His hips slammed against the wood, and he flipped up and over the side to sprawl in the shallow water below.
Fern’s ears unplugged immediately.
She was so overawed, she almost forgot to feel miserable and small.
Sensing a presence to her left, she stared dazedly at the goblin standing beside her with hands unbound, the hazferou on her head, and a razor-sharp smile on her face.
“Zhu-chuk tah wrashoh,”declared Zyll, and burst into applause.
The hazferou was most displeased.
“Arcanists always forget about their vulnerability in the heat of battle,” said Astryx. She leaned down to extend a hand to Chak, who crouched, dripping, on hands and knees in the brook.
He stared at her doubtfully for a moment before closing his eyes, drawing in a deep breath, and accepting her assistance to clamber out of the water.
“My thanks, Oathmaiden,” he replied, with as much dignity as he could muster.
He did his best to regain some more of it once on dry land, despite his soaked pantaloons and the audible squish his boots made when he moved.
However, he lost it all again with a startled oath when Zyll popped up beside him to offer his bedraggled hat. Smiling, of course.
Still, he took the hat.
“Hm,” said Astryx, frowning at Zyll’s freshly unfettered hands.
“Suvak,”said Zyll, apologetically. She plunged them into a pocket and immediately withdrew them again, freshly rebound.
The elf’s eyes narrowed, but she said nothing.
Chak strode stiffly to where his belt and magestones lay in the dust, trailing a pitter-patter of brook water. He scooped them up, fussed over the severed belt for a moment, and then tied a knot in it and slung it over his shoulder.
He turned and bowed formally to Astryx, who watched, bemused.
“It is my honor to have been defeated by you, Lady Astryx,” he said.
“It certainly is,” declared Nigel the Elder Blade, in an aloof tone.
“Manners,” said Astryx.
“Yes, well,” muttered the sword. “It’s only that—”
Astryx sheathed him, and his voice cut off abruptly.
She nodded at Chak. “I’m pleased you didn’t die. Perhaps rethink the belt. Leather isn’t the wisest choice.”
“Ah. Yes.”
Fern and Chak endured an uncomfortable pause while they all stood in front of the bridge. Astryx, for her part, appeared unperturbed and simply waited patiently, while Zyll rocked back and forth on her heels with a wide grin.
Fern wondered ifalldramatic showdowns had such an awkward aftermath. It was more painful than a book group pretending they’d read the story. At last, she couldn’t stand it anymore. “So. Um. Which way are you headed?”
Chak looked embarrassed. “My things are up the road.” He pointed toward the chimney smoke of Bycross. “We are traveling in the same direction, are we not?”
Another pause.
The tapenti’s embarrassment deepened. “I do not suppose you would like to join me for dinner?”
Astryx began to reply, but Fern was faster, thinking of loaves of bread you could load a catapult with and cheese that smelled of unwashed laundry.
