Episode 68

We like to think that places don’t change

Mountains are fixed and valleys stay the same

So the towns that we love can be left with their culture

Frozen in time like a painting or sculpture

But mountains do move on magma plates

Valleys are carved at glacial pace

And so do towns change in their way

Moulded by them that leave and those who come to stay

The demon’s words echoed off the blank walls of the library. Lilian heard them, but a deep and primal part of her did not want to believe what they said. Tauroc, the cow-headed demon king whom they had summoned just a few minutes ago, had just said that if Fenric summons him to a town, then his job is to destroy it. They knew that Fenric was having his followers paint a mural in the grove, they knew that there was a big upcoming ceremony which they had been warned to stay away from in just a few days. That was it. Lilian knew then that Tauroc was telling the truth. If they didn’t stop him then Fenric would destroy Benlunar and then move on to the next unsuspecting town.

“Why!?” Liilan could not contain herself. She blurted the question out like a child protesting its bed time.

Tauroc cocked his head in confusion, “you ask me why demons do what they do?”

“Fenric isn’t a demon,” Lilian protested, “he’s just a… a man. What could he possibly gain from all this?”

Tauroc laughed again. This time he clutched his stomach and threw his head back and cackled a guttural bellow that sent shivers down Lilian’s spine. Between breaths, he managed to eek out a phrase, “Meaning! Give us meaning. They’re always so desperate to understand. Humans are always trying to grasp the motivation behind badness. Thou think'st that if thou understandeth then thou might be able to forgive, or influence in some way.” The demon king then threw his head forward and rushed to Lilian in half a breath. A confounding speed that threw Lilian’s hair back as if a gust of wind had just blown through the locked door. The cow man stopped inches from her face to finish his proclamation, “Thou forgets little electi, evil exists. And evil hath no motivation.” The demon stood to his full height now, ignoring the jangling snarls of Fritha down on his left. “You wish to buy me out of my deal with Fenric, very well. I shall name my price.” The demon paused as if for dramatic effect, “I shall take one life, right now. Just one. You may choose.”

The room fell silent. An offer had been made and the summoners needed to either counter or accept it. Lilian’s stomach filled with anger, this demon knew what he was doing. He wanted to see if they would sacrifice one of their own in exchange for saving the entire town. It was a fair price, more than fair really. It was also cruel. Everyone looked at each other, weighing the offer against the friends and faces before them. Lilian kept stared at Tauroc, she could see the corners of his eyes crease as he smiled. Suddenly, a footstep to Lilian’s left drew her attention. Brother Thomas was stepping forward. He was pale and looked scared.

“This town,” he said, “gave me a new life. It forgave my sins and accepted me despite them. I should consider it a small price…”

Lilian could listen no longer. She twisted her head to look at him and snapped, “No. Brother Thomas. That’s not happening.”

The church brother looked at her with gentle eyes, “Lilian, it’s alright.” But once again, Lilian cut him off.

“Brother Thomas I love you but if you don’t stop talking I’m coming over there to thump you,” she turned her gaze back to Tauroc. The demon king was practically licking his lips, “You’re not getting a life today. You’re not getting one ever. You think you’ve won but all you’ve done is show your hand,” she began to walk slowly towards him. All fear was gone from her mind now, replaced by clarity and anger, “well let me show you mine. No deal. You think we’ve summoned you here to bribe you but all I wanted was to size you up, and you know what? I’m not that impressed.” Fritha drove the insult home with a well timed growl, Lilian did not stop, she was almost upon him now and was not put off by the fact that she only came up to his thigh. “So here’s a new offer. One pie. That’s it. That’s all you get and for that you leave us and Benlunar alone forever.”

Tauroc snorted a breath of hot air from out of his wide, black, blood crusted nostrils, “And if I refuse?” He bent down low so that his eyes were level with Lilian’s.

Lilian could smell the acrid stench seeping from the demon king’s skin. She did not blink, “if you refuse then the next time I see you, I’m going to kill you.”

