Before the official spies could make their reports, the celebrity party made its exit down river. The dwarves were disappointed that they didn't sell off their horses this time but took them along. They felt for sure that they would want to travel light and fast, but these people seemed determined to do exactly what they wanted and consequences be damned.
The town's folk where they left the river kept their passing a secret from the garrison until they were well and past. Jayen looked shocked, but Echal just grinned. Seems even old dogs could be taught, you just had to get their attention first.
Echal really didn't doubt his plan until time for Catrin, Harder, and Savon to cut away from the group. Echal fell way behind his own party as he watched them fade into the distance. His mind on his last night with Catrin, at least until this was all accomplished, one way or the other. He hadn't planned to ask her to marry him; it just seemed like the right thing to do. When she said he would have her answer after this was all over, he was even more surprised. One never knew about women.
The Long Road Home
The Arrival
Evan saw the old chateau and memories flooded over him. Hunting trips here with his father and grandfather when he was a boy, or his first forays into his role as head of the house during his solo trips here in his mid-teens. Magical nights with Leta the cook's oldest daughter, when he was sixteen. All of these swirling through his head as he approached. As he expected it was unguarded with only a minimal staff for housekeeping and of course the Yeagers and their families... He wondered where their loyalties would lie, with their traditional lord, or the new usurper?
He shook his head to clear away the cobwebs. "There." he pointed at the side door as they rode into the open courtyard. "Unless my eyes have gotten worse than I think, that was Widow Simms who just ducked back in. Off to get the Chamberlain no doubt." He looked about him. "I know none of you are the bloodthirsty type, but some of these people I have known since childhood. Let's try to do this without violence."
Echal called forth his father's ring. He looked at it for a long moment and then handed it to Evan. "Here, you'll be wanting this now. I thank you for its loan."
Evan's eyes widened as he took the familiar weight into his hands. "Yes, it is right that I take it back for now, but it is still yours in due time."
Echal shook his head and smiled at his father. "I think it should belong to Galan when that time comes, but now is not the time to discuss such things." He stopped and pointed to the Great Hall's main doors. They creaked open wide. A middle-aged man with dark hair just starting to gray at the temple appeared. "Your Grace! Welcome!"
"Arvin? Arvin is that you?" Evan asked in amazement.
The well-groomed servant smiled broadly, "Yes Your Grace. I understand that this must come as quite a surprise. I confess I have amended my ways since my incorrigible youth. The duties of the Chateau have proven more than enough challenge for me over the decades, and when the former staff quit rather than serve, I stayed. Not that I didn't share their distaste, but had I left the senior servants would have no one to see to their dignified twilight years."
Evan shook his head. "Arvin here used to be my valet when I was at the Chateau. He wanted nothing more in this world than for his apprenticeship to end so that he could chase adventure." Evan smiled kindly at him, seeing the boy still behind the eyes of the man. "You have my gratitude for seeing to the duty of your elders when I couldn't. That alone would make you the best choice for this position." He rested an hand familiarly on Arvin's shoulder, "I hope you haven't lost all of your taste for adventure though, for plenty will be following us in the coming days."
Arvin nodded gravely, "I am yours to command Your Grace, but please come in, let us have this conversation in what comforts we may find. The trip must have been long for you to have stayed out of King Oliver's grasp this long."
Echal just nodded to Pavel and Jayen. He knew they knew what needed to be seen to and would begin preparing the defences. He approached Galan, who was despite his less than robust frame, helping Sara from her horse. "Galan, leave Sarah to Mamma and Ma'Li. As our father's sons, we will be expected to know the plan. Should the worst happen, the fate of all of these people could fall on your shoulders."
Galan's face changed from rebellious in the beginning to somber as Echal's meaning became clear. "Of course, right away."
Yeagers
Two days vanished in a whirlwind. There was much to do, to make a hunting chateau into a fortress capable of withstanding a siege. Echal and Pavel had taken shifts aiding Feylynn and Sha to combine their magics and energies. Jayen had thrown himself in to repair work, and Evan had met with the Yeagers.
The Jeagers of the Mirron family were an unusual bunch even among Jeagers. Each man could trace his line back to a pardoned poacher. To a man they understood in a very personal way, the difference between feeing a starving family and stealing the abundant wild game the Mirron family had spent generations stewarding. Each man lived his life in these very woods, he raised his family here, and trained his son's to care for their home as he and his fathers had.
So it was no surprise when approached they broke into essentially three camps. Mirron patriots who would stand by him to the death if need be. Those who feared for their families, and the families, the too young, and too old. Duke Ortard had no partisans. The families would flee deeper into the wilderness, with an escort of those who did not desire to fight. Evan could hold them no ill will. The rest would set up a roving camp. They would harass the armies scouts and foragers. They would conduct night raids, drive off horses, and ruin the day of lone pickets. Evan grimly chuckled to himself. He really did not envy those who would find themselves trying to defend against his Yeagers in their home woods.
