by Scott Baron
“Animals tend to listen to you, that is true. But I do hope you will be careful on your ride. The guards are slightly reduced in numbers for a few days, since that stomach ailment hit the ranks,” Bawb pointed out.
“Not fun when you’re stuck in armor, I’m sure,” Charlie said with a little chuckle.
“My God, you’re no better than a child.”
“Come on, Bob. You have to admit, shitting your armor is kind of funny.”
A tiny smile cracked the corner of the Wampeh’s lips. “Well, I suppose it is a bit amusing. The hypothetical, of course. The reality would not be amusing at all.”
“Unless it’s your enemy, of course.”
“Naturally.”
Charlie turned his gaze back to his queen, a spark flashing behind his eyes, reciprocated in kind. “But seriously, Leila. Be careful out there, okay? Keep your eyes open.”
“Don’t worry, Charlie. I’ll have Baloo. Even with a slightly reduced escort, I think I’ll be more than safe with this good boy at my side,” she said, scratching the huge beast at her feet’s head. “Who’s a good boy? Yes, you are. You’re a good boy.”
Baloo’s hind leg twitched as Leila scratched him in just the right spot, the massive paw making quite a racket as it thumped against the floor.
“I am also going to do another fly over, Charlie. I’ll be sure to sweep over her path on the way out, if that puts you at ease.”
“Thanks, Ara.”
“Of course. There’s something in the air. I can almost smell it. Something not quite right. I’m going to finally hunt it out properly. That is, if you don’t need me for anything today.”
“No, I’m laying low. Let me know what you find when you get back.”
“I shall. Have a restful day, Charlie.”
“Fly safe, Ara.”
The friends finally finished their breakfast and went off their separate ways to begin the day’s work. Bawb was to meet with the captain to discuss the cost of some new equipment for his men, while Hunze was planning on helping Thomas in his work, learning more of his craft.
Charlie figured he’d give the men an easy day of it and just stay in the castle. With the stomach bug running through them, they could use a respite from bouncing around on horseback. Leila, however wouldn’t be stopped. Not when some troublesome animals needed a stern talking to. Charlie walked her to the courtyard door.
“See you tonight,” he said, pulling her close.
Her lips met his, a warm sparkle in her eye.
“I’ll be back before you know I’m gone,” she replied, then squeezed his hand and stepped out into the morning’s glory.
I think I could really get used to this life, Charlie mused with a contented grin, then stepped back inside.
Chapter Thirty-One
“Good to see you,” Leila called out from atop her horse. To the woman approaching them on the road. “All is well, I hope. How are the kids? Growing like weeds, I would think.”
“Yes, they are well, Highness. Thank you so much for coming on such short notice,” the older woman said as she met Leila and her small entourage. “We’ve been having quite a time with the flock, all of a sudden. To be honest, I don’t know what’s gotten into them.”
Leila smiled warmly. “I’m sure we’ll get to the bottom of it. It’s been a while since they’ve behaved like this.”
“Yes, it has. Really, not since your pet tore into them have they been so difficult.”
Leila kept her blush reflex under control. Baloo had, in fact, been rather fond of this particular farm in their earliest days on this world. As a result, Charlie had covered for her, paying far more than the animals’ market cost to smooth things over.
He didn’t tell Bawb, of course. The Wampeh would have frowned on the expenditure and reminded him a king did not do such things. But this one did. He did for her. A happy little smile tickled the corners of her lips as a warmth flared in her chest.
“I was wondering,” the farmer said, “would it be possible if your pet didn’t come onto the farm? I hope I do not cause offense, it’s just that he makes them even more agitated than they already are.”
“Oh, my dear woman. Of course. And I am truly sorry for the difficulties Baloo caused in the past.”
“Water under the bridge, Highness.”
Leila turned to her furry companion. “Okay, listen Baloo. I need you to stay up here. Or go play in the woods. But don’t come down to the farm, okay?”
He cocked his head, but, as always, he knew what his Mama wanted. With a grumbly little woof, he trotted off to see what he could forage among the trees.
“All right, let’s go see what’s up with those sheep. I bet a good talking to and they’ll stop acting up.”
“I’ll go ahead and corral the horses and open the gate, Highness,” the farmer said, then headed off down a small rabbit track between the trees.
Leila and her guards carried on, enjoying the serenity of the ride down the quiet road. She had always been fond of this part of the kingdom. The hills were picturesque, the tress thick in areas, thin in others, making for patches of bright sunlight warming their bodies after sections of cooler shade.
A little stream flowed not far away, the fresh water adding that invisible, yet comforting smell to the air that she found so soothing to her spirits. The smell of clean and healthy nature. For the briefest of instants, she flashed back to her life on Visla Maktan’s estate. An entire lifetime spent on those grounds, and now, here she was, not only in a new system, but a new galaxy. And she was no longer a slave, she was a queen.
It wasn’t often that she allowed herself to revel in her circumstance, but today––and after the previous night––she gave in to it and enjoyed the feeling.
