Autumn 4994, 11 Aoimoth

"Who's that?"

The usual whispers started as soon as Lily entered the tavern after Master Velona. Well, the patrons thought they were whispering. But the crowd was large, and loud enough that they couldn't truly keep their words quiet and still expect their companions to hear them.

"Are those tattoos? Is she a criminal?" 

"Maybe a Sorcerer... her hair..."

"It looks like metal. There's no way that's natural..." 

Lily's sigh was loud and dramatic but did nothing to stop the muttering. "Just ignore them," Tuth said as he passed her at the bar, taking the seat on the other side of Master Velona while Lily stopped to stare at her stool. 

They were always the same whispers, and Lily really couldn't blame them. She'd been traveling with Master Velona for the last six years, had seen the entire kingdom a few times over, yet had never met another person with metallic hair or scaled stripes. Her crimson scales formed three stripes across her right cheek that merged together at her neck to twist around her body under her clothes, reappearing and splitting into three again on her left hand and right foot. And that was just what people could see at a distance. If they got close enough, they would often make warding signs against her eyes, which were dark blue and slit like a cat. 

She looked over her shoulder at the watching patrons, all were trying to stare while also avoiding her eyes. With another sigh, Lily climbed onto her stool and hopped over to the bar, spinning on her toes to face the crowd. Tuth hid his face in his arms with a groan, and Master Velona rubbed his back soothingly as Lily cleared her throat to address the townsfolk,

"These are not tattoos, and I am not a criminal. I am a Sorcerer, and I have my clearance. My hair is -in fact- natural, and so are my scales. If you would like a closer look, or have any questions, I'll be here for the rest of the night. I don't bite." She smiled at the now silent tavern, and one brave -probably drunk- man in the front spoke up, 

"Well, that's disappointing. Nothing wrong with a little nibble..." Some of the others gasped, but Lily laughed out loud, 

"True! At least one of you has the balls to be blunt about it." She shot the man a wink, and he lifted his tankard to her in salute. "But I still won't, you'd have to ask really really nicely..." a few of the man's companions cheered, and some of the women blushed but smiled, and Lily hopped down from the bar.  

"Why do you always have to do that?" Tuth asked in a whine. The young Mage had only been traveling with Lily and Velona for a year. And though he was used to most of Lily's eccentricities, he always hated when she attracted even more attention on purpose. 

Lily scoffed and took her seat properly, waving at the bartender but speaking to Tuth, "You're the one who wanted to come here and do this job. I wanted to go to Talkar. That's the most recent place Shon's been." according to his letters. "Besides, this way, they might start whispering about something other than my appearance." 

"Shon and Veon-Zih were in Talkar over three months ago Lily, I doubt they're still there," Velona pointed out as the bartender finally stopped in front of their small team. 

Lily shrugged at her teacher's observation, "But it's still the most recent we have," to the bartender, she asked, "What's your local specialty? Something I can't find anywhere else." 

The man grunted, "Wheat beer," not surprising for the plains of Lenare, even on the southern border near Halakon. Still, every town had its own recipe, so Lily nodded and smiled at the man who shuffled off to pour her drink. 

She twisted in her seat to lean on the bar and watch the door, continuing to Tuth and Velona, "Why did we have to take this job anyway? Kobolds are soooo boring, and they always beg for mercy in draconic." 

"It's my turn Lily, you promised," Tuth argued, "Kobolds are the only known worshipers of dragon-like gods. If this nest is old enough, then they might even have artifacts no one else has seen before."

Lily groaned, and Velona snickered, "You did say he could choose this one. And we had some time to kill before the Guild needs us in Lenare city."

"But kobolds? Really?" Lily whined, draping herself over the bar until the tender brought her drink. "I know I said I would teach you draconic, but they are honestly the worst to practice on." 

She sipped her drink while Tuth scoffed, "Worse than draken? And seriously, you've been 'teaching' me," he made quotes in the air with his fingers, "for this entire year, and I can barely comprehend the sentence structure." 

"This is amazing!" Lily exclaimed to the bartender with a beaming smile he couldn't help but return with a shy grin. "Keep 'em coming, and my compliments to the local brewers." 

