Empire's Edge (Path of Light Book 2)

by N. A. Oberheide

  “This ‘ere should help your trip. It’s a lil’ poultice I cooked up from pine tar and some other crap that isn’t important. Sit still while I apply this to keep your neck from bustin’ open again.”

  Naurus winced a bit as the bandage was undone and took a bit of the scab with it. The strong scent soon wafted over his nostrils and watered his eyes as the warm and thick substance was applied to his wound. He struggled to not shake or twinge at the stinging pain that forced a tear or two from his eyes. It was soon over, and he certainly could feel how stiff the drying poultice was. Bandaged back up, he got up and finally made his final preparations.

  “Ready to roll out?” Morra asked, adjusting her pack.

  “Ready as I’ll ever be.” Naurus replied.

  “Nice man purse you got there.” She snarked.

  “It’s a satchel! My dad left it here, and its mine now!”

  “What a nice guy…breaks in to someone’s hovel just to leave a man purse for you.”

  “You sound a little jealous!” Dezlyn broke out from the other room.

  “You wish! Alright we are heading out, you’ll finally have your damn peace and quiet!”

  “Hang on just a minute, take these. I’ve had them for years and you are certainly handier with it than I am.” He said he handed over a pair of revolvers to them.

  “You really shouldn’t, you might need these if you have more company.” Morra balked.

  “I’ve got all I need. I prefer long guns anyway. Got my trusty lupara too. They’re already loaded with the last bit of lead and powder I had, so take care not to get them wet.”

  With that they hugged in parting, and Naurus was subject to another bone crunching handshake. Outside, they saddled up on their horses and set off. Morra consulted her trusty map and compass and set off on a bearing as if she was racing the sun to its inevitable destination.

  “So, where are we going now?”

  “I already told you, but your memory seems to be shot after getting knocked in the head. We’re going to see some old dwarven friends of mine. Their clan has an ancestral home that they never stray from at the base of the Mithril Mountains.”

  “I think I’ve read about that. Do they really all live in mountains and do nothing but drink and fight?”

  She laughed. “No, not quite. Some live outside too, just like us. It’s been a while since I’ve been here, so maybe something has changed.”

  “But I heard they hate outsiders!”

  “Hah! They are a bawdy bunch, but certainly welcoming of guests who respect their lands and traditions. You’ll be fine.”

  He relaxed somewhat on that assurance. The yawning expanse of gently rolling woodlands set out in the front of them seemed to go forever on into the base of a mountain range off in the distance. He reached into his satchel and grabbed some jerky. He hardly had time to enjoy it in peace.

  “Well look at you, pulling food out of thin air. You a wizard now?”

  “Nope! Looks like the old man left it for me, damn this is good.” He said with a touch of smugness.

  “Wow, what a peach he is. Pulls a knife on me just to leave you some food. How charitable…”

  “I don’t see how you can be mad about that. I told you I didn’t know he followed me out here. I don’t know where he is now for that matter. He cares about me and that’s all that matters. Besides, you tried to kill him first!”

  “Yeah well, I’m not going to apologize for thinking some would be assassin was trying to off you quietly or even kidnap you again. I’m sure you would hate to go through that again.”

  “True…but lets just forget that ever happened.”

  “Yes, lets. But if he messes with our mission again—”

  “He won’t!” Naurus cut her off.

  She may or may not have bought that reassurance, but it mattered little. The sun was setting into a crimson sky and it was time to set up for the night. Pitching up their bivouac in a hollow under a copse, he could sense she was still a bit peeved. He found comfort in knowing his father was close at hand, even with the inherent risk involved.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  I almost regret this. He thought to himself after waking up to Gully’s ugly, drooling mug. It certainly wasn’t as pleasant as seeing his wife every morning, nor nearly as comfortable as his own bed. He sat up and stretched hard, hearing cracking and popping from bones he forgot he had. Only a dull grey light filtered through from outside. It was a dreary, sleepy day but this wasn’t the place to laze around in. Looking out an arrow loop, nothing appeared abnormal except for some distant smoke. This shuffling around was apparently a bit loud.

