Page 72 of Iron & Embers (The Ashes of Thezmarr #1)
CHAPTER 72
Wren
‘Knowledge can be both a blessing and a curse’
– Alchemy Unbound
W REN JOINED D ESSA and Zavier at the gates.
‘I’d have trouble leaving him behind too,’ Dessa said with a wink and a backwards glance at the lone figure on the grounds.
‘Shut up,’ Wren replied, though she couldn’t help the smile breaking across her lips. Dessa just laughed.
‘If you two are done ogling the Warsword, we have a task to complete,’ Zavier said, a haughty note to his voice.
‘Which is?’ Wren prompted, turning to him expectantly.
‘Remember the lesson where we designed the crossbow? We’ve been given the details for an arbalista in—’
‘A what?’ Dessa cut in with a frown.
Zavier shot her an irritated look. ‘An arbalista – a maker of crossbows. We’ve been given their address in Highguard. Master Nyella wants us to commission our design.’
Wren’s heart soared. ‘Really? That’s—’
‘Unheard of for novices? Yes, it is,’ Zavier replied proudly. ‘I’ve already collected the death cap mushrooms from the forest, but I was thinking we might do well to get something less deadly from the apothecary, so we can create a working prototype to be tested...’
Wren found herself smiling. ‘Always two steps ahead, aren’t you?’
Zavier offered a wolfish grin. ‘I try.’
‘Then let’s get us a crossbow,’ Wren said.
Roderick escorted them to the city in his new cart, recalling the events of the attack on the road. It was a version of the story Wren was unfamiliar with – one in which Roderick took on several assailants with the strength of a Warsword himself. Laughing, she listened with the others, glad that they could make light of the situation now, and that the Bear Slayer had fully recovered from his injuries.
When they reached the gates, they jumped down from the cart and waved farewell to Roderick, vibrating with excitement at the task ahead.
‘You two go straight to the arbalista,’ Wren told the others. ‘I’ll stop by the apothecary to get a sedative we can use for the demonstration.’ There was also a rare kind of lavender she wished to get for a certain Warsword, though she didn’t share this with the group.
Zavier handed her a scrap of parchment. ‘That’s the address.’
‘I’ll meet you there in twenty minutes,’ she said, tucking it into her apron.
Dessa was practically bouncing. ‘I can’t believe we’re actually getting this commissioned. A credit to our design portfolios as mere novices...’
Wren smiled, knowing how much it meant to Dessa, who was intending on pitching her altered memory weave design to Master Nyella over the next few weeks.
‘It’s going to be amazing,’ Wren told her before she broke away from her teammates and wove through the throngs of people.
Mid-afternoon, the city was still bustling. Merchants were in no hurry to take down their colourful stalls or pack away their gleaming trinkets and wares. Latecomers were darting among them, scouring what remained of the freshly harvested vegetables and fruits. The square buzzed with the clang of metal upon stone as craftsmen continued their work, some fashioning bespoke jewellery, some working on plates of armour.
Wren headed to the apothecary, feeling a soaring sense of freedom as she breathed in the city air, the scent of freshly baked bread and hot cocoa dancing in the breeze around her. It was the first time in a long while she’d gone anywhere on her own. She had missed her autonomy greatly, and yet...there was an absence at her side. One day, she told herself, one day she would get to wander the markets for her own enjoyment, perhaps hand in hand with—
She shook the thought from her head, though not without a smile. There would be time for daydreaming of muscular Warswords later. Right now, she had a job to do. Chastising herself, she made a beeline for the apothecary, spotting its wooden sign swinging just a little further down the street.
The cobblestoned path grew narrower, putting her shoulder to shoulder with the other busy city folk, and she found herself jostled several times. In that moment she realized just how much Torj shielded her from the world, always putting his body between her and everyone else—
She was knocked hard, almost sent flying across the stones. Luckily, she managed to get her feet back under her just in time. But as she righted herself, there was a sharp sting at the back of her neck. Wondering if she’d been bitten by an insect, she put a hand to the spot of skin that was still tingling.
Her fingers met something cool, wrapping around some sort of fletching...
A dart.
Swaying, she pulled the tiny arrow from her flesh with a hiss.
But before she could reach for the poisons at her belt, a cold, wet cloth was forced over her mouth.
She struggled, aiming her elbows at her attacker’s vulnerable side, stamping on his feet, just as Torj had taught her. But with her senses blurring and her magic suddenly closed off, she swayed, the material still clamped over her mouth.
A bitter taste bloomed across her tongue.
Silver boxweed , she realized distantly, before her body slumped beneath her, and her mind went blank.