No one in the room dared to breathe. Brother Thomas had slunk back into the shadows. Serena could feel her heart beat behind her eyes, Mrs Thoreson permitted herself a cautious smile and Peter and Doran were so transfixed on Lilian’s interaction they had to remind themselves to breathe out.

Only Tauroc moved. The cow man stood up to his full height as if to remind Lilian exactly what she was dealing with. His smile was gone but it was replaced by a fierce kind of excitement, “Here is one with spirit. Thou wouldst make a fine demon. Very well. If it is sport thou desires, my offer is rescinded. Your life. That is it, little girl. Give me your life in sacrifice or service and you can spare your precious town.”

Lilian did not give it a second’s thought, “Out. Get back into your pitiful painted world. I hope you enjoy it there, because once I’m through with you, you will be begging me to let you return.”

Tauroc closed his eyes in laughter. He then raised his clenched fists up to his head and looked down at Lilian. He made to bring them both down on her in one crushing blow but Lilian was done with their conversation, she kicked at a rune on the floor. One around the summoning circle that she had guided him towards. As soon as the rune was gone then the spell was broken. Tauroc vanished from the space in a cloud of powdered paint and malice.

Silence settled with the dust. Lilian found that she was breathing heavily. The demon had disappeared but the anger he’d caused still lingered. She breathed in deeply and tried to calm herself. It took a few breaths but eventually she felt like herself. Lilian turned to look at the rest of the group. Everyone’s face portrayed a different feeling. Together they looked like a painted frieze in some nobleman’s study. A picture of bewilderment, grief, anger and sadness. Only Brother Thomas was looking directly at Lilian and his expression was the worst of all. His was the face of one betrayed.

“Lilian,” he whispered, “what have you done?”

Lilian had expected some kind of accusation. You don’t doom a town to destruction without ruffling a few feathers. She clenched her jaw and fists. She considered apologising, but somehow that didn’t feel right.

Brother Thomas spoke again, “I was ready. I was happy to… if it meant saving everyone in Benlunar then I was happy to give…”

Lilian did not want him to finish the sentence and so she interrupted him before he could, “Benlunar wouldn’t be Benlunar without you, Thomas. One life, a hundred, it’s all the same if taken by force. You think Fenric would be satisfied with one life after he assumed he’d be taking all of them? Do you think demon’s like Tauroc go back to ignoring people once they’ve got what they were promised. No. Give one and the demon knows you’re capable of giving. He would be back again and again until we had nothing left to give.”

Mrs Thoreson shifted her weight and came closer to Lilian. Her recently aged body struggling against exhaustion, “Lilian is right. Demon’s do not give up so easily. He was toying with us.” Suddenly, surprisingly she smiled and turned and to address everyone, “My friends,” she said, “I know you’re tired, I know you’re sad. But we should be praising each other. We took a great victory here.”

Serena looked up at her with a raised eyebrow and quizzical expression, “victory? I’m sorry lady Thoreson, but… did you just see the same thing we did?”

Mrs Thoreson giggled, “I did, and I’m so impressed. We learned that Fenric’s weapon can be bought, their bond is weak. And even though he appeared strong, we still have a chance of beating him. All of you resisted temptation, you put your lives on the line for those you love, you stood up to tyranny and sent a demon king packing with rage in his heart.” She walked over to the window and threw open the curtain. Light flooded the room, but whether it was the light of morning or afternoon, none of them could tell. “I think we all deserve a big meal and a drink. Come, friends, we can make our plan once we are eating.”

During their dinner in Mrs Thoreson’s ostentatious dining room the group discovered from her family butler, Mr Stepson, that they had been in the library for five and a half days. Lilian’s stomach dropped when she heard it. Five days worth of training and preparations, lost. She thought back and wondered if refusing to show up for so long had been part of Tauroc’s plan. It would have cost him considerable effort to refuse the summons, which may have explained his hunger and weakness when he finally arrived. Lilian pushed some sprouts around her plate trying not to imagine what Tauroc would be like at full strength.

