Lucia entered the court, her escort’s nose slightly wrinkled. Apparently, the hair burning had taken a bit longer than expected. Ann watched as she took the stand, glaring at the railing as it grew into place.

“Bren, didn’t you say you liked tall with a nice ass?” Ann murmured.

“I… did. This is hardly the place for this conversation.”

“Yeah, right, but she totally do.”

“Do what?”

“Nevermind,” Ann waved him off. She, in some deplorable lapse in observation, had not taken the time to appreciate Lucia, but her standing there for everyone to see, in well-fitting pants and shirt, gave her little else to do. She was slighter than Kat or Ann, with a smaller chest, but she more than made up for it in her hips and rear. Ann, feeling proud, patted Bren’s shoulder.

He shot her a glare, then refocused on the trial.

“Lucia Simorgh. We would have brought you in as a witness with the other survivors, but with your current affiliation with Katlyn’s group, this was more prudent for scheduling. Do you have any questions before we begin?”

“No,” Lucia said, shaking her head. Her voice was calm, almost cold.

“Very well. Please swear upon Illdall that you will speak the truth.”

“Swear to Bryltia, only truth,” Lucia said in her usual truncated way.

“We will accept this oath,” the magistrate nodded. “Prosecution, you have the floor.”

Once again, in a pattern that was very familiar by now, Pinoy trundled over, his longer than normal ears bouncing.

“Greetings, Madam Simorgh…”

“Lucia,” Lucia corrected him.

“Oh, very well. Greetings, Lucia. I understand you were part of the security team entrusted to protect the researchers in the Seed, is that correct?”

“Yes,” Lucia nodded.

“Please recall for me your experience prior to Katlyn and the rest showing up.”

Lucia rolled her head to the side and heaved a sigh. “Was normal job. Got through Association. Protect brains and keep out of trouble. Simple. Liked that. Met with others in team. Good, for most part. Maybe some inexperienced, but should have been fine. Three days to get to Seed. Brains are slow.”

“Excuse me, Lucia,” Pinoy cut in. “Could you explain what you mean when you say ‘brain’?”

“Smart. Not strong. Use brain,” Lucia clarified.

“Ah, thank you. Continue, please,” Pinoy gestured.

“Brains talked a lot. Tried to ignore. Mostly boring. Get to Seed and enter. Nothing much for first hours. Maybe minor Warped, just animals.”

“Then reports say you were cut off from the outside, yes?” Pinoy prompted.

Lucia nodded. “Early signs. Sounds, smells. Was odd, but brains insisted we ignore. Have seen before in cleared Seed, so kept going. Then, ambush. Warped all over. Humanoid type, long skinny limbs, strange heads. Corralled us into buildings. Had to split up with size of group. Barricaded inside, and did our best. Spent two days like that.”

“I imagine that was stressful. How did you manage?”

“Didn’t. Barely slept. Was me and two other fighters. Their names were… uh…” Lucia paused as she wracked her brain. “Coleen and Trint. Yes. Both others close ranged fighters. Warped with magic and flying birds came as well. Had to keep them busy.”

“For two whole days?”

Lucia just shrugged.

“Two days of high intensity fighting against beasts that never tire?

“Yes?” Lucia asked, as if that shouldn’t be surprising.

“That’s not uncommon?”

“No.”

“Could you explain a little more?”

“Can,” Lucia shrugged.

“Please go ahead,” Pinoy prompted the reticent Thrundol, eye twitching with annoyance.

“When in Seeds, no rest. Not much, anyway. Constant danger. Was close to longest I’ve been, but record is four days,” Lucia explained.

“Impressive,” Pinoy whistled. “So, you were still functioning well?”

“Eh,” Lucia shrugged. “Was suboptimal. Necessary.”

“And what happened after you were trapped in the building?”

“Coleen took care of plans with Trint. Had Brains block off back of room, so no ambush. Heard screams. Figured other group got killed.”

“You didn’t try to save them?” Pinoy asked.

“No chance. Too many Warped. We try, they kill us all.”

