Artefact Hunters: Draikfang

     ”You know something?” Hanso asked in a low voice as he led Brynn with a feigned casual air through the streets of Khamtef. They weren’t quite the only ones out this late, which at least meant there wasn’t any sort of curfew to land them in trouble. But it did increase the chances of someone getting a close enough look to recognise them. With that in mind, he was careful to pick paths that just so happened to keep them away from the rare late-night stragglers and out of the light as much as possible.

     “I thought about offering you the cloak, since you’re the wanted criminal here,” he continued with a cheeky smile her way, “but for once I think your bright orange fur actually blends in with these buildings better than mine. How wild is that?”

     Brynn gave him a flat look for the “wanted criminal” comment. “I have a nighttime cloak in my pack,” she said. “I was actually wondering what you did with yours that you had to borrow one.”

     Hanso’s ears perked at that. “Really? Well, why didn’t you say that before?”

     He stopped in the shadow of an alleyway and dropped his knapsack to dig through the belongings he’d liberated from Magdi. After a few moments, he found the opening to her slightly smaller pack within.

     “And to answer your question,” he added, pulling out the simple, deep tan cloak, “that was too heavy and not dark enough. I needed a good sneaking cloak. Now, here, you should take this chance to cover up that sword before somebody freaks out.”

     While Brynn swung the cloak over her shoulders, Hanso took a peek out the alleyway to see if anyone had entered the main street while the two of them were tucked suspiciously around a corner. He sucked in a breath when he saw that a pair of patrolling guards had just turned down the street.

     Retreating back into the shadows, he pulled Brynn with him to duck low and press against the wall on the far side of a refuse bin.

     “What is it?” she whispered, mimicking his low crouch and tucking her tail close to her body.

     “Guard patrol,” he muttered back. Brynn grimaced and pressed herself closer against the wall, which he would have found hilarious coming from her if he wasn’t too busy trying to decide on their next move.

     That was fine. He’d have plenty of time to tease her more later.

     Once the shadows of the guards had passed over their alleyway, Hanso crept to its far end to see if there was anywhere they could pass through to the next street. It would be faster than waiting for the guards to get far enough away that they could exit the way they’d come, but that end was walled off. Sure enough, a closer inspection told him that there were no serviceable gaps around the wall, and it would be too difficult to climb without potentially causing a ruckus.

     “Looks like we’re stuck here for a few minutes,” he muttered, wrinkling his nose distastefully at the dead end. Brynn, who had followed close behind him, let out a quiet sigh and gave him a curt nod.

     Hanso tried to shove his hands into his pockets, realised belatedly that this cloak didn’t have pockets, and then folded his arms and leaned back against the wall of their little hideaway to wait. He peered at Brynn. This was pretty much the first semi-calm moment the two of them had to themselves since the Haunted Woods, when she had first made that dismissive remark about her fight with Oblivion. He couldn’t help but think back to what Nabile had told him right before they left Qasala.

     Just as Brynn raised an eyebrow and opened her mouth to question his staring, he said, “Now that we have a minute, do you mind telling me what’s up with the self-deprecation lately?”

     Brynn blinked in surprise, but Hanso didn’t miss the way her ears drooped just a little at the question. “I… Is this really the best time to be talking about that?”

     Hanso shrugged. “Gotta pass the time somehow. It’s just, you are the most self-confident person I know who isn’t some big-headed egoist. I would have figured that getting recognised as a hero was your biggest goal in life. You’re pretty much the last person I’d expect to think you didn’t deserve it when you obviously do.”

     He scowled. “Is it because of those idiot guards back in Brightvale? Did they say something?”

     Brynn let out a derisive snort. “No, it’s not…” She hesitated a moment, and then amended with, “exactly that. Trust me – I’ve been getting challenged by other guards for years because of my young age. If I just listened to those types, I wouldn’t have made Captain when I did.”

     She paused again, running her fingers through her hair as she took a moment to collect her thoughts. “But now, some of them – not a lot, but enough – are accusing me of betraying my oaths as a knight of Brightvale by transferring to Faerieland. And for once, I can’t shake the feeling that they actually have a point.”