Tuth reached past Velona to knock his knuckles on the bar in front of Lily, "Are you even listening to me?" 

"Yeah yeah, I'm not a good teacher." Lily said, waving him off and taking another deep drink of her beer, "Find someone else to teach you then." 

The Mage threw his hands in the air in exasperation, "No one else speaks it! It's a dead language!" 

"Then I guess you're stuck with me." Lily stuck her tongue out at the young Mage and laughed as his face turned bright red. 

"Why the Guild ever let you leave-" he started, and Velona placed a hand on his arm to silence him.

Lily's smile vanished. She sat straight to look over Velona's shaved head and growled at Tuth, "The Mages didn't 'let' me leave, and they can't keep me. I'm not an experiment anymore, Tuth, to anyone, including you."

"I didn't... I would never... I..." Tuth stuttered, realizing his mistake.

"Let's change the subject, shall we?" Velona asked sweetly.

Lily slapped her hand on the bar and glared at her companions, "This is the last one. No more missions. I'm tired of waiting. We've been all over the place and still haven't run into Shon." 

Tuth moaned, hardly relieved that this was the change in subject Lily went for, "He never stays still! And neither do you. Every time I suggest we wait around for a bit, you get antsy and want to take another job to move on." 

Lily just rolled her eyes, "I don't care. I'm done." 

"We already promised to help the Guild in Lenare-" Master Velona started, and Lily rushed to interrupt, 

"After that, then. If Rasnah can send out a mass message to find Veon-Zih, then we can too."

Velona reached over to pat Lily on the head, ignoring her heat as she always did, "General Rasnah is the head of the second-largest Temple in Clearhelm and a renowned hero. We don't have her authority to-"

"Then we'll go to Clearhelm and have her do it," Lily argued, brushing the Monk's hand off, "I promised I would find him, and it's already been five years. Do you not want to see Master Veon-Zih again? I thought you two made up?" Lily asked Velona. 

The Monk sighed, "That was a long time ago, Lily. We've moved on. That doesn't mean I don't want to see him again."

Lily stared into her drink, feeling guilty, "I'm sorry, Master, I just don't want to wait anymore..." Velona hadn't only had to wait. She'd had to give up on love altogether. 

"I know, my precious flower," the woman reached over to stroke Lily's hair again, "after Lenare city, we'll find him, I promise." 

A new voice cut above the everyday bustle of the crowd, "You must be the adventurers the Lord hired!" a privately employed soldier in a crumpled local uniform approached from the door, "There's only three of you?" he asked, looking them over and growing crestfallen.

Lily shrugged, "They're only kobolds. Where's the Duke anyway?" 

"On the front lines, m'lady. In the crags. I'll lead you there tomorrow morning." 

Master Velona stood to give the man a Monk bow, her right fist in her left palm, "What can you tell us about the mission?" 

The soldier sighed, taking the seat beside Lily and waving down the bartender as he explained. "Well, if it was just the nest we found in the caves, it would've been fine. But with the fires up north, we got another swarm of the little buggers coming into the crags to take shelter, and we don't fancy getting flanked underground." 

"And you didn't call in the Temple because..." Velona led with a smile. 

The man flushed and stuttered a half-hearted excuse, "Well, we... um... we wanted to handle it without getting the government involved. They have enough to worry about with the fires, and whatnot, right?" 

"Right..." Velona let the word stretch and the man squirm a little longer before she shrugged, "Either way, we accepted the job, and we'll do it. Kobolds aren't much of a challenge anymore anyway." 

Lily perked up, "Maybe we'll get lucky and some draken ran with them!" or maybe even a drake! Though she had enough sense not to mention that particular settlement-destroying monster out loud.

The soldier blanched, looking between the two ladies, "There have been no signs of draken, m'ladies. Please don't wish such upon us."

"Ah well," Lily sighed glumly, resting her elbow on the bar and her chin in her palm, "it should be over fast at least..."

