Chapter 93: Champion, Chapter 26: Spread Your Wings

Aidan

The Realms

Fourthday, 3rd week of the 9th month, Age of the Chosen 1

Early Morning

The Master's Chambers, Caer Macht, Mistvale Highlands

Aidan woke up sandwiched between two beauties for the second time in his life. I could get used to this, he thought to himself. Does that mean Brighid was right? Aidan lay supine with Sunnild sprawled out on top of him and Brighid snuggled up to his side. Brighid trapped one of his arms sometime during the night, wrapping both of hers around it and pulling it between her breasts. Sunnild, meanwhile, had her arms wrapped around his chest and her legs entangled with his; her wings covered all three of them. Feeling affectionate, Aidan kissed the top of the harpy's head.

"Mm, mornin'," she murmured against his skin.

"Good morning, darling," he replied, nuzzling her crest. The feathers on top of her head weren't stiff like flight feathers; they felt more like down, soft and luxurious to the touch. Sunnild stretched, untangling her arms and legs one by one before propping herself up above Aidan. She gazed down at him from mere inches away, then tilted her head and leaned down for a quick kiss.

"I know ya missed me, but if that's the kind of welcome back I get, I might hafta go away more often."

Aidan blushed and glanced away. "Ah, I was not entirely in my right mind. One of the Councillors decided to play a bit of a trick on me; she slipped some drugs into a honey-cake she made for me."

Sunnild giggled. "Think she'll tell me what she used? I dunno that I could handle that every night, but it might be fun to have in my back pocket."

"I'll introduce you," Aidan promised. "Though, I'm not sure how often I could handle it myself. I'm sore; I can't imagine how you girls feel."

"Thoroughly ravished," interjected a sleepy voice from beside him.

"Mm!" agreed Sunnild then sought out Brighid's lips for a kiss.

"Sorry if I got too rough. It was hard to think of anything but you two there towards the end."

Brighid broke away from Sunnild's lips and dragged Aidan into a long, gentle kiss. Sunnild chirped, "No apologies needed fer me!"

"And as for me," Brighid murmured against Aidan's lips, "there was nothing about last night that I did not enjoy. There was a certain ... fierceness to your attention that made my blood boil. Consider that to be on my list of desired activities."

"Well, apology retracted, then," Aidan chuckled. He kissed both girls again, then continued, "as much as I'd love to lie in bed with you both all day and repeat some of last night, I don't think I'm capable of it. And, besides, there's a lot of work for all of us to do. Why don't we take a bath and get some breakfast? Now that you're back, Sunnild, there are a lot of things I need to bring you up to speed on."

"Mm!" "Sounds good to me."

Aidan

Mid-Morning

"Now yer just pullin' my feathers," accused Sunnild. "At least, I hope ya are. A dragon, too, now?"

"I wish I was joking," Aidan said, voice grim. "And the worst part is that we'll have to fight him again. That's one of the things I wanted to talk to you about; Karsarrym flew off to the southeast."

"Southeast? What's that got to do with—wait. Yer gonna chase the dragon?" Sunnild spluttered.

"Not how I'd put it, no, but I do intend to make contact with the Mist Stalkers. I want to see if they know anything about the dragon and if they're willing to send a delegation here."

"I don't like it. You shouldn't go there alone, and ya can't bring any Starchasers with ya." It was the first time Aidan had ever seen Sunnild unhappy.

"That's where you come in. Would you like to join me?"

"Me?" Sunnild seemed stunned.

"The Sisterhood is on better terms with the cats than we are," Brighid supplied, "and Aidan needs someone to watch his back."

Aidan picked up from there. "I don't think we've discussed it, but I'm a mage. I know how to use my sword—" he ignored the giggle-snort from Brighid "—but I'm much more effective with magic. You, meanwhile, unless I miss my guess, would actually be better than Brighid at protecting me. Not as good at killing things, but I'm not looking to do any killing at all on this trip."

"You... ya want me ta come because of my Skills? Yer not just makin' an excuse ta be alone with me fer a few days? Ya trust me to guard you in place of yer bodyguards?" Tears shimmered at the corners of Sunnild's eyes.