     Hanso raised an eyebrow and cocked his head. “A… point. What kind of point? I thought King Hagan agreed to the move. And you’re still gonna be doing the knight thing and protecting everybody from would-be wizard conquerors, and last I checked, Brightvale is a part of ‘everybody.’”

     Brynn folded her arms tight against her body. “Okay, sure, but why does it have to be me? Why couldn’t Fyora have chosen the Battle Faerie, or someone who’s already in the Faerieland guard?”

     “I’d imagine the little detail of you openly defying Xandra at the height of her power and then taking out a giant horrible wraith king may have had something to do with it,” Hanso said dryly.

     Brynn let out a small growl at that, but he could tell it was aimed more at herself than him. She started pacing back and forth in the tiny space they’d made for themselves at the end of the alleyway, her tail lashing in agitation.

     “So what?” she snapped, careful to keep her voice quiet but unable to stop it from rising in pitch as the words started spilling out. “There were dozens of knights and defenders investigating the incident, and our team alone included a wizard king who managed to break a centuries-long curse on his own people and the warrior hero and namesake of Altador itself. Either of them could and would have done the same thing I did if they had the chance. I was just the one lucky enough to get Xandra’s attention, and that was after I fell for all her tricks and practically handed a powerful magical artefact to a genocidal mad sorceress!”

     Hanso winced. He wanted to point out that they’d all been tricked by Xandra, and that he’d needed the second artefact and the book Brynn had found in order to take her down. But it looked like Brynn wasn’t done pouring out all the ugly thoughts she’d had bottled up. So for once, he kept his mouth shut and let her continue.

     After a moment, she let out a heavy sigh and practically collapsed against the wall at the end of the alleyway. “At the end of the day, I was literally just doing my job,” she said, her voice low and exhausted now. “King Hagan summoned me when the faeries were first turned to stone and told me to meet up with King Altador to investigate. So that’s what I did. Everything else just… happened.”

     Hanso waited to see if she had any more to say, but she just leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes. He walked over to lean up next to her and chose his next words carefully.

     “Okay then…” he started slowly. “So, why did you take the job in the first place?”

     Brynn shrugged. “Why else? I was always pretty athletic, and I wasn’t afraid to fight, and… I wanted to put that to good use. To help people.”

     Hanso nodded. “Cool. And why did you agree to take Fyora’s offer and move to Faerieland?”

     Brynn opened her eyes and looked over at him. “...Because right now, Faerieland is the place that needs the most help I can give. And… If Queen Fyora thinks I could do good by tracking down dangerous artefacts… how can I say no?”

     Hanso smirked and gave her a playful poke in the shoulder. “And there’s your answer. If I’m remembering all the little speeches you’ve given me over the years right, that’s all it takes to be a fancy hero type.”

     Brynn just continued to watch him for a long moment before finally letting her gaze drop to the ground. A small smile made its way to her lips.

     “Okay, you’ve got me there,” she admitted.

     Glancing back up at him, she nudged his shoulder with her own and added, “But that still applies to you too, you know. Say all the nice things you want about me, but you’re still the one who actually took Xandra down. And don’t just say you already know that, because I can tell you’ve been hiding your own doubts behind all that bluster.”

     Hanso’s smile turned sheepish at that, and he raised a hand to rub at the back of his neck. “Yeeeah, Nabile’s already given me the whole speech about that. Apparently this ‘imposter syndrome’ thing is pretty common among heroes like us. Go figure.”

     Brynn perked up in interest. “You talked to Nabile about this?”

     “Yeah, she’s pretty cool actually.” Hanso started making his way on the street – they had to be clear by now. “We kind of have a lot in common, with the whole thief background and –”

     The rest of that thought died in his throat when he poked his head around the corner to find that one of the guards had turned around and was heading right for him. He resisted his first instinct to duck back into the alley – he could tell he’d already been spotted – and instead kept his expression as casual as he could and stepped out onto the street as though the guard’s presence didn’t bother him at all.

