novelraw Chapter 168: Leverage
Chapter 168: Leverage
Mesa hummed a little tune to herself, rocking side to side while sitting comfortably atop the Golem's shoulder. This rocky behemoth towered over the others, hunched forward and leaning its weight onto its bulky forearms like a gorilla. It had no eyes, only a misshaped head formed out of two large rocks clinging together with lumpy dirty and dried moss. Several strands of plant life clung around its rectangular right arm, while its two smaller legs dragged itself behind, digging up dirt under its weight.
Perdilius followed alongside the Golem, appearing to be short of reaching the creatures shoulders when comparing height. Raz kept up with them, with the cat girls trailing behind them and having the remaining armored men at the back to keep them in their sights.
KuliKuli's ear twitched, accompanied by a nervous wag from her tails. Rather than trailing behind her hovering just inches off the ground, her tails shot upright and puffed up, fur sticking out like two hairy caterpillars. Her ear flickered and fanned often enough that she held her ears down, unable to shake off the discomfort shown on her face.
Her sister Dimyri nudged her arm, leaning in close. "Calm down, you're making me feel even more nervous."
"Oh right, because being trapped between Perdilius and this giant rock monster isn't enough reason to be nervous." She whispered back in quick succession.
Dimyri frowned, eyeing her younger sibling. "I wasn't born yesterday, Kuli."
"I don't know, okay?" She admitted, glancing around. "I've got this nagging itch in my head. It's like my body knows where we're going, and it wants to run."
Dimyri kept quiet, reaching out and holding her paw instead. "Hey, whatever happens we'll manage. Like you said the other week, right? That whole we can do this speech of yours. Where's that hopefulness you carried with you?"
"She's not as hopeful after getting attacked by wall crawlers." She shivered, thinking back to the tunnel before looking behind her. Emyri and Leone were a few paces behind, walking along in silence. Her eyes fell on Leone while thinking back to when he rescued her from falling off the bridge, or how he protected her from the spiders. A drop of sweat dripped from her chin, bringing her mind back to the change of weather they experienced. "Hey, wasn't it winter here? Why is it much warmer inside?"
Dimyri scoffed, turning to her with a smirk. "That's why we lived here, sis. This place is dense enough to trap all the warmth in its core."
KuliKuli hung her head down, realizing that they were nearing the center of this place. They were traveling uphill, but upon reaching the top the men began to cheer and laugh with relief and excitement. They had arrived at the next settlement, and unlike the fort ruins from the entrance this area looked drastically different. This place resembled a boxed in city, numerous homes of small sizes neatly planted and boxed in by four large walls.
Upon reaching the front gates, Mesa whistled loudly to get the attention of the Gatekeeper, who eagerly signaled for the doors to open. Several armed men gathered at the entrance inside, greeting them with cheers and applaud as Perdilius raised his head high and proudly marched forward, waving back. KuliKuli shrunk down, stepping closer to her sister as she felt even more trapped than before upon hearing the groaning gates shut close behind them. Her eyes widened, spotting dozens of men roaming around, some of them swinging swords at each other to train, others practicing their archery skills with target practice.
Now that they were inside, she could tell that these homes were crudely made of dirt, molded in a simple box shape with a few openings to serve as windows. The doorways used curtains rather than actual doors, and as they passed by a few houses, she managed to peek inside one of them, seeing only a few beds and a table but not much more. Though this place reminded her a bit like the homes in Farmers Den, they were simple and lacked design, ornaments, or much life around them. Some of the hung banners carrying the sunflower sigil on them, but that was it. They didn't feel like homes, but rather like some overgrown camping ground.
"Have the beasts escorted to the holding cell, would you?" Perdilius turned to ask Mesa.
She swung her feet and nodded, giggling in return. "With pleasure!"
"And do be careful with them, they are of great importance for the ritual." He instructed her, waving his hand as the men following behind him began to disperse. "Raz, have the men get their meals and rest for the day. Tell them to sharpen their swords and restock in bolts, we leave by sunrise in the morning."
"Yes Father." Raz nodded.
"I'll be waiting for you both at my chambers, understood?"
"Of course!" Mesa replied. Raz simply nodded once more.
"Good, away with you." He sighed, sliding his hand down his bald head before glancing down at his torn robes. "I need to change."
Mesa patted her Golem on the head, casting a growing shadow over the cat girls as they approached them.
In a moment, KuliKuli was tossed into the pit, changing into a cat halfway to land on her feet.
"Ooh, neat!" Mesa smirked, turning to Dimyri. "Your turn."
