Chapter VII

Among Thieves and Troupers

The group broke camp early the next day and got a move on towards their destination. Thankfully the sky didn’t have a cloud in the sky and everything was quiet. The wagon wheels clacked against a few stones in the dirt road. Lapis kept on the archer’s shoulder and occasionally spread her wings and yawned.

So tired. Cerulean rolled his eyes at the comment. Amber was in a similar situation as she trudged along beside him. Sunset was sitting beside Arbor on the wagon while Nix sat in the back with a book in her hands. Gale walked behind the wagon her hand resting on the handle of her blade.

The wheels clicked along the dirt road as they passed by rivers and lakes. Lapis’s head suddenly shot up and looked around while growling. Cerulean motioned for the wagon to stop and the guild members went on alert. “See something?” Gale asked as she walked in front of the wagon. Cerulean gestured to the growling dragon.

“I’m going to scout ahead for a bit, you fly around and see if you can see anything. Amber, go left then circle around. I’ll meet you halfway.” The fox girl saluted while Sunset and Nix looked at one another.

“What about us?” Nix said as she glared at the man.

“You two stay with the cart. Someone has to protect this thing.” He said turning his back and Lapis hopped off after Cerulean whispered something to the baby dragon.

“But-“ Sunset’s protest wasn’t heard as Gale took to the skies and the other two disappeared into the bushes. Sunset sat back down and huffed as she crossed her arms.

“Where does he get off ordering us around like that?” Nix grumbled to herself. Sunset only shrugged at the comment not giving it much mind. The dragon then jumped up into the cart beside Nix who nudged her away with her foot like you would a puppy who was thinking on gnawing on your shoes. Lapis hissed and found a cool corner in the cart to nap in. The three waited for over an hour and while none of them said it, worry was slowly starting to creep into their minds.

The canvas suddenly tore open as an arrow buried it’s iron head into the wood beside Sunset’s shoulder. The two girls sprung into action and jumped out of the cart to see two arrows shot out from a few branches a few feet away from the path. Sunset raised her staff and the arrows broke against a barrier clothed in flames. A few figures wearing dark hoods charged at them. Nix slammed her hands on the dirt in front of her and the ground sprouted up in the shape of fists to pelt one of the attackers. After he lost his footing, two large hands made of rock sprouted from the ground and clamped around the man. The others in the group veered off and went straight for the cart and the farmer. Suddenly, one of them was tackled to the ground by Amber as she shot out of the bushes like a bolt from a crossbow.

After getting to his feet, the man pulled a long jagged dagger out from under his cloak before trying to bring the blade down onto her. She caught the man’s wrist and slammed her free hand into his jaw. The man spat a tooth out and attempted to slash at the woman’s stomach. The fox girl charged in and lashed out with a series of kicks and punches. Each hit their mark on the assailant’s chest. With a final hard kick, the thug crashed against a tree and fell unconscious.

Another man had a longsword drawn and had his sights on the farmer who was throwing more of his knives. Some of them just missing their mark by a hair. With blinding speed, Gale came down from the skies with her blade drawn. She eyed the bandit and tightened her grip on her blade’s handle. The man slashed at Gale who parried several blows and used her natural thick scales to protect the few slashes that managed to slip through. Her blade crackled with lightning and ended up breaking her opponent’s blade before the magic shocked him and he crumpled to the round in a pile.

Sunset pointed her staff at the rushing bandit and shot several fire balls at him while she waved her free hand over her head. The assailant dodged them and closed in close on the cart. Sunset smiled as he stepped on the trap she’d set. The ground glowed with runes and exploded in shining sparks of flames, sending the man flying backwards. During the confusion, Cerulean saw the arrows coming from a nearby tree top. He shot two ice arrows that hit their mark and he heard the archer’s shouts of pain as they fell from the tree. He shot one more arrow that buried itself in the attacker’s ankle and was pinned to the tree.

“Well, that’s one way to start the morning.” Amber said as she tossed the man she’d beaten up in a pile with the rest. Once they were all gathered Nix bound them together the ground to immobilize them. The alchemist marched up to Cerulean and slapped him across the face.

“What the hell was this about?” She yelled as Cerulean steadied himself. “Where did you three run off to?” Cerulean rubbed his stinging cheek that now had a red hand print that was vibrant against his pale skin.

“These guys have been tailing us since this morning, maybe even yesterday.” The other members had now gathered to listen. “I wasn’t gonna wait for them to get the drop on us, so I set a trap.”

“And you didn’t think to tell us because?” Sunset put her hands on her hips and stared at him incredulously.

