by Sean Oswald
The mistake that Mira made was overestimating the value of her high health score. The men behind her didn’t stab her, but she felt that she could have survived to keep fighting. Instead, they both bashed in the back of her head. Rather than killing her as they had likely expected, the blows only knocked her unconscious. The last image she saw was the wooden floor of the mill racing up to meet her face.
Back in the present, Mira was pulled out of her memories as Jaselm’s words started to sink in. “Are you okay Lady Miranda?”
Thankful that her moon elf coloring didn’t show a blush very well, Mira answered, “Yes, err … what do you mean? Of course, I’m okay.” Ending on a high notice as her embarrassment shifted into a defensive anger.
“I only mean that I have been speaking to you for the last several minutes without any response from you.” Jaselm paused as if contemplating the best way to continue. “At first, I thought you were just listening intently, but then I realized that nothing I have to say is that interesting.” He added a chuckle to lighten his words. “Then, I thought maybe you were deep in meditation about some magical thoughts beyond my comprehension, but finally, I began to worry that you would fall and hurt yourself if you were lost in a trance. I’ve seen how agile you are, floating from step to step like a butterfly, but I assume that even you need to have your eyes open to see where you are going.”
After fumbling over her words for a moment, Mira finally just said, “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to ignore you. It’s sorta like when your friend texts you, and it makes you think of something else, and then you forget to text her back, and suddenly realize she has been sending you every emoji out there trying to get your attention.”
Now, it was Jaselm’s turn to ponder his words before responding, “I’m not sure that I understood everything you just said, but if I understand your meaning, it is quite alright. You and your family have been through a great deal lately. Shanelle willing, things will soon get easier for you.”
Grateful that the paladin had not asked her to explain what the earth terms she had used meant, she decided it would be best to move on to another subject. “So what do you think will happen when we get to Tsukishiti?” she asked calling the Moon Elf capital by its proper name.
“Well Lady Miranda, I don’t think that any of us have very long to wait. I’m sure that if you hadn’t been so distracted that you would have noticed there is a great deal of activity going on around us. I believe we are at the village ruled by Lord Itsu. So please be alert, and look to me if fighting becomes necessary. My men and I will lay down our lives for your mother and you.”
“That will not be necessary upon my honor as a Shinrin Hogo-Sha and representative of the Circle.” Eisuke had again managed to move as silently as a shadow and appeared behind them.
“As much as I have gotten to know you over these past few days, I believe you to be a man, or elf of his word, but I am not well enough versed in your politics to know if you can back that up. Please take no offense at my words, Honorable Shinrin.” Jaselm’s words were a bit stilted as he searched for the appropriate way to speak to the elf.
The elven warden only smiled in response and said, “My people have an expression. I believe it would translate to your language as something like ‘If everything is a problem, why worry?’ but for now, take it to mean that while the undergrowth is thick, I believe a path through remains.”
After that, their conversation was cut off as a number of elves came out from a town that seemed to literally grow up out of the forest. It was made of trees similar to the one which had been their home for such a short time. Mira was determined to be quiet and just listen as the Eisuke, Lord Itsu, her mother, and Jaselm tried to come to arrangements for the evening and the next day. The most surprising fact of all was that Lord Itsu was not going to stay here in his own town but said that he felt his duty required him to be present when the Samayo was presented to the throne. Mira knew that the elven word meant wanderer, but she still hadn’t caught the nuance of how it was being used. Either way, she was soon shuffled off to a hot spring where she had one of the best baths of her life, and then, after being fed was made the guest of one of the local families as a place for her to sleep.
Chapter Seven
“When the churches and the king fight it is only the serfs who suffer” — Bishop Elliot Clifford, martyr
Dave started to slowly come to while still planted face first on the ground. Every inch of him hurt either from the broken bones, the pelting of rocks when the elemental exploded, or the simple impact with the ground. He let out a low groan but no one responded. A portion of his mind thought he needed to get up, felt it was odd that no one came to his side. Yet his mind was too fuzzy, he didn’t even know who he was expecting to be there. In the confusion, he lapsed back into unconsciousness, and his mind hurtled back to the past few days.
He remembered arriving back at Eris’ Rise, racing astride a sweat lathered horse as he struggled to keep up with Max. They had come racing because Max had received a message a couple of hours ago that something was wrong in town. A messenger had shown up saying that the duke who ruled the lands was going to show up and inspect the town. Based upon what Max had told him about this Duke Holstein, Dave came to the conclusion that he must be a real tool.
As they rode into town, they noticed that the streets seemed to be empty of townsfolk, and in their stead was two groups of armed men facing off against one another. A large bear of a man with shaggy reddish hair was at the head of one group and surrounded by what could only be armored bodyguards in plate mail.
“The man in the velvet clothing with the red hair and more jewelry than any real man would wear is the duke, and you can see his men by the green and white tabards they wear with their armor.” Max spoke in a low voice to Dave as they stopped about a few hundred feet from where the men were gathered. As of yet, both groups seemed so fixated upon one another and hadn’t noticed the two new arrivals.