By the time they had eaten, everyone seemed to be back to their old selves. Doran was regaling the room with a story he had heard from a traveller two years back, about a man who accidentally married three women in one day. Peter was beside himself with laughter and even Mrs Thoreson could not suppress her smile. Only Lilian could not bring herself to enjoy the tale. She could not eat, she could not smile, she could only worry. At one point she felt a hand squeeze hers and looked to her left to see Serena smiling at her. Lilian tried to smile back but gazing into the eyes of her friend only made her feel worse. What had she been thinking? She should have taken the deal. How could they hope to beat three trained assassins, a sorcerer and a demon king with only a few days to prepare?

Lilian found herself standing up. She might have mumbled some excuses but she could not be sure. The next thing she knew she was outside, taking quick, deep, heavy breaths of cold mountain air. She felt like something was sitting on her chest, she had no coat on but still felt hot and bothered. Spouts of breath left her mouth like she was some spluttering teapot. Fritha appeared next to her and licked her hand when she held it out. The familiar sensation calmed her a little but her mind was still filled with dreadful visions. She already blamed herself for letting Safe Fenric stay this long, now she was close to being responsible for the destruction of the town and the deaths of hundreds of its inhabitants.

Her legs sprang into action. It was like her body was trying to get away from her mind. Just walk, it said, keep walking, keep climbing and the thoughts will disappear. Run now, run away from the visions, from the worries. She felt the air rushing past her sweat stained forehead. Fritha was somewhere close by, running as well. Both girl and beast thudded their way through thick banks of snow, slipped on icy stones and clawed their body through the freezing air until they came to an abrupt stop.

A giant stone toad was before them. Small shelves of snow rested like cotton balls on its head and knees. Icicles hung playfully from its toes and Lilian could just about make out the water falling beneath the sheets of layered ice on the rock beneath it. She was hot, bothered and spouting large flumes of air out of her mouth with each gulping breath. She felt like the opposite to the giant toad in every conceivable way. He was big and at peace and she was so small and fighting all the time.

Fritha followed Lilian’s gaze and looked at the Padda stone with a cocked head and a quizzical look. She did not know what to make of it, only that it smelled strange. Not quite like stone, not quite like toads.

“Gorakja,” Lilian spoke between breaths. She used the Padda stone’s real name, the name Mr Attorcop had told her all those years ago when she’d seen him speak to the Padda stone after bottling the lunar essence. “Gorakja!” she repeated, shouting it this time as if raising her voice might somehow make the stone hear her. “He’s gone. Dead. I wasn’t there and I couldn’t help him. What’s worse is that I sent him there. I sent him to follow Sage Fenric and he killed him. Him and that beast Tauroc. They took my friend and I couldn’t do anything.” She could feel hot, heavy tears falling down her cheeks. By the time they reached her chin they were cold little marbles falling from her face and freezing before they hit the snow. “Now they’re coming for Benlunar. For my friends and my family. I’ve been training, fighting, running and learning all I can but… but…” The tears were coming in waves now, as if they’d been waiting to escape for some time. “But we can’t… we’re not strong enough. I am not strong enough. I don’t know why I’m here. I always come here when I feel lost.” Fritha had started to lick Lilian’s hand and paw at her leg. She did not like it when Lilian was distressed. The talking and the comfort from Fritha had reduced the tears to a runny nose, “I think I’ve come here to… to say good bye.”

“Tauroc offered me a deal. And if it looks as though the people of Benlunar are in real danger then… then I’m going to take it. I couldn’t be there for Cromwell, but I can be there for them. I can save Benlunar and I’ll give my life to serving a demon. I’d rather that than see my home destroyed. So…” Lilian looked at the closed eyes of the Padda stone, hoping to gain some peace from its expression, “I will fight, I will do my best. But this may be the last time I get to see you. I wanted to thank you for alerting Cromwell to my presence that night. I don’t know why you did it, but I’m so glad you did. He taught me so much. And now I’m going to put those skills to use. Goodbye Gorakja.”