“You can’t have a trap without bait and you two looked just harmless enough to fit the bill.” The two women and farmer glared at him with angry eyes. “If they’d seen me, Gale or Amber around then they would have waited or gone to get more of their friends.” He gestured to the five beaten bandits.

“What if you’d missed?” Nix huffed. Cerulean thought long and hard as if the possibility had never even occurred to him. He answered with a shrug that made Nix’s blood boil. Gale then stepped forwards.

“While I don’t agree with the method, we learned quite a bit from this little plan.” Sunset looked at her quizzically. “They seemed more concerned with the cart than us. That means that they’re not just bandits or highwaymen. They were looking for something,” She shot a glance to Arbor. “or someone.” All heads turned to look at the farmer who had a confused look on his face.

“Me? What would they want with me?”

“That I don’t know.” She walked over and picked up one of the knives he threw at the attackers. “I also don’t know why you have these high quality blades either.” He held it in front of him. “These knives are pure griffonian steel. It is strange to come by in these parts and very difficult to forge. To have as many as you do must have cost you quite a lot.”

“How much?” Nix asked as she eyed the knife.

“Unless you he’s growing a tree that has leaves of silver, I can’t see how you could afford all of them.” Arbor felt a small bead of sweat form on his brow.

“Not to mention you seem pretty good with them.” Amber said as she remembered the times he threw them at their attackers.

“I play a lot of games like that on the farm to help pass the time.” He said as he folded his arms. The mention of the farm made something in Nix’s mind click. She flashed a look at Cerulean who had the same look on his face.

“You said you grew Sage-foot.” Arbor gave a slow nod. Unsure of where nix was going with her exclamation. “Sage-foot only grows in high altitude climate like on the edge of cliffs or high hills and any farmer with a half a wit in their head will tell you that it has no medicinal properties. It’s useless, most people just feed it t their livestock.” The farmer gulped nervously as the group all eyed him.

The man that Amber had bloodied started chuckling to himself. “Interlopers, the lot of you,” He said glaring at the group. “we were paid to reclaim what was taken.”

“Taken?” Sunset asked as she fixed her eyes on Arbor who was looking more and more nervous. The group heard a loud screech come from the cart.

You better come and see this! Lapis cried out. Cerulean walked over to the back of the cart and saw the dragon sniffing at several bags. She then slashed the bag open with her claws and rice started spilling out. Cerulean got in the cart and saw something sparkling in the white grains. He reached his hand in and pulled out several gold coins. He dug deeper and there were more coins than he could count.

The girls walked over and Nix’s jaw dropped as she jumped into the cart and started going through the bags. Arbor slowly started to step back away from the group. Gale clamped a firm scaled hand on his shoulder and pushed him against the side of the cart. “Talk, now.” She said in a commanding tone. Arbor gulped as she snarled and showed her large canines. Amber cracked her fingers and Sunset was glaring at the man with her hand on her staff.

“Okay, okay fine.” He said as he cleared his throat. “I’m not a farmer. I’m just a guy trying to start a new life.”

“Where’d you get all that money and supplies?” Sunset said as she narrowed her eyes.

“I came across a dig cite a few weeks back loaded to the brim with gold and other things. The whole place was deserted so I helped myself.” He said as he rubbed his head. “I bought the supplies off a trader and the knives off of some griffonian mercenaries and they taught me how to use them.”

“What dig site?” Sunset asked. Arbor shrugged.

“Some random place in the West. I forget where, but the whole place felt,” He paused as if trying to find the right word to describe it. “wrong.” He shivered.

“How so?” Gale asked as she quirked an eyebrow.

“It was like everyone left right in the middle of eating. The fires were still burning and there was warm food on the plates. Then everything started burning, like a wild fire just broke out in the middle of camp and there was something weird about the flames.” The group looked at him expectantly. “The flames in the fires were black as night, some were purple too.” There was some shuffling in the cart and Cerulean came out carrying a box.

“What the hell is this thing?” He asked as he looked at the box. It was a pristine black yet it was not made out of metal. Cerulean could feel the grains of wood under his fingers. The lid was held shut by a large silver lock.

“Don’t know, just found it in one of the tents.” Arbor shrugged.

“What is inside?” Gale asked as she eyed the container. He gave another shrug.

“I broke all my lock picks trying to get the blasted thing open.” Cerulean put his had on the lock and ice started to form around and inside the lock. He could hear the metal starting to creak as the ice started to expand. Suddenly, magical shapes and lines glowed red on the box’s surface and the ice shattered as the archer yelped in surprise and dropped the box.

