(suspenseful music) The Thieves Guild
by Jake Kerr.
Episode 96:
Down the Path.
Maylor gave Dala a huge hug, and the two danced around after
Dala explained the plan. They went outside to test it.
Maylor held up her bare arm.
So if we pretend this is invisible, what happens if you throw flour at it?
Dala did so, and the thin film of white on Maylor's arm was a
convincing demonstration.
See? If your arm was invisible and all we could see was the flour, it would outline your
arm, showing its shape.
Maylor nodded while she slapped her arm, removing the powder.
But what if everything that touches the guardian becomes invisible?
It is a risk, but think of the blood on your knife.
That was inside the guardian, and yet it was visible.
I'm guessing that there is some kind of spell or element to this thing that makes it invisible, and things
that aren't it, visible.
So,
the flour will work.
That would explain why it didn't have a weapon, only its fists, mighty as they
were. Anyway, we don't have any other option.
"That's not true. We could stay,"
Dala replied, which elicited a glare from Maylor.
Flashing a smile in return, Dala added. "You know I'm kidding.
I love it here with you, but we are warriors and thieves.
We have responsibilities, and there is so much of your world that I want to see."
Dala's sincere enthusiasm was infectious, and the
two of them went on a tangential discussion of their favorite parts of Ness
that they missed the most. As night fell, Dala blurted out...
"We should try to escape tomorrow."
It wasn't that Maylor wasn't prepared or didn't want to try, but the
suddenness of Dala's pronouncement threw her off-balance.
"Yes, I think that's a good idea," Maylor replied.
But her words came out awkward, and she felt like she wasn't showing enough excitement.
Reaching over, she took Dala's hands in hers.
"Not try to escape, escape."
The next morning, they prepared for the difficult combination of being
encumbered for a long journey and nimble for a sudden fight.
They also had to prepare to launch a large amount of flour at an opponent
that they couldn't see and may come upon them at any moment.
As they started along the lane, Maylor noted...
"You know we are going to get attacked before we have a chance of tossing the flour."
Dala shook her head.
"No. When we get close to where you feel the guardian is, we'll go step by step.
Didn't you say that you could see the depression of its steps?"
"Yes. But that was when I had already been struck, and it was attacking me."
"This is a new sensation," Dala replied after a
short silence.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm the one pushing us forward with a vision of success, and you're the one
questioning whether we have a chance."
The comment was sharp, and perhaps a little hurtful, but Maylor
realized it was accurate. She stopped, and Dala turned to look at her.
"You're right. I guess I'm still a little nervous about it.
I'm very used to managing all the various things that could go wrong.
That's my specialty, knowing all the possibilities and assessing a solution.
But an invisible guardian?
How can I assess that? I don't even know what it looks like."
Dala touched Maylor's arm. "Well, you're thinking of one big possibility.
What about the details? You escaped the guardian. How did you do that?
What did you see? What did you feel or smell?
There has to be something."
Maylor took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
"You're right. I haven't thought of the pieces."
After a long moment of silence, Maylor opened her eyes.
"Have something?"
Nodding, Maylor began.
"It is large and heavy. I could tell when it struck me.
Now, look at the path."
They both looked down.
"This hasn't been traveled since we were dropped off.
The grass looks like it doesn't grow high, which makes it look well-manicured, but look there and there."
Maylor pointed at strips of dirt and a small bush that was growing at the edge of
the lane, but amongst the grass.
"This is not a maintained lane. It is a wild path that was
created with grass that makes it remain clear and even."
"Yes, I can see that."
"So, the guardian is large and heavy, and is patrolling a lane of wild grass.
That is the key. If we keep an eye out for grass that is depressed, or a line of worn grass where
someone or something may have walked in a regular pattern, it will indicate the presence of the guardian."
"Of course. We should be able to identify a change in the
nature of the path when we reach the guardian."
"When I first escaped the guardian, what saved me was seeing the grass
depressed without anything stepping upon it.
If we look for something like that as we approach, we should be able to prepare for the guardian before it
attacks us."
Dala turned back up the lane. "So sharp observation is critical."
Maylor nodded, and the two of them moved forward slowly, examining the
path in the distance with each step. Maylor noticed it first.
Grabbing Dala's arm, she stopped her and whispered.
"There."
She pointed down the lane to the edge of the path.
"I don't see anything different about the path."
"It's not the path. Look at the brush on the side of the path."
Maylor saw it clearly, a gap in the brush that wasn't at all natural.
It was bent over and crushed in a spot a few feet wide.
Daala was squinting, but then her eyes went wide.
"I see it."
Maylor pulled out her ax while Daala didn't need to be asked, and pulled out a
large, thin sack, which was bulging at weakly sewn seams,
leaking a white powder. With her good eye for hurling knives, the thought was
that she would be the better choice at hurling the flour.
"Keep an eye on the grass. I'll shout if I see anything, and you do the same.
The moment you have an idea of its location, throw the flour at it."
