Melody of War 3

“Wow!~♪ Everyone has such pretty eyes~♪”

“Everyone except me and the rat.”

“Excuse me?! I’ll have you know Chainmaid that amongst the Rattama my eyes are quite desirable.”

“Spectacles and all? I doubt that. Come on, even the silver eyes of a horned wolf are pretty than the dark eyes the two of us have.”

As Chain argued with Wherks she pointed with a thumb at the silver eyes of the dead monster that the tall soldier with the long black braided hair that Melody knew as Varen had slung over his shoulders. The harpy maid was unconcerned by the eyes of the dead beast as she was more entranced by the eyes of the Hero and two soldiers of Lumirest who had joined them in a circular patch of dirt surrounded by lesser rocky outcroppings amongst the teeth of the mountains. It was not surprising that she could be so enamored by the jewel like eyes of the two men and the maid from Lumirest. Elliot’s eyes were like vibrant emeralds and Varen’s were a shade of silver blue with the maid known as Mail rounding out the gemstone collection with eyes of violet hue.

“I guess I won’t be carrying you any more than miss harpy.”

“It’s Melody!~ ♪”

Melody introduced herself in response to Varen’s comment on seeing the harpy up and about and the tall lanky soldier offered her a smile.

“Nice to meet you Melody. Varen Elcourt by the way. I’m the one who ended up carrying you when we fled the city last night.”

“Speaking of which Melody, our retreat was based upon your communication with Chain that the assassins who set upon us last night were involved with a Hero.”

Melody’s good cheer faded away as Elliot brought up once again the Hero he knew she had encountered from where he squatted down in the center of the dirt circle completing work on a small fire pit. Chain joined the Hero at the fire pit and knelt down beside it reaching in with her left hand and snapping her fingers. A distinctive ringing sound rang out from her chainmail clad hand and a soft light appeared within that promptly took the form of a small flame which found purchase on the dried grass in the pit. Having paused in his addressing of Melody, Elliot watched the scene unfold as Varen and Mail joined them at the fire and set about cleaning the dead beast that would be their breakfast. The sight of Mail who was pretty for a soldier but otherwise a relatively plain maid made Melody that much more uncomfortable thinking about the assassins and the Hero behind them. Elliot was not distracted for long though and he returned his attention to Melody.

“Now that everyone is here I think it would be best if we started with the Hero you discovered before we go into further details about my mission.”

“I actually don’t really want to talk about it. Besides I never actually saw them. I just heard their verse and spoke to them through one of the assassins.”

“A Hero who can control others huh? That sounds like more trouble than it’s worth.”

“I agree Chain but I also would like to have some idea as to their capabilities if they are in active pursuit of us. An unknown Hero who can control anyone is not a threat I find myself wanting unaddressed at our backs.”

“Well, just don’t push Melody too hard Elliot. She still seems shaken up by the whole ordeal, though I am glad to see a lack of sleep has yet to dull your senses more than they already are.”

“All the more reason I needed you rested Chain. We are in unfamiliar territory and traveling at night will be impossible this far from Highroot so we will need you rested so that your magic can keep us safe while the rest of rest at night.”

“Don’t push me too hard Elliot. I know our situation just fine and don’t need to be reminded. Speaking of which, we don’t need any unwanted company while we eat so I’m going to put some protective magic in place while you and Melody chat. Mail, you can join me and leave the cleaning to Varen.”

“Sure.”

It was the first time Melody heard Mail say anything and she found herself relieved that the maid had a voice as plain as her looks. Watching Mail rise from the fire pit to join Chain in securing the perimeter prevented that relief from washing away all of her worries however as it meant Chain would not be there to keep Elliot in check. Chain did not fail to notice the harpy’s concern though and made sure to stop by her before departing the camp.

“It’s fine Melody. Elliot may be an over eager idiot but he’s a good guy unlike the other Heroes we’ve seen since entering the Northern Kingdoms. He won’t do anything to hurt you because he knows full well what would happen. Besides, I won’t be long.”

“Un…”

Chain sighed in response to Melody’s unenthusiastic reply and clutched at her temple with her left hand. She did not practice her tell of irritation long and moved to comfort the harpy. Grabbing Melody by the back of the head Chain pressed their foreheads together and looked the harpy in the eyes.

“Have a little faith in me Melody. I was trained in magic by none other the most renowned sorcerer in the whole of the Five Great Theatres of Civilization. Hero or no, I won’t let anybody hurt you. And as for that wound from last night, I’ll make sure that’s the last time.”