Before she could protest, the Golem shoved Dimyri forward, dropping her into the pit below. It was a quick fall, managing to turn into a cat and landing the same way her sister had. A minute later and their mother joined them.
They both reverted to their Nekomata forms, with KuliKuli glaring up at Mesa. "So now what? Just going to leave us stuck here for the whole day?"
Mesa shrugged, the curls in her blonde hair bouncing as she raised her shoulders. "Pretty much. I'll be sure to feed you when I return."
"We're not pets!" Dimyri hissed back.
Mesa's eyes grew narrow, her face turning serious as she glared at them with resentment. "Of course not, you're animals. Monstrous forms shaped to resemble common house pets. You fool us into dropping our guard with you, only to backstab us in return. You filthy creatures only take and give nothing back, well now it's our turn."
"What the heck are you talking about? What have we taken from you?" KuliKuli demanded in a raised voice.
"Our home." Mesa calmly responded, hopping down from her golem. She knelt down, digging her finger around the dirt until she traced a symbol on the guard. Planting her hand at the center, she whispered a spell as the mouth of the pit began to form crudely shaped bars that intercrossed the way a cell would, with prickly spikes running across the circular edge. "That should keep you in there good, but don't worry. We have plenty of eyes to keep watch over you."
In an instant, she clapped her hands together and suddenly her stone-cold expression disappeared, replaced by a cheerful grin with the excitement of a young toddler. "You three be good cats now and stay put, I'll be riiiiiight baaaaaack! Don't do anything naughty, okay? Byyyyyyyyee!"
She spun around, skipping away with the Golem remaining in place, as stiff and unmoving as a statue.
Emyri planted herself against the wall, sitting with her knees to her chest. Dimyri crossed her arms while KuliKuli sighed and fell on her backside in defeat.
"Not going to try to get out?" She asked.
KuliKuli blew raspberries at her. "Too tired from nearly getting eaten by spiders."
"Pfft, fair." She chuckled back, laying down next to her. Both of them gazed up at the blue sky past the cell bars.
"I wonder if Syri and Na'Vi are doing better." KuliKuli mentioned.
Emyri looked up at her daughters. "They're in good hands, I hope."
"That was Alma's group who rescued them, right?" Dimyri asked, "It was hard to tell with the hoods and masks, things happened so fast."
"Wait, what?" KuliKuli sat up, staring at her dumbfounded. "Aunt Alma? Our Aunt Alma?"
"Yea, the same."
"Alma's not a Nekomata?" She asked.
Dimyri gave her a funny look. "No, she never was. Did you forge- ah. Stupid, never mind. That was my mistake for forgetting."
KuliKuli laid back in shock. "Wow. So, this is good news, right? Alma is still around. Do you think she'll rescue us next?"
Dimyri looked up at her mother. "Mom?"
Emyri sighed initially but forced a smile as she looked back at her daughters. "Well... yea, I'm sure she's thinking of something."
"That's something good to look forward to." Dimyri grinned, seeing KuliKuli smile with her.
"Yea, I guess so. At least Syri and Na'Vi are doing well." KuliKuli closed her eyes, feeling happier after hearing the news.
Emyri buried her head behind her scooted-up knees, hiding the lingering guilt and grim face she had. She knew the chances of a rescue were likely zero, but at least this gave her daughters some hope.
Raz entered Perdilius' private quarters, slipping through the curtained doorway. Inside, he found Perdilius sat at the table with a bowl of soup in hand. His tattered robes were gone, crumpled up and tossed at the floor. The priest sat on a barrel, slouched over with a shrewd metal case trapped around his chest like some sort of armor, only thick and heavy. It did little to hinder his movement at his age, but his bare arms carried unpleasant details sprouting from the armor casing. Several veins sprouted from his shoulders and biceps, looking tense and restrained as if his flesh were suffocating. A strange language was carved across the edges of the chest casing, with two latches around the shoulders to keep the piece in place.
A slit ran through the center of the armored piece, a reminder of how close Felix came to ending his life.
"The tailor resides back in Faehorn City, should be a few hours march across this troublesome jungle." He muttered, slurping on a spoonful of soup and smacking his lips. His eyes shot up at Mesa as she sat upright upon seeing his glare. "Tell me why we the southern fort is in ruins and the bridge left exposed for an ambush."
Mesa breathed in. "I know you left me in charge daddy, but we've been awful busy in your absence."
"How many."
"Erm... how many what?" She nervously asked, digging her fingers into her curls.
"How many forts have we lost." He muttered out in a raspy voice.