Daala nodded.
They crept forward, staring at the grass.
The good news was that the grass was high and not beaten down at all.
If the guardian approached, they would have some warning.
Maylor glanced at the gap in the brush, as it continued to make her nervous,
when Daala's bag of flour flew through the air while Daala yelled out...
"There it is."
Maylor crouched and followed Daala's pointed finger.
Rushing toward them was something flattening grass as it approached.
To Maylor's horror, Daala's bag of flour landed on the ground,
exploding into a puff of white smoke.
A moment later, Daala was tossed clear across the path to Maylor's right,
as if a giant had simply pushed her aside. She crumpled to the ground.
Maylor wasted little time. She could see where the guardian was by the depression
on the grass. Spinning and approaching low, she swung her ax.
It hit home in an arcing gash, which resulted in a piercing howl
and an invisible blow, knocking Maylor back a few feet, staggering
her to her knees.
Looking at the ground, she noticed two things:
the footsteps of the guardian approaching slowly but inexorably, and the red
drops of blood that fell next to the depressions in the grass.
Using surprise as her weapon, Maylor leapt forward, swinging her ax again.
It was for naught, as she couldn't see her opponent, who must have easily
twisted out of the way.
Maylor's ax swung through air, leaving her slightly off-balance.
Another mighty blow knocked Maylor to the left side of the path.
Her off-balance momentum had saved her, however, for her body was already moving in
the direction of the blow. And while it was powerful, her body absorbed it
by simply flinging her further.
Maylor had been thrown so far that she had time to stand, and as she
did, she once again focused on the grass.
She saw a footstep and swung the ax with all her force.
It missed the guardian completely and knocked her off-balance
again.
A glancing blow knocked her to the ground.
Spinning to her feet, Maylor tried to desperately figure out how she could battle an
invisible opponent. Once again it approached with the slow certainty of
death.
Looking for the next footstep, her vision was suddenly filled with an
explosion of white.
Not five feet in front of her, surrounded by a spreading corona of white
powder, was a giant being, its torso defined by a
white outline. Without any hesitation, Maylor stepped forward and swung
with all her might, right at the center of the thing's chest.
With a soft thunk, her ax hit home, embedding itself in the creature's
torso. Another, smaller explosion of white spread from behind the
guardian, and Maylor could see it clearly.
As she attempted to wrench the ax free, she heard a thunk, thunk, thunk,
one after another. She knew that sound.
Maylor retreated, not knowing what would happen.
Was the creature magical and able to shrug off such a deadly attack?
Would it launch a desperate, dying counterattack?
Crouching in preparation for the worst, Maylor watched as the powdery
white guardian stumbled a bit to the left, then to the right,
and then fell to its knees, and then face down into the path.
Behind it was Daala, her face and chest bloody and her
hands and body covered in flour. Maylor ran to her.
"Are you okay? Are you injured?" "I think my nose is broken,"
Daala replied, covering it with her hand.
"Let me see,"
Maylor replied, taking Daala's hand and kissing it as she moved it aside.
"If it's broken, it isn't bad. You should be okay.
Are you bleeding into your throat?"
"No, just what you see."
Daala looked behind Maylor.
"You killed it."
She squeezed Maylor's hand, as Maylor had not let go. "I wounded it.
You killed it."
"Well, we killed it, and it wouldn't have been so difficult if I hadn't missed.
The good thing is that it ignored me after it knocked me to the ground and broke my nose.
So while you were fighting it, I gathered up the flour in the ripped bag and was able to carry enough to make a
difference, I guess."
"You made all the difference."
Daala looked at Maylor. "Are you okay?"
"A little bruised, but nothing bad."
Turning around, Maylor looked at the outline on the ground.
"What do you think it is?"
"A giant, a large man, a forest creature?
I don't know."
Nodding, Maylor said... "It wasn't a giant or human. Look at its hands.
Those are huge and seem like clubs more than hands.
Maybe it is a being created by the wizards."
Daala shrugged.
"We can ask Travil."
"He'll be so surprised to see us, he just might answer.
So what next?"
"We need to get back to the tunnel, but we'll need to find it, get supplies, and do it all in
secrecy."
Daala started slapping her clothes, billowing out flour.
Maylor took a step back.
"I don't want to travel through that tunnel without food, water, and a cart full of torches."
"Well, now that we know a cart is a workable solution, that will make things
easier. So, we'll need supplies, but I also think we should see whatever we can find
out.
I have a feeling that the wizards weren't telling us everything."
Me too.
So let's continue down the path, make up a story of being lost and attacked by brigands or something,
and then see if we can pick up information about this city while we gather supplies."
"You make it sound easy."
Daala shrugged. "Won't they treat us like escaped prisoners?"
"Sure, but can dealing with that be much harder than defeating an invisible giant
guardian?"
Maylor laughed, and the two started walking down the path that led home.
But how long that journey would take, neither of them knew.
(dramatic music)