  “Ugh…what time is it?” Gully groaned, rubbing his eyes.

  “Time for us to get going, this place gives me the creeps. I’d rather not stay in one place too long anyway.”

  “Fine…where to today?”

  “Wherever the wind blows us my friend, but you should know that by now.”

  “Unfortunately I do.” Gully rolled over and instinctively reached for his canteen.

  They decided to poke around before they left to see if anything useful was sitting out and about. It certainly was no treasure hunt, but they turned up a couple torches, a half-eaten loaf of bread, some hay and kindling. They went up into the final turret tower, their last place to plunder. Nothing greeted them up there but dust and cobwebs. Trevin decided to peek outside a large crack in the wall and noticed the sun had peeked out in a few spots. He squinted his eyes, realizing the smoke he had noticed earlier seemed to have altogether disappeared and replaced with something else. Something was kicking up a noticeable amount of dust off in the distance from the direction of a road that led towards the fort they were in.

  “What’cha staring at, ya old fart?” Gully said, walking over.

  “Something is out there, and unless I’m losing my mind I think it’s coming in this direction.”

  Gully pulled out his binoculars and pushed him aside.

  “Well damn, looks like you’re right Trev. If I had to guess I would say a sizeable caravan of some sort is kicking up all that crap. Now I suddenly have the creeps.”

  “Glad we’re on the same page. Let’s bail out, we need to see who or what that is on the road.”

  They went back outside and set off. They began to head down the partially overgrown dirt road made a point to seek out higher ground for a better vantage point. The forests encasing the road were packed densely with bramble and vines that would make hiking through very difficult. They eventually had a lucky break and spotted a narrow path that veered off and up a hill. They had to fight tooth and nail through low hanging branches, thorny vines, and biting insects. On top of a small hill they found an even smaller, overgrown cemetery. The headstones were mossy and weathered but they at least had something of a view over the winding road below them.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  He opened his eyes to a dark and cozy hollow. He was warm, there was no wind, and even the ground was gently rumbling like nature was trying to massage him. Wait, why is the ground rumbling? He pondered, rolling over to find Morra wasn’t there. This wasn’t atypical, so he wasn’t at all surprised. He yawned and stretched. Crack! The poultice on his wound cracked and split. It had started off warm and sticky, but now was merely hard and brittle. He heard some distant, rapid footfalls that were getting closer and closer. Someone was running towards him. He sat up, clutching a revolver in his hand.

  Morra slid into the hollow and started gathering her tackle up in a frenzy.

  “What’s the—”

  “Not now, get your ass up and pack. We need to leave!”

  “Uh, ok but what’s wrong?”

  “We’re too close to the road. We need to get to higher ground. The road is packed, and I don’t know who with.”

  Naurus sprang up and got all his things together. As soon as he was done, Morra started making haste up hill. They led their horses by the bridles and picked their way through the vegetation and undergrowth. He could feel the ru
mbling underfoot even stronger than before. They eventually made it to the top of a ridgeline and settled down on the reverse slope. They looked down at the road and saw an impressive cloud of dust making its way along and before long they finally saw the cause of it all. First, they saw dozens of cavalry that were led by one carrying a standard consisting of three large, white stars over a black background.

  “What’s that flag?” Naurus asked.

  “I have no idea…” Morra sounded concerned and was totally transfixed on the riders below.

  The riders wore grey overcoats with bandoliers slung over their shoulders along with a carbine and a sabre draped on opposite sides. Behind them, a densely packed column of men followed. It soon became clear this was some sort of an infantry detachment. The steel barrels and brass fittings of their rifles sparkled in the light, while their leather helmets hid much of their faces. They wore square rucksacks over their dark green jackets and grey pants bloused into boots that made for a steady and rhythmic marching roar that was felt as much as heard at this point. The column was orderly and in near perfect lockstep. They passed for several minutes. At the end, horse drawn carts that housed cobblers who were busy hammering hobnails into boots, while other carts held blacksmiths who could be heard hammering away at horseshoes and blades. There were even carts with barrels of supplies and vittles along with a dozen field guns towed behind them.