Aidan leaned across the table to rub his thumb across her cheek. "I'll want to see what you can do first, and maybe see if we can get you to level 10 for your Class, but yes. In fact—no offense, love," he said in an aside to Brighid, "of the two of you, I'd rather have you watching my back. Brighid is big and strong and, frankly, frightening in combat, but she has neither the Abilities nor the natural inclination to fight defensively."

Brighid nodded. "Aidan is right; almost all of my Abilities and Talents work best when I am on the front line, in the thick of the fighting. I also have nothing protective, so I am not a very effective guardian. I suspect that you will have a much more appropriate set of Abilities once you get your Class, from what you have told us."

"And yer sure that ya don't want to ask one of the other Sisters? All of em have way more experience in real fights than I do."

"Do... you not want to come?" Aidan was a little puzzled at Sunnild's responses. He'd expected her to jump at the chance. "I won't force you if you'd rather stay behind. I know you don't like fighting."

"No, that's not it. It's just—no one has ever wanted me on a mission. Even... even my mum always left me at home when she went out." Sunnild held Aidan's hand against her cheek and nuzzled against his touch. Her eyes shone with wonder. "I was your first thought, wasn't I? Ya didn't even consider asking someone else. Yes, I'll be yer guardian, Aidan. I'll repay all of yer trust in me, I swear it."

"I know you will," Aidan said, smiling. "Like I said, I know you don't like fighting, but I would like to get you a Class before we leave. Would you consider joining me in the Labyrinth? My understanding is that none of the monsters there are real in the way that beasts out here are. In fact, Sarpedon claims they are created only to challenge explorers; the Labyrinth doesn't have an actual ecology."

"I... I'm not sure. Do you think I could talk to him about it?"

"Of course! I never, ever want to force you to do anything that makes you uncomfortable. You can tell me no; I won't get upset."

"No, it's okay; I just wanna be sure. If they're just fancy training dummies, I can handle it. I do want ta be yer protector, and I know that means I'll need some training. I just don't want ta kill anything real for it."

Aidan nodded. "I understand." He turned his attention to Brighid. "Who do you think she should replace in the party?"

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"Me," she answered without hesitation, "for two reasons. First, she will be taking my place by your side, and you both need to get used to that without me being around. Second, the others provide irreplaceable roles: you are by far our best damage-dealer, Cai and Llwyd are much better at protecting the group, and mother is the only one with extensive support and healing magic."

"Third, this way you don't have to deal with your fear of heights," Aidan teased.

"... Yes, I admit, that was a consideration as well." Brighid had the grace to blush.

"You don't think our group would be too defensive without you? I know you say I do more damage, but you're no slouch yourself."

Brighid smiled at Sunnild. "I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Besides, neither Cai nor Llwyd are as narrowly-focused as that; they both are capable warriors."

Aidan nodded. "Okay, we'll give it a shot. It looked like you got everything in place in your forge; do you think you'll be able to make the escape token today?"

"Yes, I have enough material for a few, and they only take about an hour to make."

"Alright then, I'll gather everyone together in the afternoon for another foray into the Labyrinth. Now, the next order of business: are the rest of the Sisterhood delegation here yet?"

Sunnild shook her head. "No, I got permission ta leave before 'em. They should get here today or tomorrow."

"Good," Aidan sighed in relief. "I was half-afraid that I'd have to deal with a bunch of Sisters feeling put out that I ignored them for a day. Third question: would you consider helping Fionn—he's one of the Starchaser Council—plan the city's defenses? None of the Starchasers have your Engineering Skill, so your help would be quite valuable."

"I won't design siege engines or killing fields for ya, but if ya want help improving the durability of your walls or stuff like that, I'd be happy ta help. This's my home now too."

Aidan nodded. "Fionn is aware of your viewpoint. Tell him no whenever something makes you uncomfortable, and if he pushes, come get me."

Sunnild stared at him for a moment, then stood up. She walked around the table, pushed Aidan backward into a pile of cushions, and plopped down onto his lap. She was, apparently, wearing nothing underneath her loose skirt. "Are ya sure yer not able to go again? There's nothin' I kin do ta help ya along?" She reached down and pulled her top off. "Nothin' at all?"