“What?” Sunset asked as she saw him shaking his hand as if it were just burned.

“It stung me!” He said shaking his hand. “Feels like it went numb.” Sunset crouched down and looked at the fading marks.

“These are ward marks.” She said as she rubbed her fingers along the glowing runes. “I think this can only be opened by the key it was made for.”

“And before you even ask, no, I don’t have it.” Arbor said crossing his arms. Cerulean eyed the box and felt a cold shiver run down his spine.

“Let us not worry about it.” Gale said in a matter of fact tone. “We have more pressing matters.” She turned back to the farmer. “Like what to do with you.” Arbor gulped as he felt the dragoness’ gaze on him.

“Look, I know I lied to you, but if you help me get to where I’m going, then I’ll let you each take a bit of the gold I got on top of what the mission cost.” Nix’s eyes grew wide at the thought. Cerulean closed his eyes and let out a breath.

“Conference!” He said as if he were a judge calling the court to order. He walked behind the wagon as the others followed. He went over to Lapis and pointed to the man. “If he tries to run, then bite his leg.” Arbor gulped as the small dragon showed him her razor sharp teeth. The five guild members stood in a circle. “What do you guys think?”

“I say we take the deal.” Nix said in a firm tone. “We’re already halfway there. Might as well finish the job with some extra coin in our pockets.”

“What about the fact that he lied to us since we met him?” Sunset pointed out. Nix just shrugged.

“So what? We’re not being paid to trust him, just make sure he gets to where he’s going.” Amber rubbed the back of her head before speaking up.

“As much as I hate to say it, I agree with the pipsqueak.” Nix furrowed her brow at the fox eared girl. “We’ll probably get triple of what the job request was. Cut that four ways? That’s enough to pay for three month’s rent with some to spare.”

“Oh no, don’t tell me you’ve picked up her money grubbing habit.” Cerulean said as he pointed a finger at Nix.

“The sooner one of us gets enough money, the sooner one of us can move out and get out of the other’s hair.” Amber said. “I’m willing to compromise if it gets me some peace and quiet.” Gale leaned against the cart and shook her head.

“I do not like this.” Gale said in her draconic accent as she crossed her arms. “He’s hidden much from us already. Who knows what else he’s hiding.” She said as she looked inside the cart. “He could have stolen that money from a duke or a town. I say we turn back, bring him with us and let the Princess decide on what to do with him.” Cerulean bit his lip and gave a nod.

“I agree with Gale. There are too many unknowns. I signed on to protect him from idiot bandits and wild animals, not professional killers.” He shifted his gaze back over to the black box. “There’s something weird about that box too. Why such a strong lock and wards to protect it?”

“Because there’s obviously something valuable inside,” Nix said in a bland tone.

“Or something dangerous,” Cerulean stated as he turned to Sunset who was glaring at the box. “You felt it too?”

“I can’t put my finger on it, but there’s definitely something odd about it.”

“Well, it seems we’re at a disagreement.” Nix said in a snooty tone. All eyes turned to Sunset for the tie breaker. The fire mage twiddled her fingers and weighed all the options.

“You think they’ll be more of those bandits?” She looked at the veteran guild member.

“Probably and there’s a good chance they’ve laid a few surprises in store for us.” Gale stated. “We also don’t know how many there are. These five could just be scouts while the other twenty are waiting for us down the road.”

“You don’t know that.” Amber protested.

“It’s what I’d do if I were in their shoes.” Cerulean said. “By now they’ve probably guessed where we’re going and once they find out their friends haven’t come back they’ve assumed the worst and will make things even more difficult for us.” Sunset pondered the words and thought carefully. After a span of minutes she finally let out a sigh and made her decision.

“Let’s turn back.” She said in a reluctant tone. “We aren’t properly equipped to deal with a full band of organized bandits or whatever sort of traps they have in store for us.” Cerulean and Gale nodded as Nix gritted her teeth and Amber kicked some dirt with her boot.

“You three can go back, I’m finishing this.” Nix piped up.

“Oh sure, by all means go and fight a whole company of bandits with just Amber to help you.” The fox girl frowned at Cerulean’s mocking tone. “That is if you two don’t throttle each other first. You two have been like cats and dogs since you met and it’s only because of Sunset and my intervention that you haven’t killed each other yet.” Gale then stepped forwards with a serious look on her face.

“Once we get back I’ll have report you two to the guild master and believe me, she won’t be pleased that you two went off on your own.” Gale said in a serious tone. That made the color form Amber’s face drain away.

“I’m changing my vote.” Amber said as she held up a hand and stepped next to Cerulean and Gale.