***

Lily and the others left the little village on foot and journeyed through the crags carving their way through the plains of southern Lenare. The soldier had provided them with horses, but as horses were afraid of Lily and refused to allow her near them, they were forced to abstain. As such, it took most of the day to reach the camp. When they did arrive, they were greeted by cheers from four more soldiers that quickly turned to the usual whispers at Lily's appearance. Tainted with an undertone of worry that there were so few of them.

"They're just kobolds. Seriously..." Lily muttered as someone -who could only the Duke- made his way towards them. 

He was a young man, late twenties probably, with short-cropped brown hair and a broad grin that seemed counter to his men's clear concerns. He wore expensive plate armor and carried a thin nobles rapier at his waist. Fancier than a short sword but not a proper longsword -which were generally reserved for Paladins of Hengist.

"And you must be the adventurers!" he held his arms out wide to encompass the three of them, "I am Duke Danly, and I am so pleased to have you here."

Master Velona stepped forward to bow to the Duke, "It is our pleasure to assist Duke Danly. I am Master Velona of the Kensai Monastery, and this is Mage Tuth and Lily." 

The Duke nodded respectfully to each of them, stressing their titles, "Master Velona, Mage Tuth and..." his eyes settled on Lily, the only one without a ranked title, "Lily..." 

Lily could practically read the man's thoughts as his eyes scanned up her body. No robes, so not a Mage... Long hair that reached down to her lower back, so not a Monk... Only a quarterstaff for a weapon, so not a fighter... No armor and simple clothes of high quality that were embroidered to match her expensive jewelry... So maybe a fellow noble looking for adventure? So many assumptions. Lily grinned and nodded at her name, not adding anything to clarify, waiting to see if he would let the assumptions stand or ask any questions. 

The latter apparently, because he just grinned and gave a courtly bow, "We expected you sooner, but I assume my man explained the situation?" 

"Yep," Lily confirmed, "We're splitting up, one team taking the group in the caves and another staying out here to get the ones in the crags. I'm assuming you didn't ask for the Temple's assistance because you want to mine the caves without their knowledge..." She tilted her head at the Duke, and though his grin never faltered, the men behind him shifted uncomfortably. 

"One should never assume, m'lady," was the only answer she got, and Lily shifted her head to tilt to the other side. 

"No, they shouldn't..." and yet he still hadn't taken the hint. Oh well, he would have to learn the hard way.

"We'll get going then. We still have plenty of daylight. The greatest danger with kobolds is that they swarm-" the Duke started,

"And the traps." Tuth interrupted, "Those going in the cave should keep that in mind. Kobolds are masters of traps." 

"Yes, well..." the Duke hesitated, glancing at Lily again, "I still think the caves will be the safest, so if m'lady will go with that team, then you two..." 

"Bad idea," Tuth interrupted again, "Lily is the last person you want underground." 

Velona cleared her throat, "You hired us for our experience Duke Danly. Mage Tuth and I will lead the team in the caves, while your team and Lily will handle those up here."

"The numbers..." The Duke tried to argue, but Lily just clapped her hands and spoke loudly over him,

"Let's get going. I have things to do when this is over." 

They split into their teams. Master Velona and Tuth went with two of the five soldiers into the caves while Lily, the Duke, and the last three local fighters made their way through the crags toward the last known location of the invading kobolds fleeing from the fires to the north. Against Lily's recommendation, the Duke further split their team. Sending the three soldiers around to try and flank where he assumed the kobolds to be, while he and Lily continued on their hunt. 

"Don't worry, m'lady, I am not only an accomplished swordsman, but I have been known to dabble in arcane magic as well. We should be fine."

Lily just rolled her eyes, "It's not me I'm worried about, Danly. I've fought kobolds before, but your men-"

"Are trained soldiers. You have nothing to worry about."

Well, at least he seemed to trust her enough to let her guard his back. Or at least that's what Lily thought, until they spotted the first kobold. A tiny lizardman reaching no higher than her waist -decorated in simple gold jewelry on its tail and upper arms- and wielding a crude spear. It squeaked in surprise, and Lily lowered her staff to attack before it could call for its companions, only to have the Duke draw his thin rapier and block her path.

"Stay back! I'll protect you," he declared, swinging hard but telegraphing his attack so severely that the little monster dodged easily.