And with those final words, she turned her back to the giant stone toad and walked back down the mountain.

The next few days saw everyone double their efforts. Serena managed to infiltrate Fenric’s grove again and kept an eye on the progress of the mural. She reported back each evening and did her best to learn about the motivations of everyone she met. Most stayed their because they enjoyed their new community. They had lived in Benlunar for most of their lives and felt the change of scenery and routine to be invigorating. Some were there to be with family, others were truly passionate about Sage Fenric and his teachings. Serena would spend the time walking back to Benlunar pondering about how best to change their minds. Not such an easy thing when neither facts or feelings seemed to matter to anyone. Whenever she dared to suggest that Fenric might be disingenuous in some way, the replies she got were quick and venomous. They had all given so much of their time and even their belongings to him and so how could he be anything other than trustworthy? The whole thing was truly maddening.

Peter spent his days mixing tinctures, poultices and potions. He knew that he had no great talent when it came to fighting or dealing with people. Plants were his world and he’d grown up learning everything he could about all of them. With every twist of the pestle he would hear his mother’s voice in his head, advising him as to proper measurements, methods and precautions. Benlunar in winter was not exactly a flora rich environment, but even in these cold and arid mountains there were natural things that those with the right knowledge could pick, brew, crush or mix into something useful or dangerous. On his first day he bottled pine sap, dried some sneezewort, picked some lotus tubers and generally collected anything and everything that could be put to use in battle or healing.

Doran and Brother Thomas met regularly with the remaining inhabitants of Benlunar. They came up with a shelter and evacuation plan, should things get dangerous over the next few days. It was decided that a direct attempt to warn the residents of the grove of impending danger might cause Fenric to trigger his takeover attempt early and rob them of valuable preparation time. The cellars of the Stave Church were cleared out and provisions were brought inside to give the occupants some sustenance during their time hiding from danger. Most importantly, Brother Thomas made sure to remove any artwork, tapestries or reliefs from the cellars so as to not give Tauroc a window into their hiding place.

Mrs Thoreson and Lilian practised fighting and gloaming. When her mind wasn’t focused on her fears, Lilian found that she could send out her golden light through her feet into the ground and take back the life force of what was there relatively quickly. The sudden and massive influx of power was still a shock to her body but when she focused on Fritha she was still able to guide that power into something useful. Becoming a sort of semi-feinhound person was hugely fun and if Lilian did not have an impending battle to save her town then she might have found herself doing it just for sheer enjoyment. She could slip easily in and out of invisibility, she could hear things just like she could when she first started gloaming only now that heightened sense was joined by another. Her sense of smell became so acute that it was all she could do to not sit down and sniff the air all day. Thankfully, she had Mrs Thoreson to snap her back to reality.

“You have fought these sisters twice now,” the old woman was walking behind Lilian while she was sitting on a rock and focusing on her breathing. They were on the stone shelf that Mr Attorcop had shown Lilian years ago when they’d first met and he was training her in his fighting style, “You must have gained some knowledge during your encounters. Think about them again, study them in your mind. What did you learn?”

Lilian thought back to her fight in the snow and to the brief bar brawl at the Fox and Octopus. She tried her best to remember each and every move as clearly as possible. She saw Tourmaline’s sickle linked chain speeding towards her with pinpoint accuracy. But more than that, she felt the cut in her leg when she was unable to dodge it. It was like this with the other sisters too. When she thought on Hematite’s strange potions she focused more on her own ineptitude than her opponent’s fighting style. When she thought of Spinel, the third and final sister, she felt only fear. The shapeshifter was the only one she had yet to face in real combat and she did not want to experience what her claws and talons were capable of.

Suddenly Lilian felt a sharp pain in the back of her head. Mrs Thoreson had slapped her.

“Ow!” Cried Lilian, “what was that for?”

“I see your face,” Mrs Thoreson was in front of her now, wagging and accusing finger at Lilian, “you’re twitching and struggling. Don’t focus on your faults, focus on their strengths.”