"Well," Aidan hedged, "maybe not quite incapable yet..."

"Good," growled Sunnild, "because you backin' me against yer Council ally has me all hot an' bothered. Stay right there an' don't move. Brighid, get over here an' help me get 'is pants off."

"Yes, ma'am!" "Yes, Mistress!"

Aidan

Mid-Afternoon

The Labyrinth, First Stratum: Viridescent Treetops

"Oooh, pretty!" were Sunnild's first words after emerging from the portal into the Labyrinth. "I've never seen a forest like this. The trees are so tall!"

"Remember, it's not a real forest; for all we know, everything outside of what we can touch is one big illusion."

Sunnild blew a raspberry at Aidan. "Stop bein' such a spoilsport! Lemme enjoy it for a minute before ya ruin it fer me!"

"Sorry," he grinned at her, then suggested, "Why don't you try flying around a bit? Sarpedon suggested that the Labyrinth wouldn't let us bypass its design like that, but it shouldn't do anything to hurt you."

"Mm!" Sunnild took a few steps away from the party, bent her knees, arched her wings, and vaulted into the air. Her wings beat in pairs, driving her skyward. She came to a stop about thirty feet above them and called down, "This is as far as I can go! It feels like a strong wind or something blowing me down, even though there's hardly a breeze! Gonna check the sides now!"

"As expected," Ailis said, her eyes tracking the harpy. "She cannot fly high enough to get out of a Tree-top Tyrant's range. I expect—yes, the sides are even more restricted." Sunnild was hovering in the air eight or nine feet off the edge of the branch.

A few seconds later, Sunnild dropped back onto the branch and bounced over to Aidan. "I wish I could fly around more, but the boundaries are pretty tight. I'll just stay on the ground; it's harder for me to fight while flying anyway. Speaking of which..." Sunnild chanted her spell, turning her wings and feathers into a bright silvery metal.

Aidan nodded. "You've got the right idea. Alright, everyone, make your preparations. Now that we have the benefit of these," he patted one of the two Escape Tokens Brighid gave him, "we can afford to push a little more. We'll still need to be wary of monsters, but as long as we aren't actively fighting, we can leave from anywhere."

Aidan summoned his Obsidian Salamander and Golden Fawn—the latter immediately making for Riama again, much to her dismay—and buffed himself with Kindle the Hearth-Flame. Unfortunately, that spell's targeting restrictions prevented him from casting it on Sunnild, though he tried. This time, Ailis focused her buffs on Aidan and Sunnild instead of spreading them evenly across the group.

Once preparations were finished, the group proceeded in the direction Aidan arbitrarily designated as north. They reached the site of the shortcut without encountering any monsters. From there, they went north again to the leaf-path that they'd turned back from after first discovering it.

"Look," Llwyd said, pointing to the leaves along the sides of the branch, "the leaf cover is thinner than in the center."

"It looks like the path to the shortcut after we crossed over it," added Cai.

"Since the center is clear, we should be fine to return this way if we need to," Aidan said. "Good eyes, though; I wonder if this is another tutorial hint. Either way, let's proceed. As an experiment, Sunnild, would you mind flying above us for this short stretch? I want to see if the leaves falling are triggered by a certain weight threshold or the party's passage."

"Mm! Sure!" Sunnild launched herself into the air again. Her flight was noticeably less graceful with her metallic wings, but she had no problems maintaining position above them. As Aidan expected, some of the leaves on the path behind them fell out after they passed.

The pathway continued onto a new branch. It bent in a half-circle that nearly brushed against a massive tree trunk before opening out into a field of leaves illuminated in a shaft of bright sunlight. A pile of vines and leaves topped with an enormous, red flower rested in the center of the leaves.

"I have this feeling," Aidan said, "that if we get close to that, it's going to attack us."

"Agreed," chimed Cai and Llwyd.

"It is a parasitic plant," Ailis added. "You can see how its vines entangle with the leaves around it instead of growing out of them. I believe you are correct, Lord Aidan."

"Well then, let's not give it the first shot. You okay with that, Sunnild?" Aidan looked into Sunnild's blue-gray eyes but saw only determination reflected there.

"Mm! It's blocking our way, so it's that or turn back."

Zurai

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