Sigil, Day 3, Bazaar, Afternoon
Heat. Light. Fire. Those were the immediate sensations Missy had as she was pushed behind Vespa, who shielded her with her body as whatever had gone off did its damage. Her power was too slow in situations like this. With ample warning, even a few seconds, she could do something, but not instantly. She watched as Vespa's maid uniform burned to ash in the blast of fire.
She noticed a distinct lack of pain and burning, Vespa somehow shielding her from the blast completely. By contrast the maid had been scorched bare, and gave the distinct impression of being upset. Missy heard the pings of metal cooling, and then plates on Vespa's shoulders and thighs opened up and she vented steam.
Something moved at her feet, drawing Missy's gaze down. Her little onyx figurine had fallen out of its box, and in its place stood a life sized onyx replica of Patton, one of the corgis Missy adored which her father had tried to kill in a fit of rage at his wife. He had been successful with Rommel and Napoleon but not Patton, who now lived out at her aunt's farm. She watched with amazement as the onyx dog became a real dog.
It looked at the thieves, who were just a little crispy, then at a third person who was holding a wand, and growled. It sounded more like a wolf than a corgi. The man started to run, and the onyx figurine become corgi
changed as it charged after him. The dog went from a lap dog sized cute herding dog to something the size of Armsmaster's motorcycle, covered in plate barding with dozens of extremely sharp spikes, snarling and baying at the poor thief who had just used a
wand of fireballs on Missy, Vespa, and pretty much anyone and everything within twenty feet of them.
To say that there were a great many annoyed people present would be an understatement.
Vespa looked back to make sure that Missy was OK. "Stay put," she instructed, "and see who around here is hurt. The Watch should be showing up soon, but someone needs to be saved from your dog." The maid pressed a stud on her wrist and was surrounded by shimmering sparkles of light. Japanese-style armor coalesced around her as she grew in stature. In one hand she held a spear with a long, sharp blade. Most striking was the helmet with the stag antlers on it. When the light show ended, the maid become warrior calmly strode after the dog, who sounded as if it had cornered its prey a short distance away.
Missy began going around and making sure that everyone around her was OK, doing what first aid she could with what she had on hand. A rather large gentleman was scowling at the two who had initially assaulted Missy and Vespa. His skin was red, he had fangs that were currently bared in anger at the pair, and his outer clothes had been mostly burned off. "I just got that shirt," he grumbled.
"Are you OK, sir?" Missy asked, looking up. Waaaay up.
"Do not concern yourself with me, young miss," he replied. "The only thing harmed was my dignity." Seeing the medallion Missy wore he apparently decided that courtesy would be appropriate, no matter what he thought about humans. He gestured, and a huge blade of iron appeared in his hand and then caught fire. "I am an ifirit, a creature of the primal fire. It can do me no harm, so I have nothing to fear from normal fire. However, there are others less fortunate. You should tend to them while I make sure these fools do not escape." He glared at a spot on the ground between the legs of the larger of the pair, which immediately began to smolder.
When the ifrit planted the tip of his fiery sword on the ground closer to him, the man tried to inch away from the ifrit.
= - = - = - = - =
The crowd didn't need to part for Vespa as she strode after the fleeing assailant and the pursuing dog. The mask that hid most of her face muffled her chuckles as she (and the crowd) watched the comically oversized herding dog catch the man and begin dragging him back by a leg. Too many people were laughing at the scene. It also helped that most of the damage had been done by the man fleeing, and not the dog chasing.
The dog saw Vespa and dragged the man over, sitting down in front of her.
"Good dog," she said, patting the dog on its steel armor.
It woofed cheerfully, dropping the seized limb, and then wagged its short tail with the sound of someone enthusiastically taking a hammer to stone.
She grabbed the man, hauling him up to his feet. "Come on, you," she instructed. "You've got an appointment with the Watch. If you're really lucky, maybe you'll get to meet
Her." She looked down at her prisoner, who had fainted in her grasp, and sighed. "They don't make thieves like they used to." She turned to the dog. "Let's get you back to Missy,
inu-chan."
With a couple of playful barks, the armored titan of a corgi raced off back towards Missy.
Vespa slung the unconscious man over her shoulder and followed, shaking her head and trying to keep from laughing…
= - = - = - = - = - =
While Vespa was off after Missy's animated figurine, Missy made the rounds to make sure people were OK. She'd been taught the basics of triage in the Wards, and sorted people out by those who were really hurt, those who weren't, and those who were merely shook up by the experience. Fortunately there were few who were hurt, though pride appeared to be a common casualty today for a lot of people who had articles of clothing scorched.
The Watch arrived in a few minutes, many of them on horses or other riding beasts. It also marked the first time Missy had seen any inhabitants of Sigil who had wings. She had to suppress a shudder, almost a reflex from thinking that the Simurgh was around someplace, but she calmed herself, realizing that they were here to help with the injured, along with a number of people who had arrived by more mundane means.
The Watch officers had immediately noticed Missy's medallion and the most senior officer, she assumed, made his way over to her. "Are you OK?" the man asked.