Lilian threw her hands up in frustration, Fritha, who had been snoozing nearby looked up at her with concerned eyes, “Ugh! I can’t! Every time I see them I just get so angry. Their smug faces, their glib voices and…” She stopped herself. She had been about to admit something and was embarrassed.

“And..?” Mrs Thoreson urged her to speak.

“And the fact that they’re better than me. That they can beat me easily. I’m not ready, I’m not strong enough I…” Lilian could feel the familiar heat of frustration growing under her collar.

Mrs Thoreson bent down to meet her eye level, “Lilian,” she said in her calmest, most reassuring tones, “I watched you just the other day threaten a demon. I’ve watched you master magic, run up mountains, swim in freezing waters and tame mythical creatures. I’m not saying fighting the sisters will be easy, it surely won’t, but if I’ve ever met anyone who can beat them, it’s you. And you will not be alone. Calm your mind, focus and see past your own flaws all the way to theirs.”

“But…” Lilian was about to protest and claim that they had no flaws but Mrs Thoreson stopped her.

“They are only human. They work well as a team, granted, but they are not devoid of weaknesses. If you wish to beat them, then you will first need to conquer your own doubts. Honestly my dear, what would Cromwell say?”

The mention of Mr Attorcop’s name felt as though Mrs Thoreson had slapped her again. Lilian thought for a moment and then smiled, “Miss Lausanne, you are going about this in an entirely backwards manner,” Lilian did her best impression of Mr Attorcop’s sombre and serious voice. They both laughed at the imitation and then fell silent while they pondered the reality of his death and how much easier this mission would be if he were there with them. Lilian fought back a tear and shook herself, “you’re right,” she looked at Mrs Thoreson and clenched her fists. “Cromwell would be ashamed of me. I can do this, because I have to do this. In fact…” remembering Cromwell Attorcop was starting to unlock things in Lilian’s mind, “the fact that they know they can beat me,” she said, “is a weakness.

It will put them off guard. Their arrogance is my advantage. Tourmaline will strike first, she’s the leader and she’ll want to take me out herself.”

“What of her sickle?” Asked Mrs Thoreson.

Lilian shook her head, “She won’t use it. She’s already beaten me with a sickle and sword, she’ll want to use something else. She’ll want to show me that she can win using any and every weapon in her arsenal. She’ll come back to the sickle once she starts to lose because she knows she can win with it.”

“But you can beat the chain and sickle.”

Lilian’s head wobbled as she considered the fight in her mind’s eye. Finally, she said, “yes. Yes I think I can. I need to shift my approach, adapt the Atarap style into a more fluid approach, to compensate for the weapon’s reach. Close the distance quickly.”

“And what of Hematite, the potion user?” Mrs Thoreson was testing her now, making her shadow box the three sisters all at once.

“She’s tricky,” Lilian responded.

“Why?

“Because I don’t know what her bottles are capable of. I’ll need you and Peter to focus on her. Avoid any projectiles and disable her hands and arms as best you can. Or her eyes, keep her from seeing and she’ll be unable to intervene. Keep your distance though, she can only reach as far as she can throw so you should be safe if you stay far away.”

“Ah,” Mrs Thoreson interjected again, “but there’s a third sister who will chase me. A shapeshifter.”

Lilian nodded and thought for a long time. While she was thinking Fritha padded over and decided to sit down next to her. Lilian absent mindedly placed her hand on Fritha’s chest and felt the big beast's chest rise and fall with each breath. Finally, Lilian said, “she’ll hide. I think it costs her a lot to transform, or else she would do it more often and for longer. I think she will hide and she will fight only when she has to. We’ll know we’re winning when she comes out. But she’ll be swift and deadly. Once we see her we probably won’t need to engage, just keep running, or hiding or dodging and she’ll get tired. Although, obviously, I can’t be sure.”

Lilian looked up at Mrs Thoreson who was beaming with pride. She took Lilian’s hand and squeezed it, “you’re ready.”