Chapter 39: Ch. 38 – Nia Nightsbane

Momo clunkily hopped down the stairs into the Knight’s Barracks, gripping the railings for dear life. Radu laughed quietly under his helmet, hearing the girl wobble on each step.

“You think you’ll make it to the storage room?” he whispered.

“I don’t know if I’ll make it down this staircase,” Momo whined, heaving her overburdened feet down yet another step. Her legs were aching, her knees cramping. She felt like a baby duckling in an oil spill.

“We’re almost there,” Radu warned, “so act… dignified.”

“I lost my dignity like eight steps ago.”

Radu looked back at her, a seriousness in his gaze.

“Don't worry. I’ll be very dignified,” she assured him, rolling her eyes. It was only three more steps until they reached the bottom, and Momo thanked every God she was aware of when they did. She let out a heavy sigh, balancing herself on the post of a bed.

The entry room was luckily empty. Most of the knights seemed to either be on patrol, or posted at other places in the larger government building. Looking forward into the main room, Momo could only see a few knights sitting around - mostly resting, or drinking an ale.

“The storage room should be just past the main room. Come on.”

Momo obediently followed Radu towards the room, trying to control her wobble as much as possible. She was just thankful to be on an even surface.

As they reached the main room, they were greeted with a few nods from their fellow knights, who acknowledged them with reactions ranging from mild curiosity to unconscious drunkenness.

“Howdy do?” one of the drunken knights said, stopping the pair in their tracks. “You need a’ visit to the smithy? Because you look like you’re drowning in your boots.”

“She got roughed up by a couple slimes,” Radu said, giving Momo the do not speak signal. She was happy not to. While Radu drew the knight’s attention elsewhere, Momo’s eyes wandered to a nearby pinboard.

Upon further inspection, Momo realized it was the Knight’s Quest board. Her eyes widened as she took in the sheer volume of quests pinned there. It had to be in the hundreds – with each pin holding dozens of pieces of parchment behind it. No wonder a prisoner could wait days to get sentenced. The bridge to Nam’Dal had only been a tasting of the crime that plagued this city.

Standing out amongst the rest was a forensic portrait that was drawn and printed dozens of times – a detailed portrait of a woman. She had long blonde hair, gaunt cheeks, and an ice-cold stare that transcended the page. Momo felt like she knew her from somewhere, but had no clue where. It wasn’t like she regularly associated with wanted criminals.

She frowned. Did Valerica count?

Momo yelped as the tip of a sword struck the woman’s face, stabbing straight through the middle of the parchment. Her eyes followed the sword to its hilt, finding a hulking knight staring at her through his faceplate. Blood splattered his metal helm.

“That woman is a curse,” he grunted, and while Momo couldn’t see any injuries, she could hear them in his tone. “Do you value your life? Then don’t even think about pursuing her. Don’t fall for Vivienne’s promised rewards, neither - you’ll never see them if you’re swimming around the Nether.”

“Thanks for the heads up,” Momo squeaked, stepping away from the blade. He nearly made her into a Momo kebab with that sword thrust.

Hearing the commotion, Radu returned to her side.

“You went toe to toe with Nia Nightsbane and survived?” The lizard inquired, disbelief coloring his voice.

Nia. So that was her name. It didn’t really fit the menacing image, but Momo supposed that ‘Momo’ didn’t fit her menacing image, either. She puffed out her chest, wobbling around in her boots.

“Barely,” the knight answered, wincing as he lowered himself into a nearby stool. “I intercepted her while she was running off with another artifact from the Treasury, but she plowed me down before I could even unsheath my blade. I went running for the hills after that. Didn’t stop until I made it here. I’m not dying for no ‘special reward’.”

Momo’s ears perked up. Special reward?

“What kind of reward are we talking about?” Momo said, deepening her voice.

“Why does your friend here sound like she’s doing a terrible Orc impression?” the knight narrowed his eyes. “Not to mention that gear…”

“Ah, sorry, she got hit badly on the head,” Radu said, glaring at Momo. “And the rest of the body.”

“Bird attack,” Momo coughed, looking at the floor.

“Right,” the knight shook his head, too exhausted to investigate any further. “I can’t imagine you haven’t heard of the reward. Twenty thousand coins, and an enchanted weapon from the Treasury. It’s all these metal-headed blabbermouths can talk about. We’ve already lost ten of our men in the last month to its allure.”

Momo ignored the deadly part, her eyes enlarging at the price tag. Twenty thousand coins. She could swim in a constantly-refilled pool of cabbage soup for that kind of coin. She could pay off some sort of Nether universe-smuggler to get her genuine, earthly dumplings. Oh, the possibilities were endless.

“Thank you for the warning,” Radu said, giving a knightly nod. “We have to go get some things from storage.”

The injured knight grunted, and Radu tore Momo away from the board by the elbow, taking her out of earshot.

“I don’t like that glint in your eye,” Radu shook his head. “Nia’s an expert level [Dark Thief] with a body count in the hundreds. You? I could barely motivate you to move off the jail cell floor.”

“I would have moved faster, if twenty thousand coins were waiting for me,” she muttered.

Regardless, he did have a point. An expert level [Dark Thief]? That was the same class as Olivia Magelegs - the infamous King-killer. Of course, that crime paled in comparison to the annoying know-it-all that was her son, but Momo digressed.