Echal was resting up between castings when the first Yeager scouts appeared at the wood's edge. He signaled the all clear to approach. "M'Lord. They've arrived. They are setting up camp about a mile and a half along the road there at the switch back we used to use for pasturing horses."
Echal scratched his chin for a moment. "Was the Tzadi with them?"
"How would I know M'lord?"
Echal chuckled and glanced over at Sha and Feylynn. "A fine lady, walking about like they own the place but no apparent actual job?"
Feylynn looked minorly amused, and Sha just stuck her tongue out at him. The nervous Yeager couldn't help but laugh at this. "If you don't mind my saying M'lord, and present company excluded of course, that just about describes every 'fine lady' I've ever met."
Feylynn smiled this time, and her voice took on a dangerously sweet tone, "My good and loyal Yeager, who did you say your wife is? I so think she and I should meet."
The Yeager had the sense to look appropriately nervous before he cleared his throat and continuing "M'lord there was one. A pale blonde woman, trailed around by a dangerous looking old dog robber."
Echal smiled. "That would be the one. How close to their camp could you get tonight without risk?"
The older Yeager flashed him a gap-toothed grin. "That bunch of city boys, M'lord? You want me to steal their covers?"
Echal looked over to Sha. "Do you think your little friend is smart enough to pull this off?"
Sha looked uncomfortable. "Tzadi, do not fight Tzadi."
Feylynn's eyes darkened. "Like hell. Your father would still be with us and you wouldn't have had to grow up so fast if she hadn't sided with Oliver and chased us across the wilds. Even the wilds were not to be permitted to us; she wanted us dead." She stopped abruptly, trying desperately to regain her composure. Still, Echal got a small glimpse of his new stepmother behind her facade. He realized now just how glad he was that she was on his side.
Sha's voice broke slightly at the mention of her never known father. "I think it can do it but I'd sure hate to lose it if..."
Echal spoke up, "If it can take that Tzadi out of the equation it will be worth the sacrifice. I'll gladly work to help you build a new one if this is lost."
Sha
just nodded and the little golden serpent that had appeared to be nothing more than jewelry, slithered to life and crawled down her arm and into her hand. She held it up where she could see it. "Do you know what to do?"
The harsh hissing voice so quiet as to almost be unheard, "Yes.”
The Yeager was looking at the thing with crossed eyes, and his face clearly betrayed his desire to run, if only he had command of his legs. "W-What do you want me to do?" His voice cracking at the very end of the question.
Echal lifted the small serpent from Sha's hand and holding it out to the terrified Yeager. "Just place this little fella on the ground outside of their camp as close as you can get to the Tzadi's tent. He'll take care of the rest." As he spoke the snake stretched out showing the segments and the wickedly sharp little blades at each one.
As the man faded back into the trees, Echal just hugged his little sister and planted a kiss on the top of her head, "Who knows if this spooks them enough, we might not have to kill a bunch of people who are mostly innocent. Just made a mistake of picking the wrong side."
Mourners
They had only cut off from the Duke's party for less than a day before Savon slips off and purchases a farm wagon and a simple pine coffin. So dressed in their shabbiest traveling clothes, father and daughter take the remains of a beloved uncle to be laid to rest in the family plot.
Even the roving patrols weren't looking for that and were reluctant to intrude on a family's grief. So it was that they traveled by day, and Harder kept watch by night. It wasn't speedy travel, but it was the next best thing to being invisible. Even as they passed the heavy gates of Voivode's Rest the smell coming from the box was enough to keep even the most vigilant gate guard out.
They settled into an inn in the city after selling off their horses and wagon. Harder they stashed for the day in one of the rougher parts of the city in an alleyway. Catrin had plans for acquiring him a new, less decomposed and certainly more human body. It just wasn't the kind of plan one pulled off in broad daylight no matter how seedy a part of town one was in.
The sun set and out the window she went. Along the roof tops, enjoying the ability to really press herself in ways she hadn't in a long time. Echal was bad for her practice; she spent too much time as the respectable lady. Well, much of the day anyway, she smiled remembering their last evening together. The emotional sot must be really nervous to have proposed like that. Part of her wanted to accept and lock him down, but that would have been foolish. Decisions like that shouldn't be made when one is facing mortal peril; it just clouds things. If he still wanted to marry her after all of this was done, and they were both alive to accomplish the job, then of course she would. The look on his face when she didn't answer right away was priceless though.
Suddenly she was falling. She was able to flip to one side and run partially along one wall and then jump from it to hang from a lower balcony. Damn it she berated herself, keep your mind on what you are doing. Mistakes in this line of work are often fatal and not just for yourself. She was able to work her way over to some decorative brickwork at the side of the building and used it to climb back down to the roadway. She pulled the shapeless dress from her pack and put it on. She joined the milling throng in the street. A cheap bottle of wine from the street vendor, and liberally spilling much of it on herself she found her way to the alley where they had left Harder. She crumpled at the mouth of the alleyway and curled up around the bottle and stared off into the void.