  “Oh shit…that is not what I was expecting.” Morra said dejectedly.

  “What do you mean?” Naurus didn’t take his eyes off the column.

  “That’s at least an entire regiment. Calvary, artillery, and that flag… I don’t know that flag. They are going the direction we just came. Shit…”

  “Well, what now?”

  “Now I know we are dealing with a foe that has learned many lessons from the last war. They aren’t just on a little stroll, they are probably going to shore up the coast where we were spotted. I was expecting little more than a rag tag militia like it was last time.”

  “And when was last time?”

  “Way too fucking many moons ago. Didn’t your momma ever tell you to not make a woman feel old?”

  “Uh…no.”

  She sighed deeply.

  Changing Tides

  “How much longer?”

  “The more you ask that, the longer it takes. We are close though, look ahead of you.”

  He did just that and noticed they had indeed drawn much closer to the Mithril Mountains that lay ahead. Morra still seemed a bit unnerved, constantly checking over her shoulders and only begrudgingly taking the main road as the horses couldn’t handle the rough terrain outside of it. He mindlessly chewed on a twig and shifted around in the saddle restlessly. Morra looked back at him quizzically.

  “Are you feeling alright?” She slowed down to stay next to him.

  “Yeah I’m fine. Just a bit bored.”

  “I don’t buy it. You miss home, don’t you?”

  “Well…yeah I guess.”

  “What do you miss the most?”

  “My family, my bed, my cat—”

  “Oh, a cat? Do tell!” She smiled and leaned forward.

  “Well, his name is Mokhey and he’s just about ten at this point. Big, fat, grey, and cuddly. Purrs almost as loud as my dad snores!”

  She laughed. “He sounds adorable. How did you come across him?”

  “Well, when I was just a kid I was playing out in some puddles and saw something moving in a water-logged ditch. I came closer, and thought it was a rat. I picked it up, and it was a tiny little kitten! I ran home with him and my parents almost lost their minds thinking I brought some diseased rodent in. I begged and pleaded, and they finally realized they couldn’t say no. He’s been my best friend ever since, even though my mom never really liked cats. I promised him I would always be there for him, and it just feels like I’m breaking that promise.”

  Morra giggled. “Don’t worry, I’m sure your mom is warming up to him now that she is home alone. You should be blaming your dad if anyone, he’s the one who took it upon himself to smother you all the way out here.”

  “Yeah but…” He trailed off.

  “But what?”

  “I just miss it all. Honestly I prefer to spend time with my cat over most people out there.”

  “I can’t say I blame you…not in the least.” She said emphatically.

  “What about you? Don’t you miss home?” He asked suddenly.

  “Home is wherever I make it. Not too long ago, it was my quarters on HMS Skywind and was as such for many years.”

  “Oh…I didn’t realize that. So you don’t have any family or—”

  “I do.” She butted in. “But not back in Astrania. I haven’t seen my parents since the war was just about to end in a stalemate. They feared a backlash against themselves for their pacifism in the face of war. They chose to exile themselves somewhere out here. They didn’t have to…the King declared a general amnesty when the treaty was signed…but it was too late by the time news got out. I’m probably boring you…” She sounded sullen and looked the part.

  “Well uh…maybe we will run into them out here!” Naurus tried to sound chipper as he could.

  She looked at him sidelong and managed half a smile. “Maybe…just maybe. I can only hope. But that’s not our objective. We already have your father sticking his nose where the sun don’t shine. More family business may hurt more than help.” She sounded like she was trying to convince herself.

  Naurus dropped it and decided the conversation was a bit too depressing for the task at hand. He rubbed his neck and the bone-dry poultice flaked off furthermore uncovering the scab underneath. It was itchy, but he tried his best to resist the urge. The last thing he needed was to spring another leak from his neck right now.