"I'm fine," Missy answered, "but some of the people need help. An idiot used something explosive, and while my escort shielded me, others – including the idiot's partners – were caught in the blast."
"Your escort?"
"Innocent young girls need an escort in the marketplace," Vespa said as she arrived, frowning a bit as Missy hid a chuckle. "Your dog got distracted by someone offering it food and head pats."
"Why am I not surprised?" the sergeant asked the world at large as he looked at Vespa. At a couple of enthusiastic basso woofs nearby, he turned to look at the titanic canine thundering its way towards Missy. "What in the Lady's name is
that?"
The steel-armored dog was trying to stop and not bowl Missy over. With a subtle manipulation of space, the enthusiastic and happy hound had enough room to safely stop and sit in front of Missy, wagging his steel clad tail and making an awful racket. With a shimmer, the armor vanished and the dog was back to a more normal size. "This is apparently something I picked up at Robinson's," Missy explained as she knelt down to give the dog a scratch, which was leaned into with a happy whine.
The watch sergeant made a note on his pad. "Now, if both of you would like to explain what happened, I'm listening."
= - = - = - = - = - =
Explanations did not take long to give, and alongside distributing a few items of "emergency clothing," the injured were sorted out and healed. Missy found it fascinating to watch as healers of all sorts, including some of the Watch officers, simply laid on hands and said something quietly and people's burns and injuries healed. It reminded her of when she'd seen Naurelin heal.
Vespa had dispelled her gear, and was back in her smaller form, maid uniform intact, or possibly just replaced. There had been a quiet conversation going on which abruptly came to a halt. Both turned to look and saw Her as She approached, slowly gliding Her way just above the ground, making Her way to the nearby cafe table they'd borrowed as a field command station. She gently and carefully took Missy's chin in hand and looked her over.
Are you okay? Missy heard a voice in her head ask.
I apologize for the telepathy, but I can barely speak anymore.
"I'm fine," Missy answered out loud.
The Lady nodded, and silently turned to look at the three who were under guard by the Watch. The four Watchmen around them backed away from the trio as She approached.
The Watch sergeant, obviously apprehensive of the Lady's presence, nevertheless made his report to his city's ruler and arbiter of justice.
Missy hoped that She would go easier on the two who had tried to assault them, and that nothing too harsh would be done to the third.
Child, why would you show them mercy? the Lady's voice asked in her mind.
Are they multiple murderers? Are they so evil as to be beyond help? Are they too powerful to contain in any other way? Missy asked back in her thoughts.
They won't learn any lessons from this if they're dead.
I was going to remand the two involved in the attempted assault to the care of the Watch. The third, however, deliberately attempted to kill you and Seiko.
And that warrants death?
Against my family? Yes. And you are unquestionably family to me. There was a mental sigh.
Things are different here, Melissa.
Are they? I see more similarities than I do differences. If I have to, then I'll plead with you for the man's life. If this isn't his usual behavior, there's a reason for the change. He'll deserve punishment, yes. But not death.
I will remand him to the Watch, then, and he can learn from his mistakes.
Thank you.
You're welcome. Cute dire corgi, by the way.
With that, the Lady reached out and grabbed the wand. There was an eye watering warping of space as the thing disappeared into the void, along with a few other magical trinkets the man had possessed. She wrote something down and handed it to the Watch sergeant before disappearing from sight.
"The Lady, in Her wisdom and mercy, has decided that you shall live. For the two who are guilty of attempted assault, you are sentenced to thirty days of community service, to pay off your fine. For the one guilty of negligent discharge of magic within the city and attempted homicide, you shall be sentenced to two years hard labor in the Farms district and forfeiture of contraband on your person. Sentences are to be carried out immediately."
And with that, the men were carted away.
= - = - = - = - =
"So, Seiko?" Missy asked Vespa. They'd been walking back towards the carriage stop, Missy's animated figurine dutifully following at Missy's left side.
"Now that is a story," Vespa replied. "One of my last masters found me after I had literally fallen out of the sky. Tadakatsu-
sama was both wise and powerful; he knew when to be kind and show mercy, and when to be merciless and ruthless. He took me in, and I repaid his generosity with my service. In return, he gave me a name, Ryuseiko, and adopted me into the Honda clan." At the sound of Missy trying unsuccessfully stifling a chortle of laughter, she looked at the girl. "What is so funny?"
"I'm sorry," Missy apologized, "but if I say your family name first, then your given name, in the Japanese manner, I find that the universe does have a sense of humor. Where I come from, a Honda Vespa is a small, two wheeled vehicle…" Missy had to explain what a motor scooter was.
In the end, the maid could only shake her head. "I fail to see the humor in it," she muttered. "Hopefully, we're not too late getting back. Otherwise, they might come looking…" With that, Mela appeared flying overhead, and dropped down to the street.
"I found you!" the young dragonborn exclaimed, giving both of them a hug.
"…for us," Vespa finished.
To Be Concluded...
