Shadowrun - Earthdawn - Mother Speaks Read Online Free
Author: kubasik
town called Mebok, or so the villagers who hired me said. Humans and some elves..."
"Corrupted?" someone asked.
"The elves were not of the Queen's Court, if that's what you mean," the woman said with a rueful smile. "And no visible signs of corruption. But then Horrors do not always make signs upon the flesh." She shrugged.
"And they came for prisoners?" I asked.
"They killed, make no mistake about that. I haven't seen such fierce fighting for some time—not by folks not trained in combat. But their leader, he was a tough one. A swordmaster adept as well, from the way he fought. He rallied his people hard. The village I tried to protect... Well, they didn't have much money, and it was me, three other warriors, all mundane, and the village smith. They ran roughshod over us. A hundred or more charged us."
Several of those gathered gasped.
"And they came for prisoners?" I repeated.
"Yes. They stole some goods. But for the most part they tried to disarm everyone and gather them up. They succeeded quite well."
"You escaped?" someone asked.
“I did. When I'd taken so many wounds that I could no longer raise my sword, I retreated." She looked down. Shamed.
I touched her hand. "Did the villagers know why the people of Mebok attacked?"
She shook her head. "A few farmers from the village had gone to visit a neighboring village and found it empty. All of its inhabitants had vanished or lay as corpses on the ground. They became afraid, and hired me when I stopped at their village."
A silence wound its way through the room. I asked,
"And you heard nothing of such raids while you traveled?"
"No. But then, I am new to the area."
"While you traveled, did you hear any word of a..."—I paused, realizing how odd the idea would sound to someone who had not been speaking of it for the last month—"a flying castle," I finished.
She looked at me with surprise, and then half-smiled, curious. "Yes. But I didn't think anything of it. How could anyone get a castle to fly?" She looked directly into my eyes, the smile gone now. "Does such a thing exist?"
"Oh, yes." My chest tightened with anxiety. "What have you heard?"
"Some people said that someone they knew, knew someone who knew someone who'd seen a castle fly through the air the day before, or two days before. Some people knew someone who knew someone who was related to someone who had actually gone off to follow the castle. And none of these people ever returned."
6
That night I prepared to search for your father.
I left you in Tellar's care, the two of you still asleep on the floor. I planned to depart in the morning, saying goodbye to you then. Back home, I folded my traveling clothes, and gathered my magical components, placing them in small bags. It was late, I was tired, and every fifteen minutes or so I would stop, sigh heavily, and wonder why I was going to try to find your father. If he wanted to ride off into danger, that was his business. Why did I have to involve myself?
The reason was this: Although our reasons would be different, he would do the same for me. It was impossible to turn my back to him.
As I was placing the clothes and bags in Wisher's saddle bags, the first screams came.
Thoughts tumbled through my mind. I thought a wyvern, or possibly even a Horror, had entered the village. I started for your bedroom to make sure you two were all right, only to remember as I ran that you were at Tellar's.
I stopped, uncertain where to go next, listening. More screams and shouts filled the air, and I heard people calling for help. Then more cries, gruff and charged with the desire for battle. I grabbed my magician's robe and slipped it on. Barefoot, I rushed out the door and across the moist ground.
Across the village I saw dozens of torches, some bobbing in the darkness, carried by raiders on horseback.
Others rested on the ground, flung forward by the raiders and illuminating the eastern half of the village. Swords flashed harsh
"Corrupted?" someone asked.
"The elves were not of the Queen's Court, if that's what you mean," the woman said with a rueful smile. "And no visible signs of corruption. But then Horrors do not always make signs upon the flesh." She shrugged.
"And they came for prisoners?" I asked.
"They killed, make no mistake about that. I haven't seen such fierce fighting for some time—not by folks not trained in combat. But their leader, he was a tough one. A swordmaster adept as well, from the way he fought. He rallied his people hard. The village I tried to protect... Well, they didn't have much money, and it was me, three other warriors, all mundane, and the village smith. They ran roughshod over us. A hundred or more charged us."
Several of those gathered gasped.
"And they came for prisoners?" I repeated.
"Yes. They stole some goods. But for the most part they tried to disarm everyone and gather them up. They succeeded quite well."
"You escaped?" someone asked.
“I did. When I'd taken so many wounds that I could no longer raise my sword, I retreated." She looked down. Shamed.
I touched her hand. "Did the villagers know why the people of Mebok attacked?"
She shook her head. "A few farmers from the village had gone to visit a neighboring village and found it empty. All of its inhabitants had vanished or lay as corpses on the ground. They became afraid, and hired me when I stopped at their village."
A silence wound its way through the room. I asked,
"And you heard nothing of such raids while you traveled?"
"No. But then, I am new to the area."
"While you traveled, did you hear any word of a..."—I paused, realizing how odd the idea would sound to someone who had not been speaking of it for the last month—"a flying castle," I finished.
She looked at me with surprise, and then half-smiled, curious. "Yes. But I didn't think anything of it. How could anyone get a castle to fly?" She looked directly into my eyes, the smile gone now. "Does such a thing exist?"
"Oh, yes." My chest tightened with anxiety. "What have you heard?"
"Some people said that someone they knew, knew someone who knew someone who'd seen a castle fly through the air the day before, or two days before. Some people knew someone who knew someone who was related to someone who had actually gone off to follow the castle. And none of these people ever returned."
6
That night I prepared to search for your father.
I left you in Tellar's care, the two of you still asleep on the floor. I planned to depart in the morning, saying goodbye to you then. Back home, I folded my traveling clothes, and gathered my magical components, placing them in small bags. It was late, I was tired, and every fifteen minutes or so I would stop, sigh heavily, and wonder why I was going to try to find your father. If he wanted to ride off into danger, that was his business. Why did I have to involve myself?
The reason was this: Although our reasons would be different, he would do the same for me. It was impossible to turn my back to him.
As I was placing the clothes and bags in Wisher's saddle bags, the first screams came.
Thoughts tumbled through my mind. I thought a wyvern, or possibly even a Horror, had entered the village. I started for your bedroom to make sure you two were all right, only to remember as I ran that you were at Tellar's.
I stopped, uncertain where to go next, listening. More screams and shouts filled the air, and I heard people calling for help. Then more cries, gruff and charged with the desire for battle. I grabbed my magician's robe and slipped it on. Barefoot, I rushed out the door and across the moist ground.
Across the village I saw dozens of torches, some bobbing in the darkness, carried by raiders on horseback.
Others rested on the ground, flung forward by the raiders and illuminating the eastern half of the village. Swords flashed harsh
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