The second floor of the lodge was filled with the scents of lavender and lemon. This was result of the furious cleaning and laundering being performed by our house girl, Alex, and the twins’ mother, Nairee.
“Nairee, you know she has been living in shit and corpses by choice for the last six years, right? You needn’t put yourself out so,” I reminded her while grabbing the mop away and finishing her round on the hallway.
She just smiled at me, closing her kind eyes. “It doesn’t matter your guest, a hostess needs to be on point or what good is she?”
Nairee was born on the island of Gamola, the southernmost livable area on our globe. It is a wild nation, and they are the only people who have been able to continue their communication with spirits. They actively perform rituals and enchanting on a large scale. The population is small and undeveloped, making them a target for pirates and slave traders. Although the Gamolans would fight back fiercely with their talents, they could still be ravaged long enough with modern weapons to allow their enemies time to abduct their children and steal their resources.
Nairee was one of these unlucky children who was stolen and sold to a captain in Knox. When that captain was captured as a prisoner of war here in Casperland, the teenage Nairee escaped. The man had been training her as an assassin, and her first instinct had been to rescue him. After arriving in Drummond, she came to realize the things really worth fighting for. She joined Logos, met and fell in love with her husband Pierre, and eventually found her former owner. She got to kill him herself, though he was a pathetic wretch in a dungeon by that point. Things turned out pretty well for her, and although this is a grossly abbreviated story, it is a glimpse into her strong character.
Her cool brown skin was still smooth, despite the decades of battle and fifty years of life. She was a mother to all of us in the lodge, in one way or another. She was also one of the deadliest of us, having destroyed three battalions herself during the first and second invasions of Casper. She would never let war or age diminish her spirit. Having her command at the mopping post stolen, she simply went with Alex to pick up as they made Shemmy’s bed in seconds.
“We should get a boiling-hot bath ready. Your daughters want to try to clean up that ragamuffin. Where do you keep the towels you care nothing for?” I called to her, grinning as I put her mop away in the closet.
“They are up above, in that same closet. The brown-colored ones will do fine. I suppose they will probably need my help, huh, Leke? I hope she doesn’t have any fleas. All right then, child, I’ll get the water started. Go up to my room and get me my strongest smelling salts and oils off my dresser. Definitely the tea tree, and ya probably ought to get some scouring pads from the kitchen too.”
I nodded and accomplished all her prep work. This absolved me from any responsibility in the actual cleaning of Shemmy. They still relied on me to carry the clawing mess up the stairs, before dropping her in the washroom with the ladies and locking the door behind me. I was thus able to retire and slept soundly until Jess joined me, I’d gather to guess a full three hours later. She had a few bald spots and reeked of tea tree but seemed extremely proud of herself.
In regards to the current form of the Order of Logos and our plan to save the kingdom, I ought to dole out some more facts. Post his forced retirement, Captain Grimhart purchased this inn from its elderly and childless owner. It was chosen for its more private location in the poorest part of town and its generous amount of rooms. Most lodgings in Drummond had five to ten rooms, while this habitation boasted over double that with a wholly unnecessary twenty-six guest rooms. This excess made it possible for Grimhart to house all his remaining loyal knights while having plenty of spare rooms to rent to real guests. That extra income was nice, but not nearly as beneficial as having a legitimate business to justify the gaggle of knights still hanging about together. Thus “The Salty Wench” transformed into “The Philosopher’s Rest,” and the Order of Logos received an extension on their lease on life.
Captain Ackerman still resided in the attic-turned-suite on the fourth floor. He fell into convalescence following a stroke shortly after Micah’s own descent into illness. Henceforth, the captain’s only son Billiam became our commander under close guidance by his elders, Nairee and Pierre.