The kobold screeched the alarm, and four more appeared from the crevices of the crags with more scrapes and screeches signaling yet more to come. The Duke had been correct, swarming was a major danger when hunting these particular monsters, and yet he still stepped in front of Lily to engage the first two that charged. 

Lily sighed and stepped back -even resting her staff in the crook of her shoulder and leaning on the cliff wall- crossing her arms impatiently. Arrogant prick. If he didn't think she could fight, then why bring her along? She watched as Danly was quickly surrounded. He wasn't a bad fighter, he managed to down three of them quick enough, but each felled was replaced by two more. 

"Um, Danly?" Lily called loudly as more kobolds began to swarm to the lonely fighter, sensing an easy victory.

He was growing winded but still managed to call back, "Keep your back to the stone, m'lady!" Lily sighed, flicking her fingers and sending a small ball of fire to slam into one kobold that nearly impaled the stupid noble in the gut. Danly didn't notice, though considering how many small cuts were slipping through his fancy armor, it was little wonder. 

At this rate, the man was either going to die a death of a thousand cuts, or the cave team was going to hear the clanging and come to his rescue. But he still hadn't called for Lily's help. 

"You know, I am an adventurer..." Lily called, pretending to yawn with one hand and using her staff to bludgeon two kobolds who had split to attack her with the other. 

"This isn't a game!" the man fairly shrieked in terror, actually closing his eyes as another spear went for his face. Lily shot that kobold down too. 

"Lily!" Master Velona's voice shouted over the din of clanging weapons and shrieks of kobolds, "What are you doing?!" 

The Monk entered the melee like a hurricane, her staff spinning a deadly dance to knock the little lizardmen back from the defending Duke. Blue bolts of magic from Tuth further away slammed into the kobolds sending a few fleeing down the crags, but not enough. 

"He said he would protect me," Lily shouted back in answer. Master Velona spun on her student with a glare that would cow most seasoned veterans. Lily rolled her eyes to the sky and pushed off the wall -swatting away two more kobolds into heaps of dead scale and broken bones as she did- and sighed dramatically, "Fine... Get out of the way you."

Lily grabbed the Duke by his armor and jerked him back roughly. The man fell on his backside and continued to swing wildly at the kobolds until Lily stepped in his way, and Velona disengaged to pull him further back. 

Wading into the horde, the Monk's student spun her staff as an extension of herself. Knocking heads and breaking necks, twisting and dodging attacks like a dancer until she was fully surrounded. "M'lady!" she heard the Duke shout, and ignored him. With one final twist of her staff, Lily held the stick under her arm and stretched out behind her.

"My turn..." The tips of Lily's staff ignited as she swung it above her head. Kobolds tried to flee, but the ground itself lit on fire in a circle around them. Trapping them with her in a ring of flame. The stench of burning scales and screams of dying monsters filled the air as Lily dashed around the circle, bludgeoning heads and flinging small fireballs at any that tried to flee through her ring. She twisted and flipped, jumping into the air to avoid a multitude of clumsy attacks, even spending some time on her hands and kicking the little lizards away in a whirlwind of physical blows and magic. 

It was over far too quickly, and Lily spun her staff again, pulling the flames back towards its tips until all were extinguished, then letting those fires go too. Tapping the staff on the ground, she turned back to her companions and the Duke, "Well, I don't know if that was all of them, but it was probably most of them. How were the caves?"

"Easy enough," Tuth answered, moving forward while the Duke gaped open-mouthed at Lily. The Mage turned to Danly, shaking his head, "That's why we don't let her go underground. The last time that happened, I was coughing up smoke for a week." 

Lily shrugged, slipping her staff into the small belt pouch at her side and kneeling to start stripping the kobolds of their jewelry, "Drinks on me when we get back." She called to Tuth with a grin. The Duke let out a pitiful squeak but had nothing to say.

*** 

Master Velona helped wrap Duke Danly's wounds while Lily slept on the other side of the campfire. She'd shown off with that fight. The Monk was surprised Lily managed not to stumble into her bedroll and pass out right away with the amount of magic she'd thrown around. The woman's pride might not get her killed any time soon, but it nearly did the Duke. "You shouldn't have underestimated her, M'lord Danly," Velona whispered. 