     “It’s awfully late to be wandering around out here,” called the guard, a Vandagyre woman of a colour Hanso couldn’t place in the low light.

     Hanso tried to think back on the last thing he’d said in case the guard had overheard. It… wasn’t looking good. He could fake accents well enough and might have been able to throw her off with a bit of false Sakhmetian, but that wouldn’t do him much good if she’d already heard him. Which she probably had, based on the look she was giving him. Unless all of Khamtef’s guards were just that suspicious and –

     Wow, okay, he really needed to start talking if he didn’t want this to get any worse.

     “Well, you know,” he said, feigning casual embarrassment and praying it would be enough, “wild party, I took a wrong turn on the way back to my lodgings, and then tried to take a shortcut. Ha ha, tourists, am I right?”

     He plastered on an awkward smile and subtly adjusted the hood of his cloak to better hide his face, keeping his ears low.

     The Vandagyre folded her arms. “Mm-hmm. Why don’t you tell me the name of your lodge then, so I can help you find it without any more… detours?”

     Hanso winced. “Oh, uh, funny story about that.” He sucked in a breath. “See, I know where the place is, but I can’t for the life of me remember what it’s called. So I’ll just get out of your way and… uhh…”

     The guard was starting to scrutinise him now. Hanso shrank back and lowered his head just enough to let the shadow of his hood better cover his face, but she said, “There’s something familiar about you. Have we met?”

     Before Hanso could sort through his rising panic enough to find a response to that, an orange-and-tan blur shot out from the alleyway and swung around to tackle the guard from behind. Brynn clamped the Vandagyre’s beak shut with one paw and wrapped her other arm around the latter’s neck. She held tight when the guard let out a muffled cry and tried to throw her off. The two of them struggled for several long seconds, their muted scuffle forcing Hanso to take a few steps back and look around for any possible witnesses. But finally, the other guard’s movements slowed in Brynn’s vice grip until she collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

     Hanso stared open-mouthed as his partner gently laid the blacked out guard against the side of a building just in the alleyway. “I wish I didn’t have to do that,” she muttered. “For all we know, this guard could just be trying to keep the peace as well as possible under Heksas’ rule.”

     Hanso looked back and forth between the two fighters. “How did you – is she –”

     “She’ll be fine,” Brynn said, tail flicking as she looked around nervously. “But we have to get moving now, before she wakes up or her partner comes looking for her.”

     With that, she took off running down the street. Hanso followed close at her heels. The time to play casual had officially passed.

     “So, hey,” he panted as they ducked into a darker side street and sprinted toward the gate he’d come in through. “With moves like that and an official criminal record under your belt, are you sure I can’t get you as some kind of bodyguard? You’d make for great muscle on a heist.”

     Brynn somehow managed to roll her eyes mid-run. “Oh, shut up,” she grumbled.

     Hanso didn’t bother holding back a grin. Somehow, that familiar annoyance was the best thing he’d heard from her all evening.

     * * * * * * *

     By the time they reached the outskirts of Khamtef, Brynn was simultaneously several kinds of exhausted and entirely too full of energy. She kept glancing over her shoulder, half convinced that the guard she’d subdued or one of her cohorts was mere moments away from catching up to them.

     Thankfully, no angry guards materialised behind them. As they got closer to the small back gate Hanso had used to slip into town, however, a commotion up ahead forced them to slow down. This close to the city wall, it was mostly winding side streets and small alleys. The two of them hugged the old clay-brick house they were passing and kept low to the ground as they crept up to the corner onto their next street. Hanso peered cautiously around the corner to assess the situation, and after a moment’s hesitation, Brynn risked a peek as well.

     There were three pets, standing just outside the back door of the same building she and Hanso were hiding behind. Two of them, a Grarrl and a burly Tuskaninny, wore Mentuan guard armour. The latter was holding a scrawny Wocky by the scruff.

     “I – I already told you, I don’t know who was printing those things about the emperor!” the Wocky pleaded.

