoulder strike and a warning glare. “That King gave our Duchess her position.”
“That is where you’d be wrong, old friend. It was Queen Regent Octavia, our previous Mistress, who made Lady Kirsi Duchess of Bastiallano.” Silas shook his head with noted disappointment as he moved around the Captain. “You more than anyone should know that our lady is the true Duchess of Winter.”
“Let us not argue!” Larissa cautioned as she moved between the two and nodded towards the waiting knights observing them from all sides. “Let us use this time to allow the men to grieve and make whatever preparations are necessary to support the decision our Duchess makes.”
Silas nodded quickly in agreement. “I’ll see to it the men are ready for battle. Whether we are forced to defend these walls or choose to attack, Bastiallano should prepare itself for a possible siege.”
“I shall handle the defense of our borders,” Arlo replied readily. “We will increase the number of patrols and built ramparts to block all but the main road in and out of the territory. I shall also send messengers to warn every village and town so they can prepare to travel here for safety.” The Captain turned and promptly passed his orders to Lieutenant Anders.
“What about Captain Tybalt and his men at the northern border?”
Arlo shook his head while the Lieutenant saluted and quickly headed towards the barracks. “I’m reluctant to recall him until we are sure it is necessary, but I will send him a message.” He shook the rain from his hood and nodded after his lieutenant. “We can go over the details inside out of this wretched rain.”
“You should send word to the plague refugees as well,” Larissa urged as the two Captains moved towards their destination.
“I can do that,” Arlo agreed readily and then frowned. “Though it might be better to withdraw our knights from those camps. Without Lady Hana’s—remedy, those plague victims won’t last more than a day or two.”
“That may be for the best. We can hardly give shelter to plague victims while copped up under siege,” Silas pointed out grimly. “Let us hope that Captain Larissa’s scouting witches finish tracking down the final three witch seeds quickly. Without a cure, our next best course of action would be to stop the plague entirely.”
“A Witch Plague is not so easily stopped,” Larissa replied and nodded to the captains before she turned and returned to the castle. Behind the downpour, the torches beside the main door were barely more than blurs of dancing light. Despite her limited visibility, Larissa did not flinch as a shadow materialized beneath the rain next to her shoulder. The water witch scout trailed behind her until they reached the covering of the arched entryway.
“We are running out of time,” Larissa observed as she pulled back her hood and brushed the water from her cloak with a flick of magic. “How much land do you still have left to cover?”
“Not much,” the male witch replied with a shallow shrug. “It’s easier to travel in the rain but harder to search. We did manage to track down another plague seed before the storm started. I’d say another day, maybe three to find the final two depending on how long this downpour lasts.”
“Which piece did you find?”
“Another limb,” the male witch replied apologetically.
“Some progress is better than none,” Larissa remarked bitterly, “Still, it would appear that the Plague Witch took better care in hiding the finale three pieces. Of course, the plague heart would be the most difficult piece to find.” Larissa sighed as she pushed the castle door open, noting with a frown that the knights normally on guard by the entrance had left their post. “Your sisters can continue the search. I have another task for you.”
“This humble brother shall flow where you will, my Lady.”
Larissa searched the empty halls and turned towards the castle interior steps as the scout followed her. “Send word to Prince Llyr directly. Tell him that Bastiallano will likely soon be at war, and be sure to tell him the reason.”
“The abduction of Lady Hana and Colonel Isaac.”
She nodded. “He will understand. Tell Llyr to be cautious. Queen Serenia may be already aware of this development.”
‘I’ve already warned Llyr that Serenia had worked with Pope Jericho in the past. Although the circumstances are different this time, it would be foolish to assume that such an alliance cannot be forged again.’
“Our Prince is well protected.” The scout bowed his head quickly when the Witch Captain paused at the bottom of the stairs to frown at him. “I will deliver your message in full, Lady Larissa.”
“Good. Now go, while the rain is strong and water pure.”
The water witch scout retreated and moved towards the nearest window. Larissa watched as he opened a latch and then extended his right hand into the heavy rain that splattered against the glass pane and wooden ledge. He vanished before the first gust of wind blew the rain across the castle’s paved stone floor.
Larissa shut the window and secured the latch before turning back to the stairs. When she reached the Duchess’s closed bedroom door, Larissa dismissed the two maids she had left on guard in the hallway. ‘I urged the captains to be patient, but I am just as eager for Kirsi to open her eyes. With Viktor’s full power, there is no power on this earth that can stop her—aside from the Saint.’
The Witch Captain pulled the key Hana had given her out of her pocket, locked the bedroom door, and stepped inside with a frown as a gust of wind and rain howled through the open bedroom window that faced the Duchess’s bed. Larissa quickly ran over to shut it. She pressed her palm against the cold, wet glass and sighed as she stared at the dark horizon of gray stone and sky.