“Traitor,” Nix hissed as she glared at Amber.

“Bandits are one thing, but I do not want to get on the bad side of a Princess who can control the moon with her mind.” Outnumbered four to one, Nix hung her head in defeat and agreed with the rest of the group. The group went back to where Arbor and Lapis were having a stare down. The dragon was positioned like a cat about to pounce on a mouse and although she was still small, her teeth would go through the man’s leg like a hot knife through butter.

“Pack it up, we’re going back to the guild.” Gale barked at the robber. He was about to protest but was shut down as Gale put a hand on her sword. “If you won’t come willingly, then we’ll drag you back.” He closed his mouth and hung his head in defeat. There was a sudden outburst from Cerulean and the others went around the other side of the wagon to see the man inspecting the now empty space were the bandits had previously occupied.

“How’d they’d get loose?”

“Must have been when We were taking a vote.” Nix said in a vexed tone as she looked at Cerulean. “Great, now they know what we plan to do.”

“For all we know they didn’t hear the end of our discussion, they could still think we’re forging ahead.” Sunset stated. “By the time they figure out whats happened, we’ll already be back to the guild, if not close.” Cerulean gave her a nod and the group head back the way they came. Most of the trip was spent in silence Gale hovered a little above the cart while the rest of the group waited inside.

They passed the camp they’d made the previous night by mid afternoon and made camp soon after. Tension was still high by the time dinner came around. The silence was so thick you could hack at it with a butcher’s cleaver. Amber finally broke the silence with a loud groan. “I’m bored!” She exclaimed as she threw her arms up in the air. “Someone better do something soon or I’m gonna go ballistic.”

Everyone looked at one another. They had only talked of small things before their encounter with the bandits and found out about Arbor’s origins. The thief cleared his throat.

“I have an old lute in the back, but I can’t play it.” Cerulean turned to look at the man. A small glimmer was shining in his eye.

“Mind if I give it a shot?” It’s always customary to ask a musician, even a beginner, to hold their instrument. Arbor gave him a nod. Cerulean’s eyes widened and he quickly went to the cart. The group all looked at one another as they heard him rummaging before he gave a cry of victory. He cam back to the fire place holding a seven string lute. It was made out of fine brown wood and the strings looked new. He started to tune the instrument when Gale spoke up.

“Do you really think that’s a good idea? You’ll lead the bandits right to us.” Cerulean nodded in understanding and set the lute down before he went through his travel sack and pulled out several wads of cloth and stuffed it inside the lute’s bowl. He strummed the strings and the sound became muffled. Not muffled enough to mute it, but enough so that the sound wouldn’t carry anywhere beyond a few feet from the camp.

Once he was done he picked up the lute and finished tuning it. “Fair warning, I’m a bit rusty. Any requests?” He said as he looked around the camp.

“Can you play the Merchant’s March?” Amber asked. Cerulean grinned. The Merchant’s March was older than the founding of Equestria, maybe even Celestia herself. He cracked his knuckles and strummed the instrument’s strings. Notes rang out in a harmonious symphony. The tale was about a traveling merchant who walked all over the world selling his various goods.

The original lyrics to the song had long since been lost or forgotten, so many people just made up their own verses to it. Cerulean told a version where the merchant had an unfortunate encounter with a troll, but he managed to trick him by giving him a box filled with sunlight and when the troll opened it, he was turned into stone.

Once the song was done, Amber cheered while Sunset, Gale and Arbor gave a few claps while Nix just stared at him in disbelief. Cerulean walked over to Arbor handing him his lute back. “Keep it. I could never figure out how to play the blasted thing.”

“Thank you for the generous offer, but I already have one and I if I were to take yours, it’d feel like I was cheating on it.” He said in an embarrassed tone.

“You make it sound like you’re talking about a woman.” Gale said in her heavy draconian accent. Cerulean gave the lute back to Arbor before turning to face Gale.

“Listen, the bond between a musician and their instrument is a sacred thing. Some would even say more sacred than between lovers.” He thought for a moment. “Legend says that the great Clef Tenor was buried with all his instruments so that he could play his music to the wandering souls and they’d find their way to the afterlife.” Clef Tenor was a legendary traveling performer. He could play any instrument and had a voice so sweet it would calm a stormy sea. He could make a heart made of ice break and could swoon any woman by just playing a few notes from one of his many instruments. Arbor nodded.

“I think I heard an old story teller say the same thing in some tavern.” Cerulean sat back down and Sunset spoke up.

“Where’d you learn to play?”

