I decided to pull Ridge from his construction duties the next day and have him build the reinforced outpost for our troops instead. While the simple campsite that was there was secure and comfortable enough for an overnight stay, it would be completely insufficient for any long-term occupation. Ridge was able to travel quickly through the Earth itself, and with his assistant’s help, they might even finish the job before our soldiers arrived.
It was almost the perfect ending to a very good day, and I spent a while snuggling with Bane before I headed upstairs to bed. He was still growing, and I wondered how long it would be before he couldn’t even get through the door to our house—I simply wouldn’t allow something like that to separate us. If that were ever to happen, Ilvain would simply have to build an addition for him. I wouldn’t settle for anything less for my beloved Rhastoren.
Tási was already in bed when I arrived upstairs. I thought she was asleep, but she stirred when I slipped in beside her.
“Sorry,” I apologized for disturbing her. “I just needed to spend a little time with Bane.”
“I know,” Tási answered as she rolled over to face me. “I watched you lay with him for a while. The two of you were so peaceful together, so relaxed. It reminded me of how I feel when we’re together.”
She nestled her face into my shoulder, and we fell asleep with that same sense of peace and comfort, but with Tási, those soothing emotions were far more powerful than when I was with Bane or Ella. Tási brought out the best in me, and in her arms, I wasn’t just comfortable, I was home. So together, wrapped in each other’s embrace, we passed into the night in a warm blanket of unconditional love, woven from the finest threads of pure bliss.
Ridge did indeed complete the outpost’s construction before our soldiers arrived, and immediately returned to constructing the grand Palace. The high outer walls rose many stories into the sky and towered over the lower defensive perimeter. While Ridge was still building even more of the structure, the stonemasons continued to put the finishing touches on his rough work. With their dedicated efforts, the interior was beginning to actually take on the appearance of something quite impressive, and I tried to include a quick walk through its halls on my daily treks through the realm.
Yes, I called it a Realm—I couldn’t dodge the name anymore. It was no longer just a canyon that led to a valley, but truly a Realm, even if it was a small one. Although it lacked an official name, the little slice of land had morphed into something far more than a settlement, and even I couldn’t avoid the truth of it any longer.
Once the outpost was established, Evans began sending regular patrols up the road. Those patrols not only made sure that our connection to the main highway was safe but also brought back regular reports to us from the outpost. Over the next few weeks, we sent out several of those patrols, and the outpost made contact with the caravans that passed by. Word of our fledgling Realm spread, and over the next few months, the first new citizens began to trickle in from some of the neighboring Kingdoms.
Our newest arrivals were very much like our first citizens. Among them were bold settlers, idealists who were drawn to our message of hope, and those who simply thought they could make a better life for themselves in our Realm. We made room for all of them, and provided them with shelter, requiring only that they contribute to our growing Realm and provide for themselves.
Although we had started out as a simple communal society, we had grown beyond the limits of that lifestyle. Everyone now worked for their keep, whether that was as a farmer, herdsman, hunter, of craftsman. Those employed by the Realm were paid from our treasury, and the rest found sustenance in their own labors. The silver we mined provided for the Realm’s finances, but we knew that we would eventually have to implement some form of taxation as well if we were to finance the next phase of our expansion.
Thoughts of what would come next dominated my mind during those weeks and months. We were slowly integrating more and more new citizens and growing both our military and our production capabilities. Not only were there new farms, but tradespeople of all sorts also began to open up shops in the village that had sprung up around Travis’ inn. Marli had even set up a new version of her old shop, almost identical in every way, and the sign for ‘Marli’s Emporium,’ graced the front of her store across from the ‘Dragon’s Roost,’ as Travis had finally decided to name the inn. The name was a tribute to Bane, who was still a marvel for nearly everyone to behold. Despite his protests, the ‘Rhastoren’s Roost’ just didn’t have the same ring to it, so the name stuck.
I did have to call in Ilvain eventually when Bane started to have difficulty getting through the front door. He added an extension onto our common room and built in a wide barn door that would accommodate Bane’s ever-increasing size. He was approaching the dimensions of a small horse, and was becoming increasingly distressed by the inexplicable situation, despite my constant reassurances.
All of these developments paled however in comparison to the discovery of Khelduin in our mines. The rare metal was found running in thick veins alongside the silver we had discovered earlier. Unlike every other strand of Khelduin that had ever been discovered, this one ran wide and deep, and we soon had an abundance of the incredibly powerful metal.
Georl and Hilgreth put our find to good use, forging plates of armor from it that were backed by chain of dwarven steel. Using the Forge Hammers to craft the armor, the smiths produced protection for our troops that was second to none. With the superior protection of their amazing armor, and under the expert tutelage of First Marshal Evans, our burgeoning Army, although still small, was quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with.