"She's a Sorcerer, she-" 

"Has her clearance and so can use her power as she wishes." Velona interrupted, "She earned it on her first try and is the most powerful fire Sorcerer the Mages Guild has ever seen. But more than that, she is a member of the team you hired. Did you really think we would bring someone useless into a fight? Even against kobolds?"

But the Duke couldn't stop fixating on Lily as a Sorcerer, staring at her through the fire and pointing out, "But she doesn't have a familiar. I thought all Sorcerers had..." 

"She's special." Velona interrupted, tying one of the bandages a little too tight and causing the man to flinch. 

He did at least look a little ashamed of himself, so she was more gentle as she continued to administer to his wounds. After a few moments of silence, he finally said, "I'm sorry, Master Monk." 

Velona sighed, "Apologize to her when she wakes up. She-" but Velona was interrupted by a whimper from across the fire. Lily rolled over, tossing her head and reaching for her throat. "Oh, my precious flower..." Velona moaned. 

Tuth looked up from his spellbook, "Another nightmare?" 

One of the soldiers looked concerned and took a step toward the sleeping Lily, "Shouldn't we wake her?" 

"Don't!" Tuth shouted, jumping to his feet and grabbing the well-meaning man by the arm, "She'll wake up swinging, and even if she doesn't throw fire, her skin burns." 

Lily curled into a tight ball, and the campfire flared. The soldiers and Duke scrambled back, gasping as the flames began to form shapes. A tall tower, then zooming in to a small window just above the ground and covered by bars. Through the window to a small barren room and a crying little girl...

"What...?" the Duke managed to choke out. 

"It isn't our story to tell-" Velona started, but Tuth interrupted, 

"She spent the first half of her life imprisoned by Warlocks and experimented on..." Two men in long robes materialized beside the girl only to dissolve in the flames. First their robes, then their skin, then even their bones burning away into ash. Lily thrashed. The fire grew. 

"Warlocks... That's forbidden magic," The Duke whispered. The others could only nod. All Warlocks were mad, the result of forming a pact with a being of the outer planes that the human mind wasn't equipped to comprehend. Their very existence was illegal throughout the kingdom. They'd never found the remnants of the group that held Lily captive, being forced to presume that she'd killed them all.

"Lily," Master Velona rounded the blaze and reached for Lily, steeling herself against the heat radiating from the sleeping woman to try and shake her shoulder. A third robed figure rose from the fire and held up its hand, its fingers ready to snap. Lily gasped as if she couldn't breathe. Her fingers clawing at her own throat. Velona shook her harder, "Lily, wake up!" 

A log cracked and the fiery Warlock snapped its fingers. The fire exploded in a pillar of flame, reaching for the heavens. Lily grabbed Velona's wrist and sat up, her eyes glowing red. Velona flinched violently -her wrist already starting to blister- but reached up with her other hand to stroke Lily's face. "It's alright, Lily. Just a dream, just a dream." 

"Master?" Lily blinked, and her eyes returned to blue, her pupils nearly round in her terror. "Oh Master Velona!" she let go of the Monk's wrist and pulled away from her touch, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean, I..." 

"It's okay, my flower, it's okay." though Velona couldn't help but cradle her burned wrist, "The Clerics will see to it in the city. I'm fine." 

Tuth made his way carefully around the now normal campfire and knelt beside Velona. He had a salve for her burn, a sad necessity with Lily's occasional nightmares. "They're gone, Lily. They can't hurt you anymore." 

"Yes..." Lily still held her throat with shaking hands, "I'm sorry, I..." 

"It's okay, Lily," Velona said again, reaching with her good hand to stroke Lily's face with her fingertips. Even calm, a fire Sorcerer of Lily's strength was hot enough to burn if she lingered too long, "They've gotten better. And we won't let anyone hold you again."

Lily turned her face away, her eyes squeezed shut, "I can take care of myself," she choked, holding back a sob.

The soldiers and Duke could only stare.