The three elders’ plan had been the assassination of the cardinal and reclamation of the castle. It was right as they started to make their move toward Cardinal Aldrious that the prince fell ill. It also happened to be immediately after a diplomatic visit by the queens of Alafor, our neighbors to the north, that Micah entered his coma. The cardinal naturally blamed the queens, yet they had been here to negotiate joining forces, which would have been beneficial to both sides. There was no proof or visible motive for the Alafor to attack the prince, but Aldrious worked his nation into a frenzy. He began plans to invade Alafor and cut trading immediately, but no attacks were ever actually launched.
Following Ackerman’s stroke, Billiam assumed his role as captain. He knew that their strategy must change. He was sure the cardinal suspected the coming attempt on him, and that is why he proved his willingness to hurt the prince. It also explained the absence of hostility toward Alafor, as they were merely a scapegoat. Billiam convinced his people they shouldn’t be after the cardinal nor the castle, they should be behind their prince instead. Thus our route to the current plan was forged.
Research was done on healing Micah via enchanting yet was adapted to his resurrection following his death. Besides the resurrection of Micah, there was much to be done. We needed to make allies outside of Drummond, as the atmosphere was sure to become intolerably hostile once the prince went missing.
We worked steadily and swiftly so we’d have means and men to return to Drummond before the prince’s twentieth. The hope is that the people will lose faith in Aldrious and turn from religious fanaticism enough to welcome back their king. The people themselves would remove the cardinal; at least that was Billiam’s idea. Planning was practically complete and execution of the plan would be upon us. The only part that would need to be adjusted was the extraction time of Micah. Now that we knew Micah had to be present in the faerie woods, it had to be rescheduled immediately; however, it seemed the change would actually be beneficial.
Chapter 3
May 3rd, 989
NOON ARRIVED by the time Jessica finally baited Shemmy out of bed. She came armed with a plate of buttermilk flapjacks heaped five high, smothered in lingonberry jam and whipped butter. She fanned the smell above Shemmy’s head until she dreamily began to follow the floating breakfast downstairs.
The drowsy girl in a white nightgown who arrived in the dining area was barely recognizable. I realize I refer to her as a girl quite often, but Shemmy was twenty-eight years old when we met her, older than most of us. This is the fault of her immaturity, no doubt. Despite that, in her newly clean state she looked very young and lost. Her skin was actually three shades lighter than we had seen the day before. Her raven hair was no longer filthy but frizzed up all around her head. It would take longer for it to recover than her dirty skin had, yet there was no way she would let it. The collection of dreadlocks along her face was left intact, though all but one bone was removed. The last one that refused to be rescued was a finger bone poking from the bottom of the braid on the left side of her face.
Shemmy took in her surroundings while chomping mechanically at her pancakes, this time forced to use a fork and knife by Nairee. Curling her bare, permanently stained feet in the legs of the stool, she scanned the room, noticing the faces she had met last night and some she hadn’t yet. As exciting as this complete and immediate change of life had been, she was starting to feel overwhelmed. She thought of how she really needed to stop rushing into things, no matter how terribly boring caution was.
Billiam sat down behind her at the next table with the chairback facing him and surprised her by brushing her hair. He pulled it a bit, but she could tell he really was trying to be gentle.
“Nairee is b
ringing us coffee with cream and real bars of chocolate melted right in!” he whispered over her shoulder. “Spirit, I cannot believe how good you smell, but you still have way too much of this mop. I hope we have time to get you to a barber. If not I can hack some off with my dagger while we are on the road.” He pinched her cheek hard as he said it. He then set the brush down, got up, and moved to her table to sit beside her.
His excitement helped her to feel reassured about her uprooting. “Oi, good. You were scarin’ me there for a moment, wif how nice you was being.” She pulled on her nightgown with disdain and asked him, “I do get to wear real clothes again, right?”
“Hmm, I suppose we could allow that,” he teased. “Though you slept so long, everyone is more than ready for our meeting. You are stuck in your gown until it’s over.”
