by Joe Jackson
He turned to the archmage. “Sonja, we’ll use your masking spell until we get to the forests. We may not find much cover there, but we’ll depend on Aeligos, Gabrius, and Liria to avoid towns and large settlements. Solitary domiciles shouldn’t be too much of an issue.”
“This is so risky,” Liria said with an obvious mix of excitement and fear.
“We’ll be fine,” Katarina said, smiling encouragingly. “Worse comes to worst, we’ll show these people that the gods favor our cause, not theirs.”
Markus smiled at his betrothed, and Kris gestured for Sonja to get them underway.
It took a couple of hours to reach the border, or at least where they suspected the border lay. Sharyn deftly led them around the beshathan camps in the area, but as Sonja mentioned, the mallasti in particular seemed to sense that something was amiss. Kris had everyone continue moving, but they kept a close eye on the beshathan soldiers. Some of the mallasti strolled out near the crossing point, but they didn’t seem particularly interested in doing any investigating so much as satisfying their curiosity.
Kris had the paladins cross as quickly as possible and keep a good distance from any of the beshathans wandering near. Kris brought up the rear, and held his breath as a mallasti came and stood not three feet from him, looking in his direction. Sonja had to straddle the distance between Kris and the paladins, and the Warlord counted the heartbeats as the mallasti stood looking “at” him. He slowly moved his hand up to Black Diamond’s hilt.
The mallasti soldier took another couple of steps in Kris’ direction before it lifted its nose in the air and sniffed a couple of times. The mallasti was now close enough for Kris to touch, and he got a good look into its dark brown eyes. Even as his fingers curled around the pommel of his sword, though, the mallasti turned and moved the other way.
Kris backed up to the others, and when he was satisfied no alarm was going to be raised, he turned and continued along. “That’s as close as I’ve ever been to a mallasti,” he whispered to his companions as they proceeded.
“It seems he did not sense our presence, at least,” Markus returned, glancing back.
“She,” Sharyn corrected, and Markus’ sudden blush drew chuckles from the others.
“They can sense us from a pretty good distance, but I don’t think they always know just what it is they sense,” Katarina put in. “In an area with a good number of soldiers and arcanists nearby, it might not seem so unusual to get a passing sense of an aura.”
“She was certainly suspicious, but not all that inclined to look for trouble,” Sonja said.
“Well, we won’t be hiding much longer,” Kris said. “Let’s get out of sight.”
They continued up the incline until they reached the deep pine forests of Si’Dorra. Once beneath the sheltering limbs and somewhat hidden from a distance by the density of the trunks, Sonja let down her masking enchantment. Kris immediately felt exposed, but he had everyone stay still and together for several minutes, getting a feel for the sounds of the land. The forest went quiet around them when they appeared, but after only a short time, the birds and other animals went back about their business.
Kris and his companions did the same.
Sonja directed them west as they came close to a town. She briefly explained that she, Kari, and the others had stopped there on the way back from rescuing Se’sasha. The second mention of that incident intrigued Kris, and he pressed the archmage for details about the rescue mission, particularly their flight eastward within Si’Dorra. Hearing of it didn’t just raise Kris’ hopes, but had a clear effect on all the others, as well. Sonja had been here before: They had fled Sekassus and Arku alike through these lands, and the common people had done little to help stop or apprehend them, even in the middle of a town.
“I just had a crazy idea,” Eli said. “Maybe we’re going about this wrong. If Kari, Sonja, and Danilynn were able to walk through a town without getting captured, maybe we can use that to our advantage.”
“I think I know what you mean, but go on,” Kris said.
“Ghosts,” the half-corlyps said. “If a few of us show up in this town, then a few different people show up in the next, it’s going to seriously confuse anyone watching for us.”
“Does that not assume they will refrain from arresting anyone from Citaria on sight?” Krycyd asked, clearly perturbed by Eli’s suggestion.