Chain let go of Melody and her placed hands on her hips as she offered her a smile. Melody tried to smile in return but didn’t have much success. Chain acknowledged the harpy’s attempts however and stepped past her calling to Mail as she did.

“Alright Mail. Let’s not waste anymore time.”

Mail nodded her head and followed Chain away from the camp. Melody watched the two maids go but was pulled back to matters at hand by Elliot’s voice which despite being pleasing to the ears was starting to grate on her nerves.

“We can begin anytime you’re ready Melody.”

“It was a really scary experience so I don’t feel like I’ll ever be ready to talk about it.”

“Honestly harpy, our lives could be in danger and you’re worried about how you feel.”

“Come now Master Wherks, no reason to be harsh with her.”

Though Elliot tried to arbitrate for the harpy and Rattama Melody was quick to speak for herself. Despite his failure to arbitrate Elliot found himself glad as what Melody said next was of great value in determining the abilities of the assassin Hero.

“You may be adorable but you’re not comforting at all! You just don’t get it! They tried to control me just like the assassins under their control!”

“My word, they tried to you control through others already under their control harpy? This is troubling Sir Elliot. This assassin is obviously quite powerful.”

“I agree Master Wherks. And Melody, you have my apologies. Had I known what you had experienced I would not have been so insistent. Even so, there is one more thing I require of you before I can let this matter go.”

“What’s that?”

“Having seen the limitations of the controled’s abilities against Chain I have an idea to how their controlling powers work. The nature of them though eludes me and so I would like to hear their verse.”

“I doubt that would be a good idea Sir Elliot. Were we perhaps not in the presence of a simple soldier–”

“You really don’t mince words do you Master Rattama?”

Thoroughly occupied as he was preparing the beast for both breakfast and storage Varen did not miss the insult thrown his way and naturally spoke up. Wherks was not pleased by the interruption and leveled Varen with a disapproving look. Varen simply sighed and returned to his task at hand.

“Honestly, putting on a uniform is supposed to earn you respect but I sure don’t get any.”

Satisfied with his victory over Varen, Wherks adjusted his spectacles and returned his attention to Elliot.

“As I was saying Sir Elliot, as one member of our present company is trained to conform reciting this Hero’s verse aloud could be detrimental for our flight. That they would even try to control the harpy implies that their abilities extend to monster kin as well. As we are in the wilds beside with no clear idea of where or to what the wind might carry our voices reciting this verse could be disastrous. Call me paranoid if you must but I would sooner hearken to caution than risk giving our would be assassin the means they need to finish the job they started last night.”

“Nay, Master Wherks. You have the right of it. Much as I would like to know all there is about this Hero so I know what to expect from our flank it is perhaps better that we do not. As for you Melody you can surely relax now. You have shared with us enough to tell us too be warier than we might have otherwise been. As it is, I now fully expect you and Master Wherks to watch even the birds though for signs of our assassin trying to tail us. For now though Melody you can reward yourself with the anticipation of freshly cooked horned wolf steak.”

“Really!~ ♪”

Melody lit up as she was given permission to take her mind off of the Hero who haunted her thoughts and focus instead on food. Elliot was glad to see the harpy relax so and smiled as he reconfirmed his statement for her.

“Of course. Just try to show some restraint unlike yesterday. We’ve a journey of unknown time and distance ahead of us and we must ration what food we hunt to minimize traces of our passage.”

“Aw~ And here I was hoping to get a whole leg to myself~♪”

“A whole leg? Where would you even put it?”

Varen could not stay out of the conversation any longer as Melody’s appetite surprised the blue uniformed soldier. His interruption was of no consequence though as with Melody aptly distracted by him and thoughts of succulent meat Wherks joined Elliot beside the fire pit. Taking his spectacles from his snout Wherks began to clean them as he continued the conversation Melody stepped out of.

“This journey is fraught with more problems than I could have imagined. Even so, I never would have thought the ravenous appetite of a harpy would be one of them.”

“A simple problem I hope Master Wherks. She is an adventurer after all so I’m certain she understands the importance of rationing supplies.”

“I hope you’re right Sir Elliot.”

Returning his spectacles to his snout Wherks looked up at Elliot and caught him smiling at the scene before him. Looking across the fire pit the Rattama did not see what was so endearing about watching a harpy try to plead with a soldier for the best cuts of meat. Taking Wherks’ silence as an opening to continue Elliot did just that and kept the silence at bay as he expressed his further concerns.

“So do I Master Wherks. I also hope that Chain has as much sense as well being an adventurer herself. Her well being may very well be integral to the successful completion of my mission.”

Copyright © 2018 Joshua D Tarwater