“Here’s your coffee, children,” Nairee said kindly, setting the mugs of steaming sweetness in front of them. “You ready for me to gather everyone, then? I’ll set us all up around this table. No need to move our guest of honor.” She smiled at Shemmy and gave the oak table a good knock. The large round table was one of four in the tavern’s dining area and could comfortably fit ten. There were twelve of us all together, counting Alex, though Nairee could make it work fine. Alex had no pivotal part in our mission, but she could not bear leaving her girl out.
I came down the stairs, carrying the elder Grimhart in my arms. My brother followed me, holding his wheeled chair in one hand and a quilt in the other. Ackerman was having a good day and was able to talk slowly, so he insisted on being present for the meeting. He would, of course, still let his progeny lead. He simply wanted to make sure that Billiam got all his bases covered before the captain could put his approval on letting the plan proceed.
Ackerman had grown thin and light, a shadow of the beastly warrior he once was. White hair covered his sixty-year-old body, and sleep collected in his eyes. I gently wiped it away when we arrived at the ground floor while my brother set up his chair for him. I wheeled him over to be at the right of Billiam, and as Shemmy was already at his left, I sat myself next to Ackerman.
The table was rounded out by the twins next to Shemmy, followed by their mother and their father, Pierre. My brother sat beside me, and a young man named Roland, Zan’s battle partner and protégé of sorts, was next. To his right sat Alex and then Malcolm next to Pierre, completing the group. This circle was the Order of Logos and the only hope for revolution. We were a bit ragtag to look at, but all skilled in our own right and excited to be given our personally tailored commands.
Billiam stood up and pushed in his chair, remaining behind it so he could view the whole group. “Good afternoon, everyone!” he greeted us nervously.
“It’s afta’noon?” Shemmy was a bit bewildered as she slurped down the last bit of her coffee.
“Yes it is, sleepyhead,” Billiam teased her, but immediately straightened up. He knew his father would not approve of the informality. “All right, first off, I am delighted to inform you all that it looks like there will be an opening for us to acquire Micah tomorrow. I know this is quite sudden, but it gives us almost two and a half months to complete our goals by the prince’s birthday. This is still not an overly comfortable amount of time but should be sufficient.
“I have split us into four teams. The first team, A, will go to Alafor, where relations will need to be repaired so that the prince can find safe haven there after his resurrection. The next, team F, will be responsible for going to the faerie wood of Failingveil to revive the prince, before meeting with A in Alafor, as it is the closest quasi-friendly kingdom to Casperland. Team G will go to Gamola to offer aide and encourage them to fight with us, with the promise of forging a permanent alliance once the throne is reclaimed. Team D will maintain the lodge as long as possible before going west to see if there is any help in the isolated land of Khur. Team D will be the only team not participating in the extraction of the prince, as it would obviously make their stay here far too dangerous.
“On to the extraction: Team G will be outfitted with the guise of wine merchants with a delivery for the cardinal. He will be at parliament the whole day tomorrow as the third deployment of troops to Knox is to be negotiated. We have one of our friends in the castle, a slave girl named Marla, who is eager to help. The cardinal is rather fond of her, and she has been given mostly free rein of the grounds. She will receive the shipment and guide them to the wine cellar and through the castle, to the prince. Instead of wine, the bottles will be filled with a knockout gas Pierre concocted. Team G and Marla will be outfitted with discreet breathing devices so they do not fall prey to their own trick. The goal will be to incapacitate guards and monks, as creating casualties is of no benefit to us. After the prince is back, those men will hopefully be among our allies.
“Team F will be piloting a modified hot-air balloon we have acquired. It is outfitted with two mechanical wings that can be manipulated with a pulley system to get us to our intended location. It will also have a very clever cloaking spell cast on it, which Nairee learned from the Gamolans. It lasts only twenty minutes. Team A will ride with them and drop from the hot-air balloon into the courtyard outside Micah’s room exactly three minutes after team G enters the castle. Team A will help with any crowd control as team G exits into the courtyard, carrying the prince. Leke will be on team A, and she will carry the prince up the rope to the balloon, passing him off to team F. Once F has Micah, Leke will jump and the rope will be cut so their retreat can begin immediately. The goal is to get past the Valley of Peace before the cloaking spell wears off.