“They’re trying to draw us into a trap. They told us as much before we left,” Aeligos said with a shake of his head. “No, they’re not going to touch anyone and risk losing the rest of us to flight or going to ground. They’re going to let us pass through, because there’s a trap waiting for us at Agivak.”
“Think of what we’re doing as catching a tunnel spider,” Kris returned. “You tap the web a couple of times to draw it out, then nab it. We’re going to do the same thing. Arku thinks we’re going to walk into his trap, but we’re just going to spring it; we’re not going to be in it when it’s sprung. And then…”
He looked around at all his companions, and Corbanis smiled grimly. “And then we’re going to take vengeance on the bastards that took my son.”
The Warlord held a finger up. “But… we’re also going to see how many of them we can turn against their king. Maybe none, maybe only a few, but maybe enough to start something of a civil war here, and keep Arku from bothering us on Citaria any time in the near future.”
“So, do we go with Eli’s idea?”
Kris glanced at Aeligos, who nodded. “We’ll see how it goes in this town here,” the Warlord answered. “If the people react the way we hope and expect, then we’ll keep it up. I’ll probably be the only one that doesn’t show their face at some point; the son of Kaelariel making an appearance would be far more alarming to them than any other Citarian. We’re going to be limited, though, by how many of us can at least speak infernal. Who here can?”
“I can speak enough to get by,” Eli said. “Danilynn taught me while she was pregnant.”
“I can speak it fluently, as you know,” Sonja answered.
“And I can speak it well enough now, too,” Aeligos said.
“I can speak both infernal and beshathan,” Liria finished.
“So we send out small groups, each with one of you in it,” Kris said with a decisive nod. “I’m curious to see their reaction to Liria’s presence specifically, especially this close to the border. Liria, go with Sharyn and Sherman, and see if you can buy us some basic supplies for the road. If anyone asks where you’re going, tell them you’re headed east to help look into the disturbances along Pataria’s border. I’ll be interested to see what their reaction is to such an obvious lie.”
The three left as ordered, and Kris got comfortable to wait along with the others. It was an interminable time before they returned. Kris had Sonja look around as much as she could with her eagle eye enchantment in the meantime. They plotted out a course that would pass near another small town the next day, but it was difficult for Sonja to see beyond that with the ever-rising land and deepening forests. She saw evidence of larger cities farther north, but it was difficult for her to judge distances with the landscape as it was.
Katarina came and sat beside Kris. “How do you do it?” she asked.
“Do what?” he asked. He’d been mostly passing the time either praying for his three companions’ safe return, or else running Eli’s strategy through his mind.
“Stay so calm. It’s difficult enough for me, and I’m not in charge of this mission.”
“Faith, I guess,” he answered with a shrug. “I trust that we’re doing things the right way and, as you suggested, our cause is favored over theirs. If that turns out not to be the case, I have half a dozen contingencies prepared. And if those don’t work, I fall back on half a dozen more. Not to say I have all the answers, but in all the wars I’ve been involved in, I’ve accrued quite a bit of experience with all these situations. For some, the number of possibilities might cause them to worry more, but I guess that’s
not how my brain operates.”
Katarina smiled. “I see such contrasts between you, Erik, and Kari, and yet all of you are great leaders in your own way. Thank you for making it easy to follow you.”
Kris snorted. “Thank you for being such a manageable bunch.”
“Is there anything we can be doing while we await our companions’ return?”
The Warlord looked in every direction through the trees. “Not really, other than make sure you’re mentally prepared. There’s not much we need to be concerned with just yet, but on the off chance our friends come back with pursuit on their heels…”
Katarina nodded and crossed the area to put her back to a tree and diligently watch the direction their companions had traveled. Kris closed his eyes and went back to working through the possibilities in his mind.
*****
The others returned after a couple of hours and looked no worse for their trip into town. Liria was excited. Sharyn seemed disturbed by comparison, and only Sherman seemed to have gleaned little from his time in the town. Before they took to their path again, Kris gestured for each of them to give reports on what they’d discovered, if anything.