‘Our agreement was to help Kirsi stop the plague, but how can she focus on finding plague seeds and the Plague Witch itself with the Church on her doorstep? I expected Arachne to interfere, but I did not expect Ramiel to intercede this quickly. Perhaps this is because of Viktor?’
Larissa stiffened as a drip of cold water plopped against the back of her neck. The swirling pool of troubled thoughts melted away as her senses homed in on the familiar and unwelcome scent. She pulled her curved blade free and spun to face the room, her gaze rising towards the ceiling where a pool of murky green water hovered like a mirror above her.
A cloud of poisoned mist rolled across the magical barrier’s rippling surface, then descended towards the floor as the rancid stench of bog and poison filled the room. Larissa recognized the face that stirred within the mirror’s depths. She touched her mouth and nose, sealing out the poison with a spell as Azriel dropped down onto the floor to offer her a mocking bow.
“Larissa, I told you we would meet again,” the bog witch straightened and held his arms open as if expecting her embrace. “The High Priestess sends her love and greetings.”
The Witch Captain’s gaze hardened as she moved to stand directly between the bog witch and the sleeping Duchess. “Azriel, what an unpleasant surprise,” Larissa remarked bitterly and stretched her senses to each corner of the room, searching for more hidden enemies. “Who sent you? Serenia?”
“Tsk!” Azriel shook his head with a grimace of disgust. “Solverga does not bow to any Witch King or Queen.”
“Just its Priestess,” Larissa returned with a sneer. “So, my mother sent you.”
Azriel shrugged and stepped to the side as he eyed the ice witch behind her. “So, this is the infamous Kirsi?” He snorted and pressed his hands to his hips, idly flicking his poisoned nails against the assortment of daggers, blowing darts and needles arrayed along his belt. “I wasn’t expecting a child.”
“Why are you here, Azriel?” Larissa growled in warning as she blocked the poisoned fog that swirled around the bed.
‘Ice witches might be immune to sickness and disease, but they have no such immunity to poison, and Solverga produces the deadliest poisons known to mortals.’
“To stop the both of you from interfering,” Azriel replied with an almost bored tone.
“With the plague?”
Azriel raised a brow as if to say, ‘What else?’ then shook his head. “Thetis is quite proud of her creation. A plague that only targets mortals and spreads through water which we control. It’s perfect.”
“Are you—saying—that my Mother made this plague?”
“Not entirely,” Azriel replied with a grin as he took a step forward. “Are you curious?”
“Not particularly—” Larissa shook her head, “—why would you tell me in any case? You know I’ll use that information to stop it.”
The bog witch laughed loudly in reply, then flicked a tear from his cheek as he gave her a pitying look. “You might have slowed the spread by helping Kirsi track down the seeds, but stopping this plague will be impossible, even for the church and their pompous Pope.”
“What makes you so confident?”
Azriel took another step forward and smiled as the Witch Captain raised her blade in warning. “Because it was no mere witch who made this plague. It was one of Arachne’s daughters.”
Larissa flinched as the cold burn of the poison filling the room pressed against her magical defenses.
Azriel folded his hands behind his neck and shrugged leisurely. “There are only two ways to stop a plague. Kill the witch who made it or kill their sacrifice. One is all but immortal, while the other very mortal sacrifice is a dear friend of your precious ice witch.” He laughed again at the visible turmoil on Larissa’s face. “And as long as we have the heart of the plague itself, we can continue to spread it to new hosts throughout Lafeara.”
‘So one of the two final missing pieces is in Thetis’s grasp.’
Larissa shook her head and shifted into her battle stance. The smile died from Azriel’s face, but the mocking laughter in his eyes set her teeth on edge as he lowered his hand to the deadly weapons at his waist.
The pool of water gathered at the ceiling descended like a coiling eel around Larissa as she lunged towards the bog witch. Azriel danced beneath her blade with a cocky grin. A flick of his wrist sent a dart plunging into Larissa’s neck. She stiffened and staggered down to one knee as she plucked out the small weapon and pressed a hand to the wound, pulling the poison out before it could seep deeper into her veins.
The water eel tightened around the Witch Captain’s body as she turned sluggishly and flung the dart after Azriel. The bog witch ducked below it as he pounced on top of Kirsi and then straightened to straddle the ice witch’s body.
Even with the poison removed, Larissa could already feel the effects. The vision in her left eye blurred while a numbness spread down her left arm. The eel wrapped around her body tightened its hold and then lunged for her neck. Larissa barely managed to block its fanged mouth with her blade. She shivered beneath the monster’s cold black eyes before her gaze turned to watch in horror as Azriel’s poisoned blade slid across the Duchess’s unprotected neck.