“Looks like we’re up then,” Tonk said, picking up his mirrored shield and heading off to his post.
Sevrin sneered at the tuft-tailed halfling. “Remind me again why Copper brought that overgrown rat along?”
“I have it on good authority that his mirrored shield allows him to see the medusan’s reflection without turning to stone,” the Blind Huntsman said.
“He still sees something,” Sevrin pointed out. “Doesn’t that count?”
“As I understand it, one must look directly into the stonegazer’s eyes,” the minotaur said, examining a nearby faun statue. The horned female had the furry legs of a goat from the knee down but the torso of a human woman. She held a wand in one stone hand. Her other hand was thrust into a pouch. “A reflection wouldn’t count.”
“That’s not what I meant. His presence is unnecessary and likely to be a liability,” the orc said.
Richard snorted and levelled Sevrin with a hard look. “Is that concern for the halfling’s well-being I hear in your tone, Master Warscream?”
Sevrin’s face flushed and then blossomed into a hard scowl. “I just don’t want to be the one who dies trying to save him. That’s all.”
“I’m sure,” the minotaur said, returning to his scrutiny of the faun statue, a slight smile playing on his bovine lips.
Sevrin’s eyes narrowed at the taunt. He glanced at the she-faun statue and then back at Richard. He sneered. “Whenever you’re through ogling that faun, cow, I suggest you get ready.”
The minotaur’s eyes blazed and his nostrils flared. “I’m not ogling, Master Warscream,” he said, his voice nearly a growl. “I merely thought she looked familiar.”
Sevrin inspected the faun statue more closely. “Friend of yours? Old girlfriend?”
“You don’t recognize her?” the minotaur asked.
“Never met her.”
“Then this statue doesn’t bear a great resemblance to Mistress Ember Skyfire to you?”
Sevrin spat. He gave the faun statue a more serious examination, but then shrugged. “How should I know? All fauns look alike to me. You want me to smash it to be on the safe side?” Sevrin opened an access hatch on his mechanized forearm bracer and flipped a few switches, transmogrifying himself into a modified arboreal. Arboreals were tree-folk. Sevrin Arboreal lifted a thorn-covered fist the size of Richard’s bison-like head and poised it at ready over the statue. The bracer grew and adapted itself to his new form.
Richard shook his massive head. “No, it’s probably just a coincidence.”
“You sure? I mean, we’re talking about Copper’s very own She Who Must Not Be Named here.”
“But what would she be doing here of all places?”
Sevrin made a wry face. “Isn’t it obvious? Stalking Copper, as usual.”
“Then she’s got her just desserts,” the minotaur pointed out. “I wouldn’t feel right about killing her in this state, especially since we’re not really sure it’s her. Still, you may not want to mention this to Copper at all.”
“If we ever see him again,” Sevrin said, lowering his warclub-like fist.
“Trust Copper. He’ll come through as he always does,” Richard chided.
Sevrin sighed heavily. “It’s not Copper I don’t trust.” He glanced in the technomancer’s direction. “It’s the newb. Something’s not right. He shouldn’t be taking so long.”
“You think he’s up to something?”
“I know he’s up to something. I’m just not sure what. Not yet.” He glared at Arthur Edgerton one last time. “Enough talk. We’ve got a medusan to tangle with.” Sevrin the Arboreal flipped a few switches on his forearm bracer. Energy washed over his form like a flash of lightning. Seconds later, Sevrin the orc was transmogrified into Sevrin the headless horror.
“Nice choice,” the minotaur said.
The headless horror was a gorilla-sized brute encased in overlapping triangular plates. Its long forelimbs were tipped with long claws that could cut through bone and armor. As the name suggested, it had no head. While it likewise had no eyes, a headless horror could navigate its surroundings just fine. No one was quite sure how.
Everyone froze when they heard the medusan’s tail rattle.
Brock’s blindfolded head snapped toward the sound. He nocked an arrow, drew his bow and listened.
Tonk, Richard and Sevrin took positions behind the statues they’d arranged earlier for cover. Octavius remained by Arthur’s side. The clockwork man was the technomancer’s last line of defense.
Richard Brokehorn poured out a flask of water and began chanting. His spell formed the water into a disc that hovered in front of the minotaur’s face. It obscured Richard’s vision just enough to betray a medusan’s killing gaze, allowing him to see shapes and forms beyond. Arthur thought it was a clumsy solution to the medusan’s stare, but so long as it kept the minotaur from being turned to stone, who was he to criticize?
Leaving his defense to the others, Arthur Edgerton returned to his task. He was almost done. The engine and frame were complete and twin propellers were attached on either side, but there was still more to do to make his creation functional. He was aware of how crucial his job was to the success of the expedition, but he was having trouble concentrating. All he could think about was Alice. Alice was coming!
At that moment, the medusan sprang into view. Arthur couldn’t help himself. His periscope goggles allowed him to note two things: the medusan was strikingly beautiful and --
“That’s not Alice!”
“What?” Brock asked.
“That’s not her!” Arthur shouted. “There’s another medusan!”
The Blind Huntsman reacted instantly, firing at the medusan naga. Lucretia reacted by twisting around and spreading a cobra-like hood partially hidden beneath her serpentine hair. The arrow bounced off the scales of her hood harmlessly.
Wasting no movement, the medusan drew her longbow and fired back at Brock. The blindfolded human batted the arrow away with the back of one gauntleted hand as he drew a hatchet.
Richard Brokehorn took that moment to chant a spell, causing lightning to strike the medusan from the heavens. Lucretia was momentarily stunned by the electrical attack, giving Sevrin a moment to charge at her. She recovered quickly, knocking Sevrin the headless horror down with her serpentine tail. While Sevrin dutifully got back to his feet, Brock threw his hatchet at the medusan.
Lucretia drew a spear out of her back harness and used the shaft to deflect Brock’s weapon. Noticing that the minotaur was chanting another spell, she hurled the spear at Richard. The spear lodged itself in the minotaur’s thigh.
The metal box containing Copper’s render began shaking frantically as the first drop of blood spilled to the earth. Acting quickly, Arthur chanted a spell that turned a few metal rods into links of chain. He caused the chains to bind the box in place.
“Lord Edgerton,” Octavius said. “We need that metal.”
“There’ll be no one alive to fly out of this cursed place if that abomination breaks free,” Arthur said. “Without Gallows here to command it, it will kill everyone here.”
“Then why did you insist on separating it from Copper?”
“To keep Copper from using it on Alice!”
Bellowing in pain and outrage, Richard wrenched the spear out of his leg and broke it in half over his knee. Chanting a spell, he caused a whirlwind to form. The miniature cyclone swept into Lucretia, lifting her off the ground and slamming her into the walls of the courtyard before dissipating.
Sensing she was down, Brock began closing in.
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