At my request, Evans paid special attention to training Ella, and her skill with the spear had become quite formidable. It had taken a great deal of effort, from both of us, but working together, Ella and I had managed to seal off the angry wound on her soul. Although it would never go away completely, the deep rent on her core had been reduced to a thin line of scar tissue. Even though I still needed to delve into her every now and then to keep it sealed off, those efforts were almost entirely preventative in nature, unlike the occasional visits I still paid her for… other purposes. I simply couldn’t escape the fact that she had become a part of me, as I had become a part of her in return. The cost of healing her wounds had come with a lifetime commitment for both of us.
Things had begun to run so smoothly that it was almost as if my little Realm was tending to itself. The lack of any real problems lulled me into a false sense of security, and I dropped my guard until the night that changed things forever.
I awoke in the middle of the night to the sound of a muffled voice. It sounded like Tási, but was coming from across the room, instead of by my side. I woke up in confusion and peered into the dark corner where the noise had come from. Tási was indeed standing there, but to my horror, she was not alone.
A dark figure had a hand over her mouth, gripping her tightly and pinning her body against the folds of the black cloak that shrouded her assailant’s form. But what froze the blood in my veins and brought my rage to a boil in my chest, was the long blade of the dagger that was digging into the soft flesh of her neck.
“Took you long enough to wake up, bitch,” the hooded figure sneered. “My employer insisted that I kill her first, and that you watch her die, or you’d both be dead already.”
The venom in his words and the viciousness of his threat kindled my anger almost beyond the point of no return. Someone hated us enough, hated me enough, to hire an assassin to kill us both. Not only that, but they wanted us to suffer first as well. The vile nature of the entire thing was repulsive, and I wanted nothing more than to rise up and rip the man’s throat out, but with his blade pressed against Tási’s neck, I was powerless, and he knew it.
“I’m going to cut her,” he goaded as he slid the blade across Tási’s neck, “And you’re going to watch her bleed out on the floor before I kill you too.”
His motion was not designe
d to kill or pierce her skin, it was only meant to taunt me even further. Despite my best efforts, his ploy was successful, and I was forced to bottle up my rage in a dark orb of anger and hate so that I would not be overcome by it and take some rash action. So, I held my anger at bay by channeling it into an ever-larger ball of dark energy roiling inside my chest.
“I haven’t got all night, so say goodbye to your little friend,” the bastard finally said.
The thought of him slicing into her throat while I simply watched impotently was too much for me to handle. Up until that moment, I had been able to contain my growing rage, but when the filthy murderer began to make good on his threats, the silent storm of raging thunder that had been building up inside me let loose in a torrent of hate and fury. My rage flew into an unrestrained frenzy, and the room flared in a viridian glow as my irises flashed with the bright green light of my anger.
The sudden flash startled him for a second, but even so, the assassin was well beyond my reach. Still, I desperately lurched towards him as something within me, something I never felt before, urged me into action. I flung my arm forward, and with its motion my hand extended and the ball of angry, dark energy that I had been carefully holding at bay hurled out from between my fingertips.
The wicked, spiked ball of pure wrath struck the assassin’s forearm just as his blade began to draw blood from Tási’s neck. The power of its dark energy immediately withered the bastard’s entire limb, and he fell to the floor screaming tortured cries of anguish. I pulled Tási away from his crumpled body as his screams echoed in the air and dragged her over to where our gear lay in neatly folded piles.
As soon as I could reach my Cloak, I fumbled for the pocket that held my healing crystals and yanked one out as quickly as I could. Fearing the worst, I hadn’t dared to look at her wound until I had the crystal in hand, but I turned to look at her then. Tási held her hand over her throat, but there was barely a trickle of blood seeping out from between her fingers. Her actions seemed almost rote, and she was clearly in shock, so I peeled her hand away and took a closer look at the damage that had been done.
The wound was only a shallow gash, barely cutting through beyond her skin, as the assassin had failed to cut any deeper before my dark energy had destroyed his arm. Even though it was a minor wound, I pressed the crystal against her skin anyway, just to be safe.
“Tási,” I tried to rouse her from her fugue. “We need to get dressed, he might not be alone.”
My words shook her from her stupor, but before we could move to put on our gear, the door flew open and several figures rushed into the room.
“What happened?” Stel’s voice called out from among the shadowy forms. “We heard screaming, are you alright?”
“Assassin,” I hurriedly explained. “We killed him, but there may be more.”
“Venna, Broda, stay with them while they get their equipment on,” Stel shouted. “Khorim and I will watch the door. Grab anything else of value, and then we’re getting out of here.”
The two men stepped outside while Tási and I quickly threw our gear together. Everything important to me was either on my back, or in the pockets of my Cloak, so I was ready to go the second I had my equipment on, and Tási only had to grab hold of her backpack before she was ready to leave as well. I spared just a quick glance at our would-be assassin on our way out the door, but beneath the cover of his concealing outfit I could only make out the thin trails of smoke that wafted off his shattered corpse.
Sintári, are you hurt? Bane’s voice suddenly registered in my mind.
I immediately realized that he had been calling to me for some time, but the residue of my unleashed anger had prevented his thoughts from registering. The loss of control I had suffered obviously came with some unintended consequences, something I needed to remember in the future.