"Ahem, the uhh west fort held strong, no casualties there heh. Same with the north."
"What of the eastern bank?"
"That place was the first loss." She jumped as his hand fell on the table.
"When I recovered the beasts, I expected a warm welcome upon arriving at the south fort. Instead, I came upon ruins, scattered remains and through sheer fortune did we discover that the food rations were left behind. If not for that, we would have left hungry and fatigued, and perhaps that ambush at the wayside bridge would have proved fatal even for me." He raised his head, keeping his eyes locked on Mesa as she sunk down under his sight. "I expected better from you Mesa, this has been most disappointing."
"I-I'm sorry daddy! I can only be in so many places at once-"
"And yet you sit here and give me excuses for your failures?" His voice boomed through the walls, leaving the blonde woman trembling.
Mesa gulped down and hung her head, keeping her hands on her knees. "I tried. I really tried. It wasn't just the elves; we've had run-ins with other monsters invading our camps. The spiders have traveled further south, cutting off the mountain pass. I've got reports of a possible new monster making a home for itself at the northern forest, and we've had some casualties trying to fend off the slime infestation. We think the wildlife are in disarray due to the Valley."
Raz blinked repeatedly once he heard her mention that place, his heart beating rapidly as he recalled his misfortune of setting eyes in that place. The nightmares he endured afterwards left him waking in a cold sweat, it took weeks before he could get a full night's sleep.
Perdilius reached for a metal mug of water, gulping down as his Adams Apple bobbed back and forth before setting the mug down. Wiping his lips with the back of his hand, he sighed and leaned back. "The Valley, what of it? It hasn't breached the walls, has it?"
"No-no." Mesa shook her head. "I've made sure above all else to keep that place under control, just like you said. I've reinforced the walls and the watch guards have reported no issues from that place."
"Good, good." Perdilius agreed.
Raz turned to her. "They haven't mentioned anything of the wildlife from the Valley either? Not of the birds that roam there? No wall can stop those things from flying over."
Mesa shrugged. "They don't show interest in crossing over. Just like daddy said, they can't cross the borders of the spell."
"Not a spell, a curse." He corrected her in passing, glaring down at the table. "We're fortunate enough that place hasn't grown into something more troublesome."
"No word from the Raven?" Perdilius asked her. She shook her head. "Good, let her be. We've enough to deal with as is. Truth of the matter is, we've lost one of the cats from the ambush. The elves have taken her, and the ritual cannot commence without her. We have the other two, I'll escort them to the tower come sunrise."
Raz and Mesa watched as he stood up, wiping his mouth with a napkin.
"You two are tasked with recovering that beast by any means. She has silver hair, freckles across her face and body, and green eyes, resembling closely to the two cats we have."
"What of the fort?" Raz pried, watching as Perdilius put on a simpler white robe to hide the veiny appearance of his body. "What of the men and the wildlife?"
"Help them along the way but recovering that creature is our highest priority. If that means losing a few lambs, so be it." He answered coldly, leaving the two alone.
Mesa looked at Raz and scoffed in disgust. "You were ambushed at the wayside bridge? What, did your stupid water magic prove useless with a waterfall beside you?"
"Be careful, Mesa." He warned her, "Hunting that cat might prove more trouble than you believe. Catching all three proved rather difficult for us, even with the Hunter at our side."
"A Hunter who fathered those three." She reminded him with a look of disgust. "I don't care what daddy says, he's beyond saving from that sin. And unlike you, I'm not afraid to use my gifts. My Golems will make quick work of that cat."
"Just as they did with the Rangers?" He looked up at her, his arms crossed.
She scoffed and turned her head away. "I'll deal with them too, if I must. The cat is my priority now, and what father says must be done."
"Her name is Syri."
She gave him a look.
"Knowing her name must offer some aid in tracking her." He pointed out. "What, surprised they have names?"
Mesa eyed him. "You haven't been nosing around them, have you?"
He shook his head. "Learning their names isn't a crime, Mesa. Or did you forget about Luz?"
Mesa turned her back to him, glaring down as she remembered the harpy. "The elves took her, so finding them would lead us to her."
"That is, unless she's taken the opportunity to run off for safety." Raz pointed out, "Doubtful, she wouldn't abandon her family with us."
"Then we use that as our advantage." A smile grew on Mesa's face. "I counted three cats, who's the third?"
"Their mother."
Mesa giggled, her childish persona resurfacing much to his discomfort. "Then I guess it's time we ask Mommy to play a game of hide and seek!"
She skipped out the doorway, leaving Raz alone to his thoughts.