“A difficult choice to make. So, you stayed in place for two whole days?”

“Yes,” Lucia nodded.

“Then, can you recall the rescue effort? As many details as you can, please.”

“Was… end of third day. Had nap. Coleen and a brain insisted. Weird dream. Probably stress. Woke up, talked to Coleen about after. Grim talk. Kind you have when about to die. Then shelf exploded. Magic from caster Warped.”

“So they breached the perimeter before the rescue team got to you?” Pinoy asked, making sure to clarify the timeline. Ann was grateful for that. It made the chaos they showed up to look less like their fault to the court after Noltra had questioned them.

Lucia nodded.

“I apologise, but we require a vocal response,” the magistrate said.

Lucia sighed. “Yes. Was before Kat and team showed up. Coleen got to window with Trint to hold off long limbed Warped. I tried to keep casters down. Didn’t work. Trint burned.” Lucia shuddered, closing her eyes as the memory played back. “Still hear screams.”

“Held best we could. Time passed. Not sure how much. Almost dead as casters made large attack. Then shields stopped it. Beautiful shields. Was ready to die, but didn’t. Very grateful.”

Ann elbowed Bren in the ribs. “How grateful was she?”

“Enough to insist on the Life Debt, apparently. No, not that kind of grateful, pervert,” he huffed.

“She called your shields beautiful,” Ann pointed out.

“I… heard that. She has not said anything like that to me directly, though,” Bren clarified.

“I am sure you were,” Pinoy said, his tone solemn. “From there, how would you describe the rescue?”

“Was tough. More died. Had to get out of building, so party carved a path though Warped. Rosalyn and I kept mages occupied, Ann, Kat and Coleen worked on short ranged. Coordinated, but overwhelmed. Too many Warped. Got to shelter, took breather. Did not make best first impression with Ann or Rosalyn. Was tired. Apologised later. From there, fight to exit of Seed. Lost some more. Bad situation with bird Warped. No way to protect from multiple diving predators. Losses expected. Made it out.”

“And from there, we have reports and confirmations on the rest. Thank you, Lucia, for your account of the events. Is there anything else you would like to add or clarify?”

“No,” Lucia shook her head.

“Very well, I conclude my time,” Pinoy said with a bow.

“Defence, do you have any questions for the survivor?”

“None, your honour,” Noltra said, standing then sitting. Ann figured Pinoy had asked most of what he needed, and badgering a victim would only make his clients look worse.

“Very well,” the magistrate said. “We will take a thirty-minute recess. Dismissed.”

The room erupted with discussion of the trial. So much, in fact, that Ann couldn’t actually pick out individual conversations, just the noise. It hurt her ears a bit, and she motioned for Kat that she was going to step outside. Nodding, Kat stood, gathered Bren, Lucia and Rosalyn, and joined her in the hall shortly after.

“Room’s got great acoustics,” Ann laughed, rubbing her ears, scratching the inside as they twitched with annoyance. “Prefer it being just one person talking.”

“Aye, me too. They really put the screws tae ye,” Kat said, taking a seat on a bench. “Nothin’ like me.”

“Or anyone else,” Ann grumbled. Follow current novels on novelFɪre.net

“Most unknown. Strangest in group. Makes sense,” Lucia shrugged.

“I agree. If they were to find some fault in our methods and deployment, it would be through either you or Rosalyn,” Bren said. “Rosalyn did a fantastic job of curtailing that line of questioning.”

“I just told the truth,” Rosalyn said, huddling up between Kat and Ann. “It was so scary being down there, in the middle of all those eyes. I hated it so much I was shaking. Did you see me shaking? I was shaking.”

“We heard, love,” Ann said, stroking the Druid’s hair. “You did great.”

“The look on Noltra’s face when ye told ‘im ye’ve been fightin’ an’ workin’ wit’ normal people fer years was priceless,” Kat laughed. “Man thought he’d found a country bumpkin tae pin some blame fer deaths on. If ye weren’t able tae change shite, the rest o’ us wouldn’t ‘ave fared better.”

