Part 55 (Patreon)

It’s unusually difficult to interrupt a master spellcaster when their incantation is nearly complete. Warriors have stabbed mages but still ended up incinerated by the flame spell they were finishing. One tale, that might have been a tall tale, tells the story of a wizard who incanted a curse on those who sentenced him to death, AFTER the gallows trapdoor opened and he was hanging. Nimue had good reason to believe Glasha would fail.

Glasha herself was concerned; she didn’t have much of a plan. So in the last fraction of a second before the spell went off, she reached the table, grabbed Nimue by the hair and yelled “Counterspell THIS, you biyatch!” as she slammed the mage’s face down into the strawberry cake that she had been eating.

In spite of the wounds and strangulation that hadn’t stopped some wizards from casting, a mouthful of cake (not to mention a nosefull and two eyesfull) makes it hard to continue reciting magic words properly. Glasha had stopped the casting.

It was while Nimue’s face was in the cake that her necklace caught Glasha’s attention. With the clasp facing her, it was easy to unhook it and examine the stone. It looked like the shapeof one of the gems might match a setting along the edge of the amulet her mother had given her. “I think I’ll keep this for a while,” Glasha said, not really caring if Nimue responded.

Nimue, for her part, lifted her head, wiped her face and whined, as a strawberry that had stuck to her cheek slid off, bouncing off her cleavage on the way to the floor.

“Release them….NOW!” Glasha ordered.

Rylenka and Miri grabbed the two muddy assassins by pressure points, and led them carefully out of the mudpit. Shelgrish picked up both the swords outside the ring, and led Ingrid over to a chair. “Sit down. Rylie, grab those chains over by the fireplace. All of them.”

In a short time, Ingrid and the two assassins were disarmed, stripped of any armor or clothing where they might conceal a weapon, and chained to the chairs they were sitting in.

Glasha stood over Nimue, prepared for any escape attempt, but, for the first time, the heroines were able to take a relaxed breath. “The mage her knows something,” said Miryala. I say we question her.

“I’ll help convince her to talk,” said Shelgrish, if the rest or you watch her lackeys over there. “We ARE NOT her lackeys!” Irina said, to no response.

Miryala nodded, “I’ll ask the questions.” “I’m going to explore the premises,” Glasha said. “Don’t worry,” said Rylenka, taking a sword from Shelgrish, “I can handle these three, and if they try anything, I’ll call for your help.”

Shelgrish stood over the mage as Miri questioned her “So, here we are, full circle. I’ll try to put aside my desire for revenge for the things you did to us. Do you want to tell what you know about the keystones we seek?”

Nimue wiped some of the pink frosting off her face, then licked it off her fingers, “I’m not telling you anything.”

“I was HOPING you’d choose the hard way,” said Shelgrish.