“What about the other group? There seem to be more of them.” Dave spoke back in the same low almost whisper to Max. Indeed, the duke’s party was some forty men, and not all of them appeared to be fighters, whereas the other group had to be at least one hundred strong and were wearing either plate armor in front or leather armor for the majority of those in the back ranks.
“That is a full shield of the lost.” Noting the blank stare on Dave’s face at his pronouncement, Max added, “It is the largest unit in which the soldiers of Shanelle’s church function.
With that revelation, Dave kicked himself for a fool. The shield as Max had called them had banners clearly in sight, and those banners were adorned with a symbol which looked like the one Emily had on her hand of the shooting star. “So is it a good thing or a bad thing that they are here?”
Max looked at his friend for a moment before answering. “The church tries to do good works for the people, but it’s just like back home, money and politics are always involved. The good news though is that unless I miss my mark, that man in front speaking to the duke is one of their senior paladins, Jaselm Von Marek.”
“You know him then?”
“I wouldn’t say that we are friends, but I have had occasion to encounter him in the past and always found him to be a good sort. I would count him as one of those who believes in the ideals of the church more than in its leadership.”
“Well that sounds good. I’ve never been one for organized religion, but if they are on Emily’s side, that should make things a lot easier.”
Max didn’t seem so certain, “I don’t know much about church politics. I do know that a Daughter of Shanelle is a big deal, but not exactly why or how they fit into the structure of the church.”
“So we treat them as allies but tread carefully?”
“Sounds good to me, I prefer trusting Jaselm over Duke Holstein, but I’m pretty sure that if we don’t reveal ourselves soon one of their scouts is going to find us anyway.” As Max spoke, Dave nodded along, and the two men got off
their horses and began to walk in calling out a greeting ahead of them so as not to shock either armed group.
Immediately, both groups reacted in their own way. The duke’s body guards drew steel and moved to ring around their liege. Meanwhile, the Duke didn’t seem to be fazed by their appearance. None of the church soldiers or their leader drew weapons, but a portion of them turned towards the western direction the men had come from as if to prevent themselves from being flanked.
“Well, well if it isn’t the famed Captain Maxwell Smart.” Duke Holstein’s voice carried a heavy patronizing tone as he spoke.
Max’s demeanor took on an all business look almost as if he had swallowed something with a nasty aftertaste. “Your Grace,” he said as he offered a half bow.
The Duke’s face tightened as he noted Max’s half bow and the complete absence of a bow from Dave. His gaze took Dave in from head to toe, noting quality gear but nothing exceptional and no signs of extravagant jewelry or other indicators of nobility or wealth. “And why does your squad member stand there so brazenly before his Lord. I had always heard that your squad was the best, but hardly if you don’t even teach your men to recognize their superiors.”
Dave had no more love for the concept of a ruling class or politicians than Emily did, but at least had a larger dose of restraint drilled into him by his years in the corps, so he bit his tongue and let Max do the speaking for him. “Your Grace, you know full well that you are not my lord. I am sworn only to the throne of Albia, and your rightful liege lord, King Borstein sits upon that throne. As for my companion, he is not a squad member nor a citizen of Albia. Rather, he and his family are the reason that this town is still standing, and he has been acting as the town’s sheriff for the past couple of weeks.”
“If he is this town’s sheriff then why was he not present when I called an assembly of the town.”
“I have been out helping him look for his daughter. She was taken by a goblin during the attack upon this town.”
Edwin snickered at that, “Hoping to find her remains to bury her? If one of those unwashed beasts took her, then all that you will find of her is goblin scat.”
The duke’s remark triggered a flurry of activity. Dave’s hand slid to his sword and he bared two inches of steel. Max stepped in front of Dave. The armored body guards each took two steps forward. The Duke’s face turned red, and at a quick hand gesture from Jaselm, a dozen of the church soldiers peeled off and took up a position between the Duke’s men and Max.
“It ill suits a noble to mock a grieving father.” Jaselm’s words were spoken with a heavy tone of condemnation. “It would be better if we all calmed down. I still have questions that need to be answered.”
“You have no right to ask questions here. I am the lawful lord of this land, and you saw that man. He, a mere serf, threatened me.” It would have been hard for an observer to tell if Edwin was truly angry or just putting on a show.
“I saw no such thing. I saw you provoking the man, who according to the testimony of a Captain of the Purple and Gold is no serf of yours. Albia is not a nation where we trespass upon the rights of foreigners. Shanelle teaches that we should have compassion upon those who are in need and sympathy for those who are grieving.” Jaselm spoke in an even tone until the end when he became more impassioned talking about the teaching of his Goddess.
“I am no follower of your goddess, nor do I respect men who hide behind the skirts of a woman. The true god of this land is Mispat, Lord of Justice, and his church teaches that actions have consequences. This man sought to draw his weapon against me.”
Breaking into the confrontation between paladin and duke, Dave asked, “Speaking of questions, where are my wife and other children?”
“How should I know? First you lose one child and then your wife and other children. I would say that this town could do much better than you for a sheriff?” jeered Duke Holstein.