Her men were also in good spirits. Most of the others were back at the castle, suffering from an intestinal bug making the rounds. If it wasn’t coming out of one end, it was coming out the other. The little ride with the queen not only got them some nice, fresh air, but it also put distance between them and the sick men carrying the illness.
They rounded a bend in the road, the farm visible through the break in the trees. Soon, they’d be hit with the smell of sheep. Not exactly the most pleasant of aromas, but they hoped the breeze would air things out a bit for them. In any case, their noses would be freed of the sheepy stink as soon as the queen finished her task and they rode out. With any luck, on a day as beautiful as this, she’d be in the mood to take the long way home.
The farm seemed in good condition, the fields were in order and the animals were all corralled in their pens. The horses seemed a bit agitated, but troops riding in on their larger steeds could sometimes stir things up with the smaller farm horses.
Leila took the lead, riding through the open gate and heading to the farmhouse. She dismounted, as did her men, glad to stretch their legs a bit. The farmer walked from around back.
“Just over here, Highness,” she said.
“Right. Let’s see what we can do with your naughty sheep then, shall we?”
Leila reached the corner of the house and paused. She was tuned in to the animals, as always, and she didn’t sense any discord among the sheep. But something was wrong. And not just with the flock. All of the animals were on edge. Spooked. She shifted her confused gaze to the farmer. Something in her eyes was off.
“I’m so sorry,” she said with an apologetic look. “They threatened my children.”
Leila felt her Magus Stone flare warm against her chest beneath her clothes.
Soldiers in strange armor rushed from hiding, surrounding her. Still more fell upon her guards, overpowering them by sheer numbers.
“Baloo!” she cried out.
A ways up in the trees, the giant canine’s ears shot bolt upright. A millisecond later, he was off and running toward the farm. He was forced to weave between the dense growth of trees, not being quite big enough to simply run them over. This slowed his pace, and on one twisting turn, a metal trap snapped shut on
his front leg, snapping the bone with its force.
Baloo let out a shrill howl of pain, then began fiercely pulling on the device, trying to pry the jaws open. Leila felt her heart skip a beat when she heard his cry, and the woman in need of saving suddenly threw her attackers off, her Mama Bear instinct kicking into full drive.
She kicked and punched, knocking several men to the ground despite their armor.
“Baloo!” she yelled in anguish as her boy howled.
Leila broke into a run, evading the grip of another set of lumbering, armored men as she sprinted for the hills. Moments later all she saw was blackness as she lay unconscious on the ground.
“Put her on the horse. We’re to take her to the king,” the man in charge of the assailants said. “Kill the rest of them.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
What is that? Ara wondered as she flew low in the skies off to the west. It smells like magic, and it’s getting stronger.
She dropped down below the spotty cloud cover, scanning the terrain. Something had tickled her senses ever since they arrived on this odd world, and in recent months it’s only gotten stronger. Enough that she was finally able to get something of a read on it. To trace it. To track it down, hopefully to its source.
Ara felt it but couldn’t see it, whatever it was. But she knew she was growing near. Her sharp eyes darted to and fro as she glided, seeking out anything at all that might be the source, seeing in the shadows as well as the light.
There!
She swooped down low, landing in the smallest of clearings near an overhang of rock. It was a cavern. Well, it was the opening to one, to be clear, and there was no way a dragon of her size could squeeze through the opening. But that was where the magic was coming from. It wafted up, like the teasing aroma from a baker’s oven, drawing in passersby from the street. Only this passerby couldn’t enter the shop.
Ara stuck her head inside, getting a better look around the rock-walled space. From what she could tell, only the outermost part was small. The rest grew larger as it traveled downward into the ground.
She pulled her head out and began carefully removing chunks of stone from the cavern entrance, enlarging it bit by bit until she might squeeze inside. The magic was still faint, which meant it was hidden deep underground. But her kind was no stranger to those tight spaces beneath the rocks. In fact, she, herself, had been resting in such a place in a hibernation of sorts when she had been captured back in her own galaxy. And this cavern system looked far more spacious.
It was relatively slow going opening the entrance enough to accommodate her mass, but she was old, and she was patient. Rushing might cause the whole thing to collapse, burying whatever strange, magical thing was in there.
That would leave her in her original predicament. Namely, wondering what on Earth was giving off that magic smell. After nearly an hour of meticulous removal of rock and dirt, Ara folded her wings back against her body and wiggled her way into the limestone cavern.
Dripping waters in the realm had carved a massive network of tunnels and caves over hundreds of thousands of years. Some were big enough for her to spread her wings, while others required a more compact posture to make her way through. But the magic was stronger now. Closer. Deeper, but not too much further away.
As she progressed ever downward, following the small trickle of water at her feet, she noticed something else unusual about the caverns. There were large deposits of the mineral Charlie called Iron. The one that interfered with magic from her realm.
That would explain why it was so hard to pinpoint, she realized. The natural elements forming the winding caverns were a block of sorts.
“Charlie. Can you hear me?” she lightly sent, reaching out to her friend.
No reply.
To be expected, I guess.