     The Grarrl shot him a smile that was carefully calculated to show off too many teeth. “Now, I think we both know how little Emperor Heksas appreciates liars. But maybe we can come to a compromise. Prove your loyalty to your protectors with a little… ‘donation,’ and I’m sure once that paper disappears, we'll be able to forget this nasty little incident ever happened.”

     Brynn was seething when she pulled back. She’d been expecting this kind of brazen abuse of power in Khamtef after dealing with General Magdi, of course. But there was something altogether more palpable about seeing it firsthand. “This is not what the Guard stands for!” she hissed softly.

     Hanso frowned. “It apparently is in Mentu. This road is the fastest way to reach the gate – and after our last run-in with a guard, I don’t fancy the idea of backtracking to find another route.”

     Brynn shifted restlessly on the balls of her feet. “It would be better all around if we could get rid of those two somehow, but I don’t see how we’re going to do that without getting everyone on our tail.”

     Hanso’s frown turned thoughtful. “I might have an idea.”

     Without another word, he vaulted up a nearby windowsill and onto the roof of the dwelling. Brynn hissed “Hanso!” but he vanished before she could ask what in Neopia he was thinking.

     After a moment, she let out an inaudible sigh and peered back around the corner. The two guards were still trying to shake down the Wocky, but a flash of movement closer to her drew her attention upwards. There was Hanso, leaning over the roof and reaching out to grab a large blanket hung on a clothesline.

     Once he had the blanket’s corner in hand, he jumped down to the street, dragging it fluttering behind him. Before the guards could react or even process what was happening, he sprang forward and threw the thick fabric over both of their heads.

     Biting back a curse at his recklessness, Brynn jumped to her feet and ran out to help. One of the guards was fumbling at the edge of the blanket to throw it off, but she grabbed hold of the closest corner and yanked it back. She passed it off wordlessly to Hanso, who deftly tied it and another corner together and cinched the whole thing tight around both guards.

     The Wocky, who had broken free from the Tuskaninny’s grip in the chaos, gaped at the two of them. “I don’t recognise either of you,” he said. “Are you two part of the resistance?”

     Hanso and Brynn were already starting for the next street, but Hanso looked back with a grin. “Nope, just a couple of folks doing their part for the fine people of Khamtef.”

     Brynn didn’t bother to question the fake Sakhmetian accent he used to say that – for anonymity, most likely. The Wocky nodded and disappeared down an alley, and the two travellers took off at another soft run for the city gate.

     The guards they’d subdued were shouting loudly enough to wake up the whole neighborhood by now, and they’d be out of their crude net in moments if they weren’t already. Hanso led Brynn quickly and quietly down small streets and smaller alleys, and all the while they both listened in case the shouts started getting any closer.

     Their winding route must have succeeded, though, because they reached the tiny forgotten side gate they’d been aiming for without further incident. Hanso had already flung his borrowed cloak back over another clothesline by this point, and his ears twitched in concentration as he worked to jimmy the half-rusted lock open. In a few moments more, the two of them had slipped through the gate and out into the open desert.

     From there, they had to follow the small river that joined the Seeral northwest for some time. There was a crossing not far from the city gates, but they passed it by. Their tracks would be better obscured among all the usual traffic along the tributary, and the roundabout path would reduce the chances of their team’s camp being found on the off chance that someone had spotted them leaving.

     Brynn pulled her cloak tighter around herself. Now that she wasn’t preoccupied with dodging city guards – and she could not believe she’d just thought that – the oddities of the air around her were much more noticeable. “You were right about this desert,” she commented. “There has to be something going on with the ground here, magic or otherwise. The sand’s way too warm for this nighttime air.”

     “See, that’s what I've been saying!” Hanso said. “I mean, I’ll take it over the Haunted Woods any day, but the temperature changes here are weird. Even without the ground stuff.”

     Brynn chuckled and let a comfortable silence descend between them as they trudged onward. She would have been surprised at his easy flippance back in Khamtef if she hadn’t been familiar with that attitude after years of being on the other end of his criminal escapades. But now, he seemed… lighter, somehow, than he had before they’d gotten away from the immediate danger. Like all that easiness before was an act, a trick to keep himself from panicking, and now he could feel that way for real. That was a side of him that she hadn’t gotten to see much of until very recently. She was glad that their situations had changed enough that he could start genuinely relaxing around her.

