Spear of Destiny by James Baldwin (little bear else holmelund minarik .TXT) 📕

[Quest Updated: The One Who Abides. Return to Priest-Queen Solai to claim your reward.]

[You gain 2,573 EXP! Karalti gains 2573 EXP!]

“Dun-duh da dah da dahh!” I thrust the Spear into the air along my terrible impression of the Final Fantasy victory jingle.

“That fight was a lot harder than I thought it would be.” Karalti groaned as she lowered her chest to the ground, tucking her forearms up and crouching to rest. “Ow.”

“Here.” I pulled out the one and only dragon sized healing tincture I kept in my Inventory: a whole gallon of it. “This should help.”

“Thanks.” Karalti snaked her tongue out, wrapped it around the uncorked bottle, and tipped the contents into her jaws. She delicately dropped it back into my hands before swallowing. “Man… It felt so good to finally take down some of those guys.”

Rin checked in with Suri first, then broke away toward us at a jog. “Hector! Karalti! Are you okay?”

“Suuuurrre.” I did my best not to slur as I raided my Inventory for more healing pots. “Not doing so… uhh… great on the healing side of things.”

“Here. I carry a few for my organic friends, in case of emergencies.” Rin pulled three cloudy green potions from thin air, handing them to me. “They’re not the strongest kind. They do 150 HP, I think.”

“Concentrated Green Moss Tinctures,” I grunted, throwing them back like shots. “Is Suri alright?”

“She’s hurt, too. But we’re all alive.” Rin bit her lip as she looked to Karalti. “You okay, Karalti?”

“Yup!” The dragon shifted restlessly, huffing through her nostrils. “Just… ow.”

Suri stumped over to us, stripped down to her halter top, and her armored cuisses, greaves and boots. She was bleeding from many small wounds—barely scrapes, thanks to Rin’s assistance, and the natural armor she gained from Primal Fury.

“Welp. That was fun.” She rammed the point of her sword into the dirt between the flagstones and leaned on it.

I looked her up and down. “How’re you doing?”

“Good fight. Really got the blood pumping.” She glanced at something I couldn’t see. “Also got the blood infected. You got anything for Blood Poisoning, Mister Herbs?”

“Jeez. You make me sound like a drug-dealer.” I went into my inventory, pulled out some ingredients, and slapped together a poultice that smelled strongly of garlic and alcohol. “Here. Apply this to your gash.”

Rin groaned. “Do you guys ever stop?”

I shook my head. “We do not.”

“Listen to you, scandalizing our pure, innocent Rin.” Suri’s eyes narrowed, and she snatched the dressing from my hand as I beamed at her. “I reckon I need to carve you a gash.”

Rin boggled at Suri in disbelief. “Suri, you tease me WAY worse than Hector does.”

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.” Suri drew herself up stiffly, ever the elegant countess. “So, what’s in the sack?”

“The sack?” I blinked at her, expecting innuendo, then realized she was talking about the loot bag. “Oh, that. Hang on.”

I grabbed the loot bag and opened its inventory. To my dismay, it was mostly junk—but there was a [Letter from Ashur] and a [Golden Bull Amulet] in there which I took. “Looks like Ashur wrote something down for him, but I can’t translate it. We’ll have to do it later.”

“Huh. Their language looks pretty cool. Kind of like pictures.” The very tip of Karalti’s muzzle ghosted over the top of my hair, her nostrils flexing as she gave me a concerned but thorough sniff-check. “Well… we got the bad guys. What now?”

“Now we head back.” I watched Suri as she applied the poultice to the deepest of her cuts. “I’m pretty sure we fixed the Priest-Queen’s zombie problem—so now we get to find out what else she wants and pray that whatever it is, we won’t need any more healing potions.”

Chapter 42

Night had fallen over Ru Waat by the time we returned, the city glowing with the light of a million candles. Shrill music could be heard from all quarters. People were dancing around fires, roasting meat on spits, singing and clapping. The temple also was bathed in the same soft golden light, and a huge party was in full swing. The priestesses, guards, courtesans and servants mingled out in the courtyard, while Saloi presided over the inner sanctum, indulgently watching two Meewfolk women fighting a third inside the arena. It was part sparring, part gladiatorial match: the atmosphere was friendly, but the blood-streaked fur was definitely real.

“My loveliest humans!” The Priest-Queen called out in delight, rising off her divan and sashaying over to us in a cloud of filmy silk. “The city received the notification of your success a few hours ago! The attacks have stopped!”

“The cause of the plague were covert invaders from Napath.” I briefly bent a knee in front of her, then stood up straight. “A lich who works for Ashur of the Ten Thousand Swords, a vampire general from that same country. He’s an imperialist who wants to destroy all of the Dragon Gates, including the Gate here. That’s what your ruins are: the remains of-”

“Shhhhh” The Priest-Queen coyly pressed her finger against my lips. “No need to yowl it throughout the temple like a girl in her first heat. The truth of that place is a secret, known only to the initiated.”

“Right. Well, be warned that Ashur isn’t the sort of bloke to just give up on a pet project,” Suri said, drawing up beside me. “He did a number on our province in Vlachia. Myszno is about the size of this whole island.”

“I shall take your words under consideration,” Solai replied breezily. “But for tonight, we shall celebrate the defeat of our enemies. And I shall make my other two wishes.”

“What do you have in mind?” I followed her as she trailed back toward her throne.

“I do not have much interaction