Almost at the same time Jaselm spoke, “There appear to be many people missing in this village. Duke Holstein, you still have not told me where I can find the Chosen of Shanelle.”
“Why are you looking for my wife?” Dave asked.
The conversation became messy as each of the three men was practically speaking over top of the other vying to be heard. Upon hearing that Dave was the husband to the one he sought, Jaselm said, “Good, praise be to the Mother of all, it is good to know that we seek a Daughter of Redemption.”
“All of you stop talking. I am the lord here. I alone will decide what happens. And as of this moment, none of you are welcome on my land. Be gone from my sight.”
Ignoring the order from the Duke, Jaselm turned towards the nobleman while asking, “You have said you don’t know where the chosen one we are seeking is, but now I find out that this man expected her to be in this village along with the rest of her children. Further, that makes the daughter that he was seeking, the one you were mocking, the offspring of a blessed one and entitled to the protection of Shanelle. I don’t need your permission to be here. The Goddess herself gives me the right to be wherever She sends me.”
“Is that so? Well we shall just have to see. Do you think that your slut goddess really wants you to start a war with the kingdom of Albia?”
At that insult, Jaselm’s sword leapt from its scabbard as he said, “Mind your tongue your Grace, my patience with your dissembling tongue will only last so long.” Mirroring their paladin’s actions the rest of the church soldiers all pulled their weapons resulting in all of the duke’s men doing the same even as his bodyguard moved tighter around him.
Seeing that this situation was getting out of control and despite how much he wanted to see the church soldiers wipe up the outnumbered noble contingent, Max was still a man of duty. He shouted out projecting his voice as only an experienced drill instructor can do, “Stand down! Hands off of your swords and everyone step back before this becomes a problem.”
Jaselm was the first to signal for his men to back up and put their swords down and even though he put his sword away, Dave didn’t miss the silvery glow of magic that was still clinging to the paladin’s hands.
“Now, we need to get to the bottom of this situation. My squad is here to investigate the decline in lumber production needed for the war effort. We are operating under the authority of King Borstein. Duke Holstein, as a noble of the kingdom you are duty bound to provide whatever resources are necessary to assist the Purple and Gold in completion of their assigned missions. Sir Von Marek, as a representative of one of the true churches, your faith operates within the boundaries of Albia through an agreement with the throne. I call upon both of you to respect those obligations and assist me in this negotiation.” Max spoke loudly, moving around first facing one group and then another. He paused briefly, long enough for the words to sink in but not long enough for anyone to raise a protest. Continuing, “I am certain, Your Grace, that Sheriff Nelson didn’t mean any disrespect. He is just not used to our customs and is understandably distressed over his family. You could simplify this matter if you know anything about the whereabouts of his wife.”
“Why would I know anything about where some commoner is? I may be the duke, but I don’t keep tabs on every resident.” The anger was gone, but the dismissive tone had returned to the duke’s voice.
“He has insisted since we arrived that there is no Daughter of Redemption present here in the village, but a divine messenger sent us here to find her,” responded Jaselm.
At that moment, Karl, the ranger from Max’s squad ran up. He startled everyone once again as he reached his captain and leaned in to whisper something in Max’s ear. The Crimson Vanguard’s face grew grimmer the longer he listened. Finally he spoke up, “There appears to be a new situation. I would recommend that your grace and Sir Von Marek join myself and Sheriff Nelson at the mayor’s home. Some of this information is sensitive.”
Jaselm quickly replied, “Ok, but it is urgent that I find the Daughter of Redemption as quickly as possible.”
&nbs
p; Duke Holstein stared between the others, before finally say, “My personal guard and myself will join you.”
Jaselm started to protest, but Max said, “Of course, Your Grace, as will the remaining members of my squad.”
With that, Max, Dave, Jaselm, along with Edwin and guards started a tense walk over to the mayor’s home. When they arrived, they found not only the mayor and Aloysia waiting outside but also the remaining five members of Max’s squad, minus Leyna.
Once inside, things didn’t get any better. The duke continued to be pompous and communication nearly ground to a halt several times. Max attempted to relay the information that he had all the while not directly calling the duke a liar. The report he had received was that a small group of maybe a dozen Moon Elves had come into town from the north near its eastern edge. Apparently, Karl the ranger had spotted them just as the balance of the squad had been preparing to break into the lumber mill and free the captured Nelsons and Leyna from the duke’s men.
Upon learning that his family had apparently been taken prisoner, Dave wanted to throttle Duke Holstein. Jaselm’s anger was almost as passionate as Dave’s, but still, even with both men shouting at him, Edwin continued to deny and said that if anything had happened, it was undoubtedly a mistake made by some of his overzealous guards.
“If there was any doubt about the town being attacked by Moon Elves before, then there can be none now. What other reason could there be for them to go directly to the place where their other agents are hiding?”
“Those aren’t Moon Elf agents, those are my family.” Dave shouted directly into the duke’s face earning him a shove back from one of the bodyguards.
“So you admit that you are a sympathizer with enemies of the kingdom?” Duke Holstein asked with a sneer.
