It's been 4 days since my talk with Morgana and things have been… unusual to say the least.
Per Morgana's orders no one's been allowed to go out alone, not even in broad daylight. A few days ago I went to pick up a new shipment of ice flowers with Fierre, and Morgana patted us down upon our return. And still she offers no explanation, not even an apology for all of the sudden extra security measures. I'm starting to find it tiresome, and I'm not the only one.
"This is getting ridiculous. I tried to open a window last night and she pulled a knife on me." Carina crosses her arms, leaning back in her seat behind the counter. "I'm losing my mind in here!" Fierre laments as they hang upside down from one of the shop's exposed wooden beams. "The blood's gonna rush to your head like that." I inform them from my place lounging on the couch. They murmur something about it likely being the most interesting thing to happen today, before flipping off of the beam and landing gracefully on the countertop.
Charles looks up from restacking one of the bookshelves "Oh quit complaining, Morgana is probably doing this for our own good, you know she's just trying to protect us."
"Protect us from what?" Carina hisses before I get the chance. "Oh she won't tell us that part until whatever it is ends up knocking our doors down." I spit with more venom than I had intended. Apparently I still wasn't quite over the cultist attack that happened the last time she got this secretive.
I shake my head and rise from the couch, taking a moment to stretch. "Business has been unusually slow lately, normally at least Leena shows up." Leena is a long time customer of the store, showing up at least twice a week to buy a charm of some sort and chat with the staff. But none of us have seen her in the past six days, and the chances of her showing up today grow slimmer by the hour.
"That's it. I'm bored, I'm annoyed, and we haven't had a single customer all week, Charles, spar with me." Charles flinches, nearly dropping the book in his hands at my sudden challenge. "It's only friday." "Astute observation." I grin at the look of dismay I see on his face as I fling a casual arm over his shoulders and start walking him towards the back of the shop. Charles and I have sparred every weekend since he started working at the shop 6 months ago. He was a laughably bad fighter when we first started (You'd think the man had never thrown a punch before), but over time and with some guidance he had proven himself to be a half decent student.
We head out through the back door and onto the sparring grounds. A large black stone slab chalked with border markings sits in the middle of the clearing outside, a space for training Morgana made for me after she caught me punching a tree only a week after Drakkon left me in her care.
"A fighter like you needs a proper place to vent your energy."
I let go of Charles's shoulder and give him a light shove towards the ring. "Finally!, I love watching you guys spar." Chirps Fierre from behind us, them and Carina having followed us outside. "I don't know why you do, given that it always ends the same way." Carina quips as she leans against the doorway to watch. Fierre ignores her comment and runs into the centre of the ring.
"In the black corner, we have our undefeated champion! A menace both in and out of the ring TANYA!" I chuckle at Fierre's spirited introduction as I step onto my side of the stone slab. "And in the other black corner we have our relentlessly scrappy underdog, CHARLES!" Charles steps onto his side of the slab, looking like he'd very much rather be doing anything else but knowing he can't escape. "Choose. Your. Weapon!" Fierre shouts as they stomp down on a panel in the centre of the ring. An arsenal of weaponry emerges from the ground on either side of the ring.
As I look over the collection of weapons before me my eyes briefly catch on a pair of silver daggers that hang near the bottom of the arsenal. I gaze in amazement at the finely crafted obsidian daggers sitting within the giftbox. "Can I really have these?" The question comes out breathier than intended but Drakkon catches it anyway. "What else do you expect to slay your enemies with?"
I shake off the memory and grab a short sword off the weapons rack. I turn to face Charles as the arsenal recedes back into the ground. He stares me down from across the ring, now armed with a longsword and a look of fierce determination. Fierre hops out of the ring. "Fighters on your marks…" We shift into our respective fighting stances. "Get set…" Charles shoots me a competitive glare, I shoot him a wink. "...FIGHT!"
We shoot off, the clash of steel rings through the air as our blades crash against each other. I immediately send Charles on the defense, keeping him busy with a flurry of strikes and getting in close to limit his mobility. Charles blocks desperately, trying to fend off my blows as he's forced back step after step. He grits his teeth and delivers a swift kick to my stomach, sending me staggering a few steps back. I give a wolfish grin as he raises his long sword, going on the offensive. I easily dodge his swings, leaning and ducking my way away from his slow, overzealous strikes. A hundred days of training has made him sharp, but 8 years of training has made me sharper. I duck under another one of his swings and, faster than he can react, I shift into his space, popping up in between his arms and uppercutting him with the pommel of my short sword. The blow breaks his stance and he staggers backwards. I push the advantage and slash at his hand. He barely has time to hiss in pain as he drops his sword. I'm on him in an instant, pinning him to the ground with my legs and pointing the tip of my short sword at his throat.