Liria handed Kris a shoulder pack. “I got the supplies, as requested. Better than that, a chatty elestram merchant had some news from Sorelizar. Apparently, runners have been passing through the area regularly, heading up to Dauchin-Rache and Agivak, reporting on the war.” She bit her lip for a moment and Kris smiled. She continued, “King Emanitar has made significant gains even since Lady Vanador returned home. I know the city names won’t mean much to you, but he’s captured half the realm now. Captured? No, liberated. He’s liberated half the realm. I don’t know how reliable the information is, but there’s reportedly a massive buildup of soldiers on the Tess’Vorg side of the border near Saristor, and speculation says that Prince Vassiras may just let King Emanitar bypass his land and strike deeper into Sorelizar. So things are looking very grim for King Sekassus right now.”
“Oh, Sekassus still has some tricks up his sleeve, I’m sure,” Kris said. “They don’t call him The Calculating for nothing. If I had to guess, I’d say the easy part is done now, but it’s just going to get tougher going forward.”
“Easy part?”
The Warlord waved his hand around. “If you’re winning a war too easily, generally that indicates that you’re missing something. Every town, municipality, or principality that Emanitar liberates becomes that much more land and people he has to keep an eye on, because they’ll be at his back as he pushes further north. I’m sure most of them are loyal, but he has to account for insurgencies and other trouble to come from the rear.”
“Always with talking about the rear with this girl,” Eli quipped.
“Well, she does have a nice butt…”
Liria gasped and incredulous barks of laughter sounded around the camp. “What would Lady Vanador think if she heard you say such things?” the syrinthian demanded.
Kris shrugged. “She’d probably agree with me. Anyway, as I was saying,” he continued, ignoring the rosy-cheeked hunter, “Emanitar runs the risk of being beset on multiple sides. He only has his realm to fall back to, and if he’s attacked from the west, south, and north all at the same time, that may become a real probability. And that’s to say nothing of trying to take the capital itself. It’s Sekassus’ stronghold, his seat of power, and unless he and Emanitar agree to settle their differences man-to-man, it’s going to take quite a fight to overpower his people and unseat him. So, yes, the easy part is done; now comes the difficult work.”
“Even though Kari already killed Prince Amnastru?”
“Kari killed Prince Amnastru?” Krycyd blurted. The Warlord’s assessment already had the attention of everyone there, but they all perked up further at those words.
“Yes, which is why I’m sure Sekassus is going to lose the war, but it’s still not going to be easy,” Kris said. “I can just imagine what the tension is going to be like at this next council meeting coming up. What else did you three find, if anything?”
“We attracted some curious stares and a lot of wary ones,” Sharyn put in. “Mostly out of fear, I think, by the scents. Nobody bothered us, though. Pretty sure no one even asked what we were doing, unless Liria just failed to mention it.”
“No, no inquiries at all,” the syrinthian girl said, suddenly perturbed by the fact.
“It’s all right,” Kris said with a placating gesture. “We already knew they were going to be expecting us. Everything’s proceeding according to plan.”
“Ours, or theirs?” Sharyn asked with a smirk.
“Ask me again when the dust settles,” the Warlord shot back. He snorted. “You act like I haven’t been doing this for most of my fifty years.”
“Old fart,” the werewolf teased.
“Hey now,” Corbanis said, giving the woman’s shoulder a shove. He was about ten years or more Kris’ senior, if the Warlord was correct. The Tesconis patriarch turned back to Kris. “When are you planning to split us up?”
Kris remained silent, noting all the nervous glances exchanged between his companions. “I was going to wait until we were closer to Dauchin-Rache,” he answered at length, “but the longer we wait, the more obvious it might become that we’re headed there in force. We’re going to mount the rescue as a single group, but I want to give our enemies the impression that there are many groups hiding the fact that they’re going to Agivak. Just like with what I said about Emanitar, our goal is to give Curlamanx the impression he’s beset on all sides. Aeligos, think we should split up now?”