She didn’t want to kill anybody, even if they were worth a cabbage soup bath. She did still have some semblance of a moral compass, even after a month under Valerica’s mentorship.

“I was just thinking about it,” she mumbled, “that’s all.”

“Thinking is a dangerous thing to do.”

Tell me about it, she thought wistfully. Thinking was what got her here, stuffed into an oversized knight suit knee-deep in enemy territory. She could be asleep, peacefully awaiting certain death. Not running straight towards it in too-big boots.

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“Anyway, we have to move,” Radu whispered, watching as more knights filled the main chambers. They had avoided suspicion so far, but Momo’s odd, ill-fitting shape had attracted more than a few glances. “The storage rooms are right down the hall, past the sleeping quarters.”

Momo looked at him suspiciously. “How do you know so much about how things work down here?”

“I’ve had to find my way out quite a few times. I told you, they hunt [Con Artists] and [Thieves] for sport these days. It’s a preliminary measure by the King, since Kyros is having a spat with the God of Thievery. The underlings always pay for the mess of the Gods.”

Momo nodded. Hearing about all the other godly beef going around, Morgana seemed rather relaxed in contrast. Sure, there was the whole ‘necromantic empire building’ thing, but Momo didn’t concern herself with that. It was above her paygrade.

Radu led Momo through the sleeping quarters, past a series of napping knights. Nia’s face haunted every corner of the building - her wanted posters plastered on every wall. The injured knight hadn’t lied. The knight brigade was basically a club of her groupies.

“Have you ever met her?” Momo whispered, pointing to one of the posters as they breezed past another set of cots.

“A few times,” Radu said, a shadow crossing his face. “She’s a freelancer, so she takes on some of the more rewarding quests on our guild board, when she chooses.”

“Is she as pretty in person?”

Radu gaped.

“Is that seriously what you’re wondering about, of all things?”

“Um, no,” Momo blushed. “But for a bunch of people who apparently hate her, the forensic sketch they drew up could easily be confused with a magazine cover.”

He chuckled. “Fair enough. It’s weirdly flattering. But yes - she is pretty. She’s also terrifying. Not much makes me shiver like a lizard, but her mere presence sends chills down my spine.”

Momo grinned. She liked her already.

After passing by the last set of beds, they came upon a heavy wooden door. Radu tried the handle, but it just rattled against its latch.

“Damn it,” he grumbled, “locked from the inside.”

“Hey,” a voice boomed. “What are you two trying at?”

They whipped around, face-to-face with a huge bear. Er, knight. Bear in a knight costume? Momo’s brain ran into a computing error. Whatever it was, it was certifiably adorable.

“Oh my god. You are so cute,” Momo said, her hands itching to reach out and squish his furry cheeks. This knight was the largest they’d seen yet - standing at least three feet higher than Momo, even in her oversized boots.

“Momo, stop it,” Radu whispered. “You can’t talk to halflings like that.”

“Halflings, right,” she said, restraining herself. They were people, with personal boundaries, even if they looked like cuddly medieval stuffed animals. “I’m sorry, Mr. Bear, I’ve just never seen so many of you before.”

“My name is Lord Gunther,” he gritted his teeth, snarling. “I am your superior, and you will address me as such.”

Momo noticed the intricate designs on his armor. Unlike the generic steel plates that the other knights wore, a tapestry of sewn material was draped over his chestplate. It had an artistically rendered sun, with a human-like face drawn in the center. The background of the tapestry was blue and brown, while the sun was gleaming yellow.

It reminded her of what Valerica told her once—you look too Kyrosian. Blue and brown, those had to be the colors of Kyros. Momo had still yet to ask what Kyros’ domains were, but the [Holy Knights] seemed to bear his insignias with great pride.

Momo nodded furiously. “My apologies, Lord Bea- Gunther.”

He huffed. “I ask again, with less patience, what are you trying with that door? Do you wish to break the handle?”

“We forgot the keys, my Lord,” Radu said pleadingly, putting on a convincing show. “Do you happen to have some?”

“Gods, no wonder King Jarva sent me here. The ineptitude is simply alarming,” Gunther bemoaned, crossing his furry arms. “Of course I have the keys. Step aside.”

Radu and Momo gladly obliged, and Radu grinned at Momo as the bear fumbled a keyring out of his pocket.

“If these are the knights that Vivienne commands, then she is unfit to rule even a pig farm,” Gunther muttered to himself as he tried several keys in the ring, each clanging unsuccessfully against the lock. “Damn it!”

“Would you like some help, sir?” Radu ventured, and the bear’s head whipped around to glare at him.

“Be quiet, you rabble, before I heave you off to the King myself,” he gritted his teeth, and tried a final key in the lock. It clicked, and the door slid open. “There we go. Didn’t need any help, now did I…”

“Thank you so much, sir,” Radu bowed, and Momo followed suit, nearly toppling over in her gear.

“Don’t thank me, just don’t forget your keys next…” the knight trailed off. His wide nose wrinkled, and he inhaled sharply, sniffing the air around him. His eyes traveled from Radu to Momo, and then they narrowed, gleaming with contempt.

Oh no. Momo began to tremble. If she was right, and he was a [Holy Knight]...

“Something doesn’t smell right about you.”

He leaned in, his nose scrunching as it sat an inch from her face.

“You smell downright diabolical.”

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