“A and G will cooperate to get out of the castle through the servants’ tunnels. Marla will guide you and carries a key to the sewer entrance below the castle. The teams will follow the sewer south and arrive at the Marken River. There you will see two boats guarded by one of our allies. Team G will have a skipper prepared, which will be able to weather the seas, whereas A will have to make do with a small canoe to cross the river. Team F will land in the cover of woods, near Shemmy’s house, where a cart and two horses will be waiting. They can then proceed northeast to the faerie wood.
“The extraction and escape should take no longer than ten minutes. Marla will escape along with the teams and join G, as this is the only way to assure her safety. All of this information is included in the primers that Pierre wrote up. Any questions before I go over team assignments?”
Ackerman grunted before being able to mutter out, “Risky as hell, but should work… proud of you… son.” His face glowed with more life than I’d seen in three years, but worry still collected in his brow.
“Will Marla be of use to us, besides being alive?” Malcolm asked coldly.
“Well she is not a soldier, but she is extremely loyal and will be quite charming with the Gamolans. You are also not on team G, Malcolm, so you needn’t worry.”
Malcolm nodded and continued scratching along on his notepad, as he had been during the entire presentation.
“I might be daft or somethin’, but sounds to me like the same plan we discussed a hundred times over?” Roland muttered out through his fingers.
“It is similar yes, but even you should have been able to catch the creation of a fourth team. The Alafor team was double the size prior as we thought Failingveil would be taken care of already,” Pierre lectured the boy, following it with a loud scoff.
“Well yeah, I mean, I know that. I just meant like we dun really need to hammer over it, don’cha think?”
“It is important Shemmy knows everything, and as teams are sure to have changed, you best pay attention to all of it,” I added dryly.
“Yes, I agree Shemmy ought be fully prepared. She met us just a day ago. Is this even enough time? The plan hinges on her completely, no?” Katrina asked, looking first to Billiam but landing her gaze on me.
Sighing quietly, I answered, “This change of plan benefits us in two ways, despite the urgency it requires. Firstly, Failingveil is closer to Alafor than Drummond, so it’ll b
e a more discreet trek for the living prince. Second, the journey and revival can now coincide, buying us all the more time to gain allies. If we wait and hold Shemmy’s hand for a week, we are losing half our advantage. She is an expert, and it is not as though she can practice on someone without taking a week’s excursion to the woods, not to mention someone’s life.” I noticed as I finished speaking Shemmy had leaned her torso over the table to grin at me like an idiot. I had apparently flattered her, which was not my intention, so I grimaced and leaned out of her sight.
“Fair” was all Kat replied as she nodded and smiled at Billiam. “I am fine to continue.”
“Excellent. Thank you, Pierre and Leke. Those were my sentiments exactly. Anything else?” Billiam asked as he glanced down at the paper in his hand. All the notes thus far had been laid upon the table, but the new team assignments stayed in his clutches. Only he and Pierre had been involved in redrafting them, so I was just as eager as anyone else to hear it.
Zan smiled obsequiously and chimed in, “I can’t have any questions until I know what I’m doing, so I think you are safe to proceed.”
“Right,” conceded Billiam. “Team G is naturally Pierre and Nairee as they are already familiar with Gamola and should be able to pull off the ruse flawlessly. Team A will be Leke and Malcolm, though I would like Jessica to go with you as well.” The three of us stared at him in disbelief, not expecting Jessica to be involved in the mission so directly as she was not a trained fighter whatsoever. “She will be guarding the boats and join with you on the mission to Alafor. She will not be participating in the prince’s extraction. I felt the two of you would need someone a bit more cheerful, as this is primarily a diplomatic mission. You are both so quiet and glum, she will balance out the team well.”
Defiant Revival Page 4