She didn't have to wait long. A pair of young men not much older than herself happened by and decided the drunk woman would make an easy target. She fought back ineffectually for a minute and then broke free running into the alleyway. She was just thinking she was going to have to do something about these two herself when the rotted orc rose from the piled refuse. The man to her left's head suddenly whipped to the side as the large orcish fist with the boney knuckles exposed through the ripped flesh bashed him into the brick wall of the alley. Blood and teeth sprayed in a wide arc covering Catrin's dress in gore.
The other massive hand gripped the would be rapist around the throat, and moments later the crumpled form rose out of the ally floor. "Bout damn time, the two of them might have been a threat."
"You had it, I just was waiting so I could do the least damage to the body. Now lets go get a better look at what we'll be breaking in to." Just like that, the couple staggered drunkenly down the road to get a better look at the palace off toward the center of town.
A Mostly Bloodless Coup
Strange Bedfellows
The golden snake golem was the next closest thing to invisible as it slipped past the perimeter guards. Even if someone had noticed the grass move against the wind, it would have been ignored as just one more ground squirrel or rat that were always around military camps to feed on the largess of dropped crumbs of rations. Slipping under the tent wall was no more difficult. There were two pallets in the room, one large and covered in furs, the other narrow and just inside the tent flap.
On the small pallet lay an old veteran of many battles, snoring loudly, but still his naked sword lay but inches from his fingertips. The golem had no appreciation of beauty or the lack of it, but it recognized a man worn long and hard in service to a cause. A very dangerous man despite his obvious age and the multitude of healed wounds. The golem considered removing this threat first, but its instructions were a minimum of bloodshed, so it moved on.
On the larger pallet was the sleeping form of what at first glance appeared to be a young and attractive woman. Only as the golem coiled by the face preparing to strike, did it notice the fine tracery of lines proclaiming the first signs of age. The golem prepared to strike and in that instance the eyes opened and focused on the snake gleaming red in the limited fire light.
The staring match lasted less than a heartbeat, yet seemed an eternity. The woman drew in her breath but before she could gather her will to cast; the golem sprang forward piercing the eye and spiraled back threw the optic nerve into the brain. Casting was impossible. Even a coherent call for help was strangled in her throat. A quiet gurgle and the great and much feared Tzadi was no more.
Hours later, the Guardian rose to answer nature's call and do his security sweep. The cry of his anguish could be heard echoing off of the mountains for miles.
Grief and Regret
Evan and Echal were receiving the report from the Yeagers when the howl of anguish went up. Both men closed their eyes and bowed their heads briefly. Echal didn't regret what was done, it would save lives in the long run but it wasn't a noble victory either. Evan knew the link between a Guardian and his Tzadi, it would have been a kindness to kill the Guardian as well.
The Yeager just grunted, "Looks like they'll be coming soon."
Evan shook his head. "Not until morning. Not if your men set their traps the way that was discussed."
The man’s dark eyes glittered, "They'll not be venturing in those woods for long. I still say we shouldn't have stuck to non-lethal traps M'lord. They won't have such scruples, when they come for us."
Echal's turn to shake his head. "No, but with a little luck, we can stop that from happening. We just need to keep them tied up for a couple of weeks." He rubbed his face. He really needed sleep but who could sleep while Catrin, Jayen, and Harder's fate was unknown.
The cries of men caught in traps started to echo off of the mountains next. Each time the Yeager would grin. Echal understood his pride in the work he and his men had done but he just couldn't share the joy of it. These were men who were doing their duty. They were his countrymen, and in two weeks, they would be his people once again. At least a few of them would suffer permanent wounds from this little lesson in prudence.
Varn was watching the wall closely. His soul was empty. His Tzadi had been his everything. She had found him as a young boy fighting dogs for scraps in Archive's worst slum. As he grew into his strength, she had taken him as her Guardian, and her lover, until the years and scars had accumulated beyond he
r interest. Even this he did not begrudge her, he got old, and she stayed beautiful. A man would have to be a fool to think that wouldn't matter. He cherished the time he had with her, and the people in that chateau had taken her from him. He would make them all pay for that. He would... Wait, the big guard is leaving just that half-grown child in place. It was time to make the move, now or never.
The golem found its way right back to the guard post that Pavel and Galan were manning. Pavel smiled as he picked it up. "Think you can hold the fort for a minute? Sha will be happy to have this back, and on the off chance they break through us. I want her to have it."
Galan with the arrogance of youth, waved him on. "Don't know why they think I need a babysitter, anyway. All I have to do is let out a yell if they start coming this way."
Heir's Legacy Page 16