“Well, when I was six I broke my leg and was bedridden for over a month. My options were either go mad with boredom or find a hobby. I picked up my dad’s old lute and the rest is history.” He shrugged and he noticed that Nix had been staring at him the whole time.

“I get it now,” She said as she squinted at him. “you’re one of those traveling troupers aren’t you?” The camp went quiet and all eyes turned towards Cerulean who’s mouth was now a thin line. Traveling troupers were not the most popular people in the more populated areas of Equestria.

“I was born into the White Wolf Traveling Troupe.” He said in a stern tone. Nix lifted her cup of tea to her lips.

“So you’re a wandering vagabond.” As he lips touched her cup she felt a burning sensation and piercing cold. She looked down and saw that her once warm tea was now a block of ice that her lips were now stuck to. She was about to glare at Cerulean but stopped when she saw his hard teal eyes focused on her.

“Why is it that the shorter someone is, the bigger mouth they have?” Nix narrowed her eyes on the man and tried to say something very un-lady like. Cerulean pointed a finger at the girl. “Listen here you little slip stick, the next time you call me vagabond I’ll freeze you to a tree and leave you out for bears to snack on. Got it?” Nix grunted at the man. “I’ll take that as a yes.” He waved his hand and her frozen block of tea returned to liquid form.

“Not for nothing,” Arbor said piping up. “but I’ve herd some concerning rumors about those kind of troupes.” He shivered as Cerulean fixed his gaze on him.

“Let me make this clear to everyone,” His tone was sharp enough to cut through tempered steel. “we don’t meddle with dark magic, we don’t kidnap children, and we don’t steal. To do that would go against everything being a trouper stands for.”

“And what does it mean to be a trouper?” Sunset asked trying to calm the situation. Cerulean took in a deep breath and exhaled.

“It means we breath the free air. We go where we want, when we want and if we meet some weary travelers along the way, we invite them to share out fire and revel in our songs and stories. Most people start those rumors because they don’t understand or have their noses pointed so high that their heads are stuck straight up.” He huffed.

“I agree.” Amber stated. “I spent some time with a troupe when I was traveling and they were really nice.” That got Cerulean’s attention.

“Which troupe?” He inquired. Amber rubbed her head as she tried to remember.

“The name escapes me, I was only with them for a few nights, but man did they know how to throw a party.” She smirked.

“Thank you.” Cerulean said before he gazed at the fire. “I’m turning in, we got a long day of walking tomorrow.” He said as he walked over to his spread and laid down with Lapis curling up beside him. “Wake me up when it’s my turn to watch.”

~~~

Several miles away the bandits who had been beaten by the guild members waited in a tent with ashen faces and sweat on their foreheads. They sat before four figures wearing thick black cloaks and their features were hidden by the shadows cast from the fire light. “You failed?” One of the figures said in a deep tone.

“The thief had help sir.”

“How many?” The figure on the far left asked. The bandits looked at one another and gulped.

“Five.” The bandit leader said meekly.

“Only five?” The third figure said in a condescending tone. One of the bandits got to their feet and glared at the four cloaked figures.

“You said they’d just be idiot Canterlot Guards, not mages!” The four shifted their gaze to the now standing bandit. The bravado left him and he sat back down.

“This is why I told you we shouldn’t have hired them.” The other figure said.

“We know where they’re going,” The leader spoke up again. “they’re going back the way they came. I guess the guy didn’t tell them what he was really carrying.” He said with a gulp. “We won’t fail you again sirs.” The cloaked figure in the middle stood up.

He stood at seven feet tall and his face was completely covered in shadow. The bandit leader felt something cold and dark grip his body. His feet felt as if they were rooted to where he stood. The shadowed one stretched out an armored hand. “No, you will not.” With a sharp turn of his wrist, the five bandit’s necks let out a loud snap and they crumpled to the ground lifelessly.

The tall figure turned to the other three who sat motionless. “Talis, Siren,” The figures on the left dropped to one knee and bowed. “you will retrieve what was taken.”

“It shall be done my lord.” The larger one answered with a twisted pleasure in his voice. The leader turned to the figure on the right.

“Shax, you will burn the bodies and cover our tracks.” He nodded and he piled the bandit’s corpses onto the fire. He waved his hands over the fire and the flames turned a dark purple. Within an hour the only thing that remained of the five fools was white ash. The tall man then approached the hulking Talis. “No mistakes this time.” He hissed.

“I won’t fail you sir.” The mountain of shadow stated in a decisive tone.

“Good,” He said as he turned. “you know what happens if you do.”

Author's Note

WOW! It has been a LONG time since I updated this one. So sorry for the long wait. Hope you enjoyed it.