  “Maybe you could live out here in peace like Dezlyn.” He piped up, thinking out loud more than he wanted to.

  She scoffed. “He’s a different breed. He didn’t always used to be a hermit holed up in some dirty hovel. He never was the same after being ordered to do some things that we now realize were just not…necessary. Lots of people fucked up bad…shitty decisions were made by even shittier people. I determined to try my best to be a part of a country that wouldn’t repeat the mistakes of the past. I could have bailed out into the King’s District years ago and join most of my other kin there on a veteran’s pension, but I can’t even think of stopping. It scares me to think of stopping the fight for change, believe it or not.”

  “I believe it.” He didn’t.

  “What we achieve here can alter the future of our Kingdom irrevocably and I aim to change it for the better. The kind of change that comes from people who you actually like to be around more than animals, that is.”

  Naurus laughed. “I would hope so.”

  “I’m going to need to see this cat of yours one day and see what’s so damn special with him.”

  “One day, hopefully soon. I was wondering though, why did my pops refer to you as field marshal back there?”

  “Your old man is off his rocker. He just isn’t remembering things correctly. Going senile maybe. That magick must be rotting his brain in his old age. Shapeshifters don’t seem to age gracefully like we do.” She said with a strange confidence.

  He didn’t buy it but decided arguing about it wasn’t worth the hassle. He did wonder what else was being hidden from him though.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  “Looks like they are gonna set up a welcomin’ party fer us!”

  “You’re so funny I keep forgetting to laugh.”

  “Yeah yeah, ya laughed on the inside, don’t lie to me you son of a bitch.”

  “Fine, you win. I don’t see my kid in tow and his overlord isn’t down there either.”

  “Figured they slipped past, eh?”

  “If there’s anything I’ve learned about Morra, it’s that she has eyes like a cat and ears like a bat. It is nothing if not difficult to get the drop on her.”

  “Aye. Well off
we go then.”

  They crawled out from beneath the log they were hiding under from which they observed the formation marching past on the road down the hill. Trevin checked his compass and pulled out a hand sketched map.

  “Well, where do ya think they be heading to?” Gully asked.

  “They must be going straight west to the domain of the dwarves and their mountain strongholds. Nothing else makes sense from where we are, circumventing the Mithril Mountains is a fool’s errand.”

  “True that. Well, what if we wind up catchin’ up to them? You gonna make off with yer spawn like a thief in the night?”

  “No nothing like that. He’s probably too brainwashed to abandon this so-called ‘mission’ and she will fight to the death for gods know what reason. I noticed they had taken Blood Vows too so now they are bound by a bond that is above and beyond any oath. I hate blood magick in all its forms but what’s done is done. I simply intend to watch from a distance and see what madness really unfolds or laugh if they wind up empty handed. Either way, it doesn’t bother me as long as he’s not getting sliced up by some thug or another.”

  “Ah…yeah I suppose this is better more hands off. Yer lucky I’m bored enough off my rocker to come with you on this stupid-ass idea of years.”

  “Hah! That’s the spirit. Just like old times, you’re a sucker for something new. Sucks that you’re stuck in Kaladore, that place needs to be razed.”

  Gully kicked a pine cone down the trail. “Psh, yeah well shit was a lil’ nicer not too long ago. Good jobs and the wifey was happy. Now she’s gone an’ so are the jobs. I’m too damn poor to move out and I don’t steal shit to fill my pockets!”

  “Hey now, I only steal from the crooks behind the castles, not the poor and innocent. Besides, after this little trip you may find yourself a bit wealthier than before!”

  “I still don’t see how ya figure that but whatever.”

  “Patience my friend. All good things come to those who wait.”

  “Piss off.”

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  “I see some smoke…is that coming from out of the rock?”

  “It sure is. Amazing how they engineer their foundries by tunneling them into rock, isn’t it?”