After a moment Charles groans from underneath me "...I concede." "...And in a shockingly unsurprising turn of events, Tanya claims yet another victory in the ring." Fierre announces proudly from the sidelines. I get up from my position on Charles's torso, giving him an impish grin before returning my shortsword to the arsenal and hopping out of the ring. Fierre and Carina swarm Charles as I head back into the shop to fetch bandages for Charles's hand.
As soon as I cross the threshold I freeze in my tracks. I'm not alone. I lock the door behind me, if this comes to a fight I'd rather the others stay out of it. I turn the corner and that's when I see them. A tall, lanky cloaked figure stands with their back to me, facing one of the shop's many bookshelves, their focus elsewhere. I approach, I keep my steps silent as I ready a paralysis needle. Once I'm behind them I call out, putting on my finest customer service voice. "Can I help you?" The figure pauses, closing the book they were reading, the sound bouncing off the store walls as they turn to face me. I lock eyes with the intruder as I take them in, Steel grey braids tied into a low ponytail pour out from inside the hood of the cloak, a sharp contrast to the intruder's dark brown skin. A pair of calm silver eyes stare back at me.
The intruder smiles at me, open and honest. "Yes, you can. My name is Tai, He/They."
He places two fingers on the pulse point in his neck and nods to me in greeting. The greeting is distinctly eastern, as is the golden locket that hangs from their neck only partially hidden beneath their cloak. "Tanya, She/Her. What brings you to our humble shop, Tai?" Honestly I'm more interested in how he got in without ringing the bell. The bell at the front of the shop was enchanted by Morgana. Its ring can always be heard by the shop's employees no matter where they are on the grounds. Even if you enter through the windows, it should be impossible to get inside the shop without triggering it, and yet here he stands. Tai places the book in their hands back onto the shelf before reaching into their cloak and pulling out an all black package. "I'm supposed to deliver this package to The demon of the northern gate but she-" I strike fast, piercing their neck with a paralysis needle.
"Tanya, only monsters and cowards fear me too much to speak my name." Morgana had warned me of those who feared her name, believing that even the mere mention of her would summon ill fortune. This intruder is not to be trusted. Could he be part of the issue Morgana spoke of? "Okay, ow." My blood goes cold. I jump back, creating distance between us. Tai stands unaffected, a mild frown pulling at his handsome features. I stare at them in shock as they pull the needle from their neck. There is enough modified Sensirus on each of my needles to paralyze a seasoned warrior, the adjusted formula stunning even those with a pre developed resistance to the poison. He should be on the floor, instead Tai shoots me a look of disappointed confusion as he tosses the needle on the ground. "Haven't you ever heard 'Don't stab the messenger?'"
I plaster a smile over my growing concerns, wishing I still had the short sword as I give a casual shrug. "Can't fault me for trying." I reach for more needles, even if they have some sort of immunity to the poison, being stabbed in the eyes tends to immobilize most opponents. "We could skip this next part though if you just tell me who sent you." I shift into a fighting stance, not expecting an actual answer. Tai's eyes widen, not in fear but in shock. "You don't know?!" their shocked exclamation momentarily confuses me. The question isn't posed with the offence of someone being told I've never heard of their master. No. He speaks with the embarrassed shock of someone who just fell for an especially mean prank. They let out a sharp breath, "...Does Lady Morgana even live here?" The soft tone of annoyed defeat in their voice catches me off guard. I relax my stance slightly as I consider the implications of his question.
He's clearly come a long way, the wear on his cloak is proof of that, but if they came all the way from the east just to deliver a package, they shouldn't have any doubts about where they're delivering it to. Tai murmurs under his breath pulling me from my thoughts in time for me to catch the tail end of his sentence. "-Swore she'd know them." I freeze as it clicks into place. He doesn't know who's package he's delivering. He was never told. Oh SHIT. I snatch the box from their hands and slam my fist down on a magic stone affixed to the side of the lobby desk. I hurl the package into the air and watch as a bright light shoots from the magic stone and encases the box in a security bubble.
"You." I point a finger between the eyes of a very alarmed looking Tai. "Start talking.