Slowly, she moved deeper still, traveling farther and farther beneath the surface, her glowing, gold eyes scanning for the source of the magical signature she had sensed. The water at her feet actually carried the tiniest spark of the planet’s sun’s energy, trickled down from the surface through layers of stone. Outside in the full glow of it, she’d never have noticed. But here, muffled from all of the sun’s power above, she noticed it gently tickling her feet.
Interesting.
But that wasn’t the source. Not by a long shot. The amount of magic in the water was like a drop in a river. Something stronger was nearby. A tight bend required her to compress and slide on her belly through a long tunnel stretching nearly fifty meters, but when she came out the other side, she found herself in a cavern just large enough to stand to almost her full height.
Then she saw it. Sitting on an elevated rock in plain view. The source of the magic signature she’d been tracking.
No. It can’t be! She said in shock. She spun toward the tunnel. “Charlie! Can you hear me? I found what’s been giving off magic all this time. It’s––“
A magical blast triggered without warning, a daisy-chain of small rumbles traveling throughout the entire cavern system, collapsing the caves and tunnels behind her all the way to the surface.
“Charlie! You’re in great danger!” she sent with all of her might as the dust settled around her, deep beneath the ground.
Leaning over the countertop in the castle’s kitchen, the king and his friend were enjoying a light lunch of hearty bread and meats. He stopped eating abruptly and sat up straight.
“What was that?” Charlie asked, looking around, confused.
“What was what?” Bawb replied casually as he chewed his sandwich.
Charlie strained his senses. There had been something, he could have sworn it. A visceral sense of danger, then it cut off abruptly. No trace of the odd sensation remained.
“I guess it was nothing,” he said, turning his attentions back to his food. It was good, but nevertheless, a lingering something nagged the back of his mind.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Charlie had only just retired to his chambers and was about to engage in some light stretching and a bit of meditation in the sunlight of the open window when a clanging, rumbling sound reached his ears, echoing over the hills. And it was getting closer.
Bells rang and men could be heard rushing to arms.
“Sire!” a young page said, bursting abruptly into his chambers. “It’s King Horgund! We’re being invaded!”
Charlie leapt to his feet and grabbed his weapons, racing down the hallway and out onto the parapet overlooking the front of the castle. Incredibly, it was as he had been told. An army of men was marching toward him in the distance, a long trail of dust in the trees the only real sign of their numbers.
Bawb was already there, watching the advancing men.
“How did they get here without anyone seeing them, Bob? That’s not a scouting party, that’s a goddamn army!”
“I can see that, Charlie. And I do not know how they hid their numbers from us. Obviously, this has been some time in the planning.”
“Our men?”
“We got lucky. One of the guards incapacitated by the stomach ailment had gone out for a ride to try and get his humors back in line.”
“Riding a horse after stomach flu? Ouch.”
“Indeed. Not a pleasant experience, I am sure. But he was tired of being idle, and it is only because he happened to go out at an unscheduled time, in an unplanned direction, that he somehow foiled their plan, stumbling upon them in a premature contact. Needless to say, he rode like the wind, calling out warning the whole way back.”
“Safely inside the walls now, I hope?”
“Yes. And all of the subjects near the castle have been offered refuge, though many chose to return to their farms to protect their crops and animals.”
A flush of panic hit Charlie’s stomach.
“Oh my God. Leila’s out there. She rode out this morning.”
“Breathe easy, my friend. Her destination was far from here, and her route would not have taken her anywhere near these forces.”
&nbs
p; “But she’s out there alone.”
“Not alone. She has the queen’s guard. And Baloo, on top of that. If all else fails, he will protect her with his life. And word will swiftly reach them. Her guard will know not to come back to the castle. Not right now. The people love her, and honestly, she is probably safer staying out there, away from the castle until this blows over.”
Charlie forced himself to take a few breaths and count to ten, lowering his heart rate and flushing the excess adrenaline from his system, as Ser Baruud had taught him in his gladiatorial camp many years ago.
“Speaking of blowing over, I think perhaps it is finally time to end this before it begins,” Charlie said.
“Agreed.”
“Ara, some idiot thinks he can waltz in here and invade my kingdom. Would you mind dropping by the castle and convincing him that’s not a good idea?”
Silence.
“Ara, can you hear me?”
Again, no reply.
“Hey, have you seen Ara around? I can’t seem to reach her.”
“I saw her this morning when the sun rose, but she left early, likely to feed. Perhaps she is hunting.”
“Still? And far enough away that I can’t reach her?”
“She can travel beyond your range of communication quite easily, you know.”
“Yeah, but even then I can typically feel something, ya know? Like, we can’t talk, but I sense her pretty easily.”
He fell silent straining his mind, reaching out.
“I can barely sense her, Bob. Almost not at all. I don’t understand.”
The Wampeh bore a grim expression on his face. “Nor I, Charlie. But this is bad.”
“No shit.”
“Yes, ‘no shit,’ as you say. If the Wise One is unable to put an end to this foolishness before it begins, we may be forced to deal with the invaders in more traditional ways. And once that begins, I fear a great many will lose their lives, even should she make a swift return after hostilities start.”
