Chapter 34: Playing with Fire

[ashkevarna]

"Your yearly reminder that I learn through suffering can be translated into Latin as Disco Inferno."

— copperbadge on tumblr

"Faster!" Ash panted as they ran, wishing that she had the energy to cast Expeditious Retreat. "If the Flaming Fist catch us..."

Their footfalls pelted through the alleyways of the Lower City as they hurried in the direction of the university campus. Hoot and Buzz couldn't stop laughing, in spite of Ash's panicked entreaties.

"Zip it, you two!" hissed Kina, keeping pace on Ash's other side. "This is all your fault!"

The mischievous duo of Kenku managed to suppress their glee with visible effort, although they were hardly chastened. Ash spared her roommate a grateful glance as they fled the scene of the explosion.

It had started out innocently enough. Kina had been discussing the properties of some of the volatile elements that alchemists routinely worked with, such as a soft metal that would ignite upon contact with water. Buzz had rudely expressed disbelief, and Hoot had politely expressed interest in seeing a demonstration, and once the two of them had noted where the raw sodium was kept, it was only a matter of time before a large chunk went missing from her lab.

Ash was packing up her books at the library around dinnertime when she received Kina's message out of the blue. :Your bird friends raided my supplies and went to make a big boom for science. Probably at the river. We need to stop them!:

"Tiznia!" Heads bent over nearby tables snapped up at the interruption, but quickly lost interest as the library assistant approached. Ash lowered her voice and gestured at the half-packed book bag. "Hang onto these for me? My roommate has an emergency."

The dwarf nodded in response. "I'll keep them behind the desk. Everything all right?"

"I'll let you know. Thanks, I owe you one. Again." She was already moving as she sent her own message in response. :They're not my friends, especially if they get you in trouble. I'll meet you at the northern gate.:

She took a shortcut through the tunnels, activating the Longstrider transmutation as she went, and her enhanced speed got her to the gate just as Kina arrived from the other direction. Together, they hastened along their most direct route to the banks of the Chionthar, which was a busy trade route between the city's harbor and settlements further inland. Although the river wasn't very far away, boat traffic was heavy. There was no telling how much further afield the troublemakers would venture before deciding on what they deemed a suitable spot for their experiment.

"How will we find them?" wondered Ash.

"Let's focus on the bridges," suggested Kina. "If they're not totally daft, they'll want to keep it away from the edges of the river."

Sure enough, they finally spotted the miscreants at Wyrm's Crossing... just as they used a Catapult spell to launch their payload downstream into open water.

"NO!" cried Kina, but it was too late. At first it merely bubbled and frothed as it sank below the surface, but a few seconds later it ignited...

BOOM!

The pair of Kenku whooped and exchanged a high five as behind them, the Wyrm's Rock Fortress — the primary stronghold of the Flaming Fist — began to buzz like the proverbial hornet's nest.

For a moment, Ash was too stunned to react. Then Kina's scream of frustration jolted her into action. She rapidly covered the remaining distance to where Hoot and Buzz had just begun to flee the scene of their latest mischief.

"Ash! Did you see..." Hoot began.

"Shut up!! Do you not realize where you are?!?" She gestured at the tower looming over them. "You've really done it this time!"

The Kenku looked up, and the magnitude of their mistake began to dawn on them.

"Come on!" yelled Kina. "RUN!"

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Notes

At this point Ash only has two first-level spell slots, but of course Artificers can prepare a number of different spells every day; it's just a matter of adjusting which spell-casting gadgets they're carrying. Cantrips are more long-term choices: currently she has Mage Hand and Message, but she's going to swap Message for Mending at third level.