The rogue nodded. “Split up and head in different directions for a few days, and send our ghosts into as many towns as possible to spread the lie that they’re headed east. Curlamanx may start bringing more of Arku’s soldiers to Agivak if he thinks it’s a large enough force coming. The more forces he diverts to Agivak, the less defended Erik’s prison – not to mention some of our potential escape routes – will be. The only potential hiccup in all this is if they figure out we’re going to Dauchin-Rache.”
“I’m not sure which side is more devious,” Sharyn said, folding her arms across her chest. “But I’m glad the two of you are on our side.”
There were scattered chuckles, but the group prepared to split up and get underway again. Every hour they delayed was another hour Erik was in their enemies’ clutches…
Chapter IX – Alpha Strikes
Kari was having tea with Danilynn when she heard the sound. There was no mistaking it: There was a fight taking place out on the street, right here in the temple district. “Get the children upstairs, quickly,” she hissed and then made her way to the front window.
She’d need to get armed and armored to go assist with whatever was happening outside, but first, Kari wanted to get a look. She crept to the side of the window and peered out from behind the drapes as stealthily as she could. At first she couldn’t see anything, but as she scanned side to side, she saw a trio of men fighting a short distance from Danilynn’s home. One of them appeared to be a member of the Blood Order, and that was all Kari needed to know.
The demonhunter dashed up the stairs and to the bedroom her friends had loaned to her and her children. Danilynn had moved Little Gray and Uldriana into the master bedroom with her, and Kari merely called for them to stay put while she threw on her armor as quickly as she could. The paluric set was pretty easy to strap on by herself, but she hoped the precious minutes it took wouldn’t lead to another disaster like a week before. If Eryn had given any inkling that they expected an attack so soon, Kari would’ve stayed on guard at all times…
Once she had her armor on, she belted on her swords and hurried from the room. She jumped down the staircase, spreading her wings and managing to glide to the floor below even with the limited space. She hit the ground running, threw open the front door, and took just the time to lock the door behind her before she sprinted for the street.
There were two bodies there already, a pa
ir of human men standing over them. The dead were members of the Blood Order; there was no doubt about that. But there was something odd about the men standing over them. They didn’t look like assassins, thugs, or even mercenaries or soldiers. They had armor on, but it was fairly sparse, and their weaponry was efficient but rather barebones for trying to topple an assassins’ guild.
“You there, hold!” she shouted, and the two men tensed up for a moment. They relaxed when they saw Kari, and that made her even more anxious. “Drop your weapons and identify yourselves.”
“Ma’am, if you head to the central square, our commander will answer your questions there,” one of them said.
“Commander? Who the hell are you people?” Kari demanded, her blades defensively before her despite the lax mannerisms of these men.
“Everything will be explained at the central square.”
Kari grabbed the closer of the two men suddenly, which he clearly wasn’t expecting. She pulled him toward her by the collar of his leather vest, and poked the tip of her scimitar into his belly just enough for him to feel it without penetrating armor or flesh. “Guards! Take this other one into custody,” Kari called to the watchmen arriving on the scene.
“Ma’am, if you–”
“Yeah, yeah, you’re coming with me to the central square,” Kari cut him off. Watchmen took the other man into custody, but chose to follow along behind Kari rather than take him to the office of the commandant or the local constabulary. To their credit, the two humans didn’t put up any resistance, but that just confused Kari all the more.
It wasn’t that long a walk to the city’s central square, but along the way, Kari could see other, similar sites of slaughter. Members of the Blood Order littered the alleys in places, and she saw none of their adversaries’ bodies among the carnage. She poked her prisoner in the rump testily as they walked, and he quickened his pace with an indignant Ow.
Arriving in the open square that housed the Silver Chalice as well as Maelstrom’s black tower, Kari saw a much more jaw-dropping sight. One of the smaller shops had its door hanging off the hinges, a thin plume of smoke coming out and being scattered by the morning wind. There was a pile of bodies in the square here, and a crowd of terrified – or excited – citizens was being held at bay by more of these armored men. There were virtually no rir among them; all of the attackers appeared to be human.