     There was still a part of her that questioned whether she should even be here – that said her place was back with the Brightvale guard, and she’d only gotten the attention she had through pure dumb luck. But in just a few short sentences, Hanso had managed to remind her of why she was here. And that had done a lot to shut that part of her up.

     She’d known him for long enough to recognise when his own posturing was just a front. It wasn’t that he completely lacked confidence in himself. He knew he had some serious skills. He just didn’t always recognise that those skills extended beyond his capacity for thievery, and lately, that lack of awareness had started poisoning him with the same self-doubt that she was experiencing herself. The reckless way he tended to deal with it worried her, even if he always seemed to defy the odds and pull through. But now, she was determined to remind him of who he was, what he’d accomplished, and how important he was to the people around him. To her.

     Maybe that was another reason Queen Fyora had chosen them for these artefact missions. Brynn realised now that she hadn’t been doing a stellar job of heeding the queen’s words in their last communication. She’d been so wrapped up in the part about taking care of Hanso, and her own feelings of failure in doing so, that she hadn’t truly acknowledged Fyora’s subtle encouragement and reminder of both of their accomplishments.

     But maybe Fyora had known something like that would happen. Brynn and Hanso needed each other. Not all the time, not for everything, but just enough that their lives couldn’t seem to help but intertwine. They made such a good team because they balanced each other out.

     “Hanso?” she called out suddenly.

     Hanso looked over at her, ears twitching. “Yeah?”

     Brynn hesitated for a moment, trying to find the best way to put everything she was thinking into words. Then she decided to cut to the chase. “For the record, I was trying to say… that to you. When Xandra tried to turn you against me, I mean.”

     Hanso froze in place, his eyes widening. “...Oh.” He paused, and then hesitantly added, “Did you really mean it?”

     Brynn sighed, rubbing her arm self-consciously. “Of course. You know I’d never lie to you, especially about something like that. But at the same time, it’s… complicated.”

     Hanso gave her a small smile. “We’re pretty good at making things complicated, aren’t we?”

     “It’s just –” Brynn swallowed and felt her face flush. Why was it so hard to discuss this now when she’d practically blurted it out while they were in the middle of a crisis? “There’s a lot of meaning that goes into saying… that. And right now, we’re still trying to figure out a lot about ourselves. Both as individuals and together. So I don’t know how long it’ll be before I’m ready to say it again.”

     She took a deep breath and looked him square in the eyes. “But I need you to understand that it doesn’t make a difference. You are extremely important to me, and we’re going to figure all of this out together. Just remember that, okay?”

     Hanso was blushing too by now, and he reached up to scratch nervously at his ear. “Yeah… of course,” he said. “And, for the record? Same to you.”

     Brynn just smiled back and nodded. The two of them lapsed into another companionable silence after that, only broken when they came upon another river crossing and they had to find the best place to ford it without soaking their clothes in the cold night air. From there, they turned south, and it wasn’t much longer before Hanso spotted an oasis that he knew wasn’t far from camp.

     “Finally,” he said with an exhausted sigh. “I have to tell you, it’s a good thing we had those extra chances to rest over the past two days. I can tell we’re gonna be up early again tomorrow, and a guy needs his beauty sleep.”

     At Brynn’s concerned frown, he raised his hands. “It’s nothing like what happened back at the Haunted Woods, I swear. That was from channelling a big ability spell through my sad little magic-less self, and I don’t have enough faerie juice left to do that again if I wanted to.”

     Brynn eyed him for just a moment longer before nodding. “Okay. I trust you.”

     And she truly did. Hanso had grown a lot in the past few months, and maybe she had too, and she’d meant what she said about them figuring out what was coming next together.

     Somehow, despite the looming threat of Magdi and the others working for Emperor Heksas, Brynn felt more at peace now than she had for most of this mission. It was like after everything they had been through, and as close to Draikfang as they were, she finally felt like she could really do this.

To be continued…