“What happened?” Lucia asked.

They took turns catching Lucia up on what she’d missed. The Thrundol didn’t have much to comment on, but did laugh at Rosalyn’s questioning.

“Made him a fool. Hilarious,” Lucia chuckled, wiping a tear from her eye. “So, what now?”

“Witness testimony should be complete. Now will be the defence’s rebuttal,” Bren explained. “Noltra has the unenviable task of reducing his clients’ sentences. This is also the time to present plea deals as well. I am peckish. Let us grab a bite, shall we?”

“We have time?” Rosalyn asked.

“Absolutely. The carriage passed the vendors outside. Legal work is hungry work, despite it being mostly mental. I doubt Pinoy got his physique by starving himself,” Bren explained with a laugh. “Come.”

They made their way outside, making their way through the crowds while protecting Rosalyn from the jostle. Lucia was starting to fall into that formation naturally. It was far easier to keep people off the Druid with four of them than three.

Making their way down the steps, they found an array of carts not unfamiliar to Ann. “Street food,” she moaned, feeling her mouth water. “Holy shit, I need to know what you all have come up with over time.”

“Well, we’ve got dumplin’s, sausages, combinations o’ the two, taters o’ multiple types, got this awesome vegetable pancake thing. Noodles are pretty damn good. Ooh, meat dumplin’s wit’ fried taters covered in gravy.”

“Do they have cheese with that?” Ann asked, suddenly craving poutine with a fierceness. “Like, curds. Little nuggets of cheese that squeak when you eat them?”

“Um, nae? Not ‘eard o’ those,” Kat shook her head as they entered the throng around the food carts.

“I’m gonna rock your goddamn world one of these days,” Ann decided. “Just need to figure out how to make the gravy and the curds right and we’re having real poutine. Just need to make sure you all have the right cheese, and we can do that. Anyway, now I’m hungrier. Food.”

“I want whatever that was,” Rosalyn piped up. “Sounds yummy. Let me help make it.”

“Definitely will. What do you want for now, though?”

“Noodles,” Rosalyn said decisively. “Never had them, want them now. They’re like long bread, right?”

“Yes, and come with soups and sauces, meats, and vegetables. Since this is made quickly, it will be simple,” Bren explained. “I will get some as well and help you decide.” The two of them made their way to the noodle stall and joined the line.

“Want the pancake,” Lucia decided as she walked away.

“I’m gettin’ taters and sausage,” Kat decided. “What about you?”

“Gonna try the dumplings. They’re always a cool look into food culture. Just pockets of dough with whatever’s popular stuffed into them. Back in my time, we had hundreds of types.”

“Aight. Meet ye back ‘ere?”

“Definitely,” Ann nodded, then ducked in to kiss Kat before scampering away, leaving Kat to blush for a moment, then wander off.

The line was as long as the rest, and the vendor was absolutely swamped. A wooden sign above the stall listed the types of dumplings they had available, carved and brightly painted. They had four types, which was pretty good for such a small, old-fashioned operation.

Old-fashioned, Ann laughed to herself. Like I’m not in the far future.

The types were vegetable, beef, chicken, and horned beast. They came in packs of six each and were pretty cheap from what Ann could tell, though she had to admit her sense of monetary scale was fucked since she was with royalty.

“Good day, lass,” the cheery Thrundol woman behind the cart greeted her as she got to the front. “Don’t have much time for chattin’, but ye look wonderful. What’ll ye be havin’?”

“Can I mix them?” Ann asked.

“Aye. Any combination ye can want,” the woman nodded.

“Cool. Can I get three of each?”

“Two varieties, gotcha,” the woman nodded. “Want any sauces?”

“Yeah, whatever you think is best. Haven’t had this before,” Ann said. It was always best to defer to the vendor in her opinion.

“Alrighty then. Take a stand o’er tae the side, an’ I’ll ‘ave it up fer ye in a couple,” the woman directed. “Next!”