‘We are fine now, Bane. I’m sorry if I caused you to worry. There was an assassin. Take to the air and see if there is anyone else lurking around.’
If there is, I will find them and end them, Sintári, his voice came back to me filled with white-hot anger.
Bane’s threat was far from idle. He outweighed most fully-grown men, and with his vicious teeth and rending claws, was more than a match for even a heavily armed warrior, but these were no amateurs we faced, these were professional killers, so I urged him to be cautious and only attack if he could catch them unawares.
As soon as my companions gathered their few precious items, we left our house and Stel led us through the forest. He took a wandering path, stopping randomly to check for any sign of pursuit, and we were relieved to find no indications that we were being followed. Bane swooped down to join us when we took a brief rest, and I stroked his scales and reassured him that I was fine before he took off into the sky again.
When we finally reached the outer walls of the fortress, I thought Stel intended to lead us to the Garrison, but instead of heading through the gate that would take us to the canyon, Stel passed through the entryway into the fortress before leading us on to the Palace itself.
“Where are we going?” I finally asked him. “Wouldn’t we be safer in the Garrison?”
“Perhaps, if we made it there,” Stel answered. “But your attackers may have planned for that possibility and could be waiting to ambush us in the canyon. We will be safer here for tonight.”
He had a point, even though it might have been a thin one. Once we failed to find anyone else in or around our home, I thought it most likely that the assassin acted alone. But it wasn’t only my life that would be in jeopardy if we ignored even that slight risk, so I didn’t object as Stel led us farther into the grand Palace.
I wasn’t sure where he intended to take us, but once we began descending the stairs, I realized what his destination was—the vaults. Stel intended to lock us inside the safety of one of the sealed chambers for the night. While that would certainly keep us safe, with a sudden start, I realized that it would do nothing to prevent any harm from being inflicted on my citizens.
“We need to get word out to the Garrison,” I stopped dead in my tracks as I spoke. “They have to be warned so that we can protect our people.”
“It’s already been taken care of, Sintári,” Stel assured me. “Venna gave Bane a note to deliver to the First Marshal when we stopped. They should already be on high alert.”
“You’re far sneakier than I gave you credit for, Venna,” I said as I glanced sideways at her. “I didn’t even notice you near him.”
She only smiled at me slyly in return and flashed me a quick wink when no one else was looking. I would definitely have to keep a closer eye on her; she was becoming far too slippery for my liking.
Once we reached the vaults, I opened my private chamber and locked the door behind us when we were safely inside. The room was designed for storage, not habitation, so all we had was the rough stone floor to rest upon. While I had only thought to take my Cloak and the precious items that were held in its many pockets, Stel and the others had the foresight to grab their packs, so they were fortunate enough to have all their camping gear with them.
So, while Stel and Venna and Broda and Khorim wrapped themselves up comfortably for the night, Tási and I wriggled together atop her bedroll. It could have been uncomfortable, but after the close call we had, I cherished her closeness. Having been so near to losing her only brought my deep feelings for Tási to the surface, and I held her tightly as we bundled ourselves together beneath the blankets.
Even with the added comfort that my companions had, none of us managed to get any more sleep that night. The events were simply too traumatic, and what they heralded was even worse. Our realm had become the focus of someone’s ire. Someone powerful or at least wealthy enough to send paid assassins to try and kill me, and we were under no illusions that I would be the only target of any future attacks. My companions and even my citizens might very well be the focus of the next attack. Our long period of relative complacency had come to a sudden and nearly catast
rophic end. Even the knowledge that I could have restored Tási with Death’s Embrace if she had fallen offered me little comfort. Her death, even if it had only been a temporary thing, would have been extremely traumatic for both of us.
Heavy thoughts weighed on all our minds until morning finally came. With the dawn, we left the safety of the vault and cautiously ventured to the Garrison.
A full score of our soldiers awaited us when we reached the fortress’ outer gateway. The troops immediately fell into an escort around us and guarded our flanks as we walked through the narrow canyon towards the Garrison. I looked towards Venna as we made our way down the path, and she smiled at me awkwardly as she spoke.
“I may have given the First Marshal a few more instructions than Stel indicated,” she admitted.
“Just tell me if there’s anything else I need to know,” I said as I rolled my eyes at her.
“That should be it,” Venna replied. “Anything else will be the First Marshal’s own doing.”
When we arrived at the Garrison, the entire Army was on full alert. Every position was manned, and patrols were being organized to search the valley for any additional threats. Evans met us as soon as we drew close.
“I’m glad to see that none of you were injured,” the First Marshal said with obvious relief. “I know that this is a difficult time for you, but we need to discuss additional security measures. Immediately.”
“Yes,” Stel concurred. “Even though you may return from it, your death would have a catastrophic effect on our people, Sintári. We cannot afford to have them demoralized like that. It is time for us to take your safety more seriously.”
Reluctantly, I had to admit that he was right. The highly informal nature of our security procedures left us vulnerable in many ways; not just to personal attacks, but sabotage and other forms of harassment. With the bullseye that had been painted on our backs, we could no longer afford to be so complacent with our safety.
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