Chapter 12 - Part 14

Years later, when tales of the fight were told, no one could agree on who went first. What was agreed was that the Aundair rejects did not. In fact they stepped backwards, their loyalty to Lo’Paih about half of nothing.

Delegado’s bow hummed, and one of the flying warty things exploded when the arrow hit into it. Its pseudo-flesh sprayed everyone nearby, making them scramble back. The construct of the bow fired at Delegado, but the warforged monk had his magical kama in hand, and he jumped out of the wagon, swatting the arrow away. The other warty homunculus flew at the warforged and attempted to claw and bite, but the warforged monk ducked easily, and then kicked it away into the bystanders. One of the Aundairan rejects stuck an infused blade into it, and it shriveled into stinking earth, leather, and alchemical fluid as it died.

Lo’Paih already had a shield up when Delegado’s second arrow flew at her, and it shattered harmlessly against some unseen field of force. She took a ring of red glass out of a pocket and hurled it at the bounty hunter. It expanded in mid-flight, and shrank around him, gripping his torso and arms tightly. The half-orc grunted, pushed, and then shattered the ring as he shoved his mighty arms free.

The chest did the worst damage. The small little legs were fast, and the arm that popped out of the side of the chest was already throwing a flask. Acid shattered all of the Iron Orphan, causing him to gasp in pain as his body smoked and smoldered. Droplets scattered all around, one hitting the wagon, making Delegado jump back.

Delegado kept firing arrows. One ripped straight through the stock of the moving bow, shattering the construct’s form, and making its magic drain out until it toppled over, useless. Another hit the moving chest, tearing a deep scratch in its lid. The third one broke against Lo’Paih’s force shield, and then rained down a stinking, oily, smelling cloud.

The gas slipped past the force field, which had been calibrated for denser things, and made the woman choke and gasp. For all of her mehcanical parts she still had flesh-and-blood lungs. Gagging and coughing, she fumbled and dropped the scroll she had been preparing to use.

Orphan crouched, taking advantage of her difficulty, and he somersaulted forward. The gas didn’t affect him, and he hooked his magical kama around her armored ankle and yanked sharply. Lo’Paih slipped and fell, coughing.

Two wardens of the wood smashed at the moving chest with their swords, making terrible rents in the construct’s side. It blindly hurled a flask of alchemist’s fire, and one Warden screeched in pain as he became a living torch.

Delegado had plenty of arrows, but no more magical or alchemical ones. He shouldered his bow, sent his hawk up, and drew his sword. Jumping off of the wagon he moved clockwise around Lo’Paih as the cloud dissipated.

Lo’Paih reacted more quickly, blocking one strike from Iron Orphan with her battlefist as he jumped counter-clockwise to flank her. She drew a wand and shot rings of dark energy at Delegado. The half-orc felt his limbs stiffen, and he couldn’t move. Helpless, he watched her advance on him. Behind her, the animated chest had caught another Warden with a bag of sticky glue, while an overly zealous town militia member began to fight with the Aundairian rejects for no particular reason.

Iron Orphan tackled Lo’Paih, rolling around on the ground as he tried to pummel her. She slammed him with her battlefist, and then smiled an ugly smile as she cast an infusion into him. The eerie sound of a warforged screaming was heard.

Delegado finally willed his muscles free of the enchantment, making his mind control them once more. He slashed downwards with the adamantine blade, severing Lo’Paih’s battlefist from her arm. Greasy machine oil, rather than blood, began to leak from the stump. Lo’Paih snarled, and pressed a ring on her flesh hand to pop free of the warforged’s embrace.

The Aundairians were fighting for no better reason that they were being attacked, and the Merylsward residents were attacking for no better reason than they could. The chest darted sideways, and hit Mayor Tippish with a flask whose chemicals made a thin layer of frost cover his torso. The shifter politician gasped in pain, and fell over.

Despite being in great pain, smoking from acid burns, and being closer to death than he ever had before, Iron Orphan jumped up and began to pummel Lo’Paih with his fists. He hit her twice, causing her to buckle and gasp.

Lo’Paih’s body shimmered, and she folded into space and disappeared.

Delegado poked about, and eyed the dirt on the ground, but she was not invisible. She was gone. The animated chest suddenly stood still, as if cut off from commands. An anti-construct infused blade hit it, and it collapsed.

“Break it up!” Brella d’Vadalis said. The two sides fighting backed up. Six men were dead, three more were wounded. One of the dead was the immolated Warden of the Wood. Two were militia, including the man who had started the fight. Three of the dead were the Aundarians. “Every citizen who has no business here get ten paces back or Vadalis will allow no commerce with you!” People stepped back. “Militia to the town entrance, now! Form up under the direction of Ambassador Toppen! Wardens of the Wood to me! Aundairians, form ranks and step away!”

The Brelish ambassador did as he was told, for some reason, and he tut-tutted the militia away. Jak cursed at the five men with him, and made them line up and sheath their blades. The three remaining Wardens of the Wood, including the man who was scraping away the glue from his boots, stood by Brella. Brella helped the mayor stand, and looked at the half-orc and the warforged.

“You were right, I was wrong, don’t rub it in,” she said.

Delegado nodded. “There’s potions in the chest with a Jorasco stamp,” he said. “I’m sure that the mayor and the other wounded, including Jak’s man, would appreciate it. You can have the alchemical weapons. Give Orphan the oils of magical repair.”

“Agreed,” she said. Within minutes she was distributing flasks while Delegado poured the two oil in the chest onto the warforged.

“I thank you,” Orphan said as his body knit itself together.

“No problem,” Delegado said, tossing the empty flasks back into the chest.

“No,” Orphan said, grabbing the half-orc’s shoulder. Feather settled down onto the other shoulder and looked suspiciously at the warforged. “You saved my life. You stood up for me. I will never forget that.”

“Yeah, well,” Delegado said, embarrassed. “You could have killed me in that cave under the Valenar Badlands and you didn’t so it’s even.”

Orphan didn’t know what to say to that. The two of them watched as Brella talked with Jak. This still wasn’t over.