It was about five minutes before her food was done and handed to her in thick paper bowls. Twelve buns in four rows of three. They were the round type with the top twisted off. Some had a thinner brown sauce, while others a thicker. What Ann assumed were the vegetable ones had a light green sauce over them she couldn’t figure out. She didn’t need Lucia’s strong sense of smell to have her mouth watering by the time she rejoined Bren and Rosalyn, who’d made it back before the rest.

Kat and Lucia joined up shortly after, and they found a spot out of the way on the steps to eat.

“Here,” Ann said, offering Rosalyn one of each of her dumplings.

“Ooh, take some of mine then,” Rosalyn said excitedly, dumping some of her noodles into the empty space in Ann’s bowl. They were dark brown, covered in sauce, with some vegetables and meat bits mixed in. They looked like some sort of Asian stir fry.

Ann dug into her own picks. The vegetable had a garlicky sauce, with an herb Ann couldn’t place. The contents were pretty standard cabbage, carrots, and whatever else they had on hand. It was light, refreshing, and delicious. Deciding to save the other for last, she tried the others. The chicken and pork were exactly what she expected. Savoury meat with salt, pepper, and onion covered in a salty sauce that worked well with the contents. Then she got to the one she was most interested in.

Biting into the “Horned Beast” dumpling, her mouth flooded with a flavour that was similar to beef, but gamier. The closest thing she could place it to was bison, but it wasn’t quite that either. It had garlic and onion mixed in, but was left unsauced. To be fair, it didn’t need it, with how juicy the dumpling itself was. Ann couldn’t hold back the moan as she chewed.

“That good?” Lucia asked.

“Yeaaaah,” Ann said around a mouthful as she chewed happily. “How’s yours?”

“Good. Didn’t expect fried,” Lucia said, crunching on her pancake.

“Best street food always is.”

“Eh, these are real good, too,” Kat said, eating a sausage out of a baked potato. It had what Ann thought were onions and pickles on top, sort of like a weird hot dog.

“The noodles are boiled, as well,” Bren pointed out.

“Yeah, but they’re stir-fried afterwards,” Ann argued.

“And your buns are steamed,” Bren shot back.

“Ok, so I may be a hypocrite,” Ann shrugged. “A hypocrite who fucking loves this meat. The hell is a ‘Horned Beast’?”

“Oh, I know that one,” Rosalyn said around a mouthful. She slurped the noodles up, chewed quickly and swallowed. “Big creatures. We had a couple on a farm in River’s Crest. They’re bigger than normal cattle and have six of these weirdly curled horns arrayed over their eyes. Besides the horns, they’ve got thick black fur and a long tail. Thankfully, they’re not Warped, just a mutation or something, and are really docile, to the point children like to climb them and play nearby. Boy, they’re tasty, too.”

“Huh, interesting,” Ann said, chomping into her second horned beast dumpling. It was delicious. The noodles were, in fact, stir-fried Asian noodles. She tasted mushrooms and other earthy notes along with the strips of beef. Delicious and filling.

They sat in silence while finishing up their meal, then reclined on the stone steps.

“I want a nap,” Kat said with a happy groan.

“We only have five minutes until the trial resumes,” Bren reminded her. “No time for naps.”

“Ann, ye’ll keep me head up, yeah?” Kat asked, leaning on her girlfriend.

“I’ll try. Might need help to keep you up,” Ann joked.

“Ye callin’ me fat?”

“No, you’re a mountain of muscle. Shit’s heavy.”

“Aye, I guess,” Kat shrugged.

“Honestly, surprised Bren could drag you back before you met me. That must have been tough.”

“I was exhausted afterwards,” Bren confirmed. “Even getting a makeshift sled under her did not help overly much.”

“Alright, we’re done talkin’ about this,” Kat decided. “Let’s get back so we can get better seats.”

They discarded their dishes in a receptacle and returned to the courthouse. The gallery was already mostly full, but seats had been reserved at the front for Kat and her retinue.

“Order! Order,” the magistrate called as he took his seat. “We will now begin the defence’s testimony.”