“I saw. Now who's this lovely lady?” Thorgrimm asked, gesturing toward Sage.
“This is Sage. A metal smith from Anklis,” Rykar said by way of an introduction.
“I'm also his significant other,” Sage stated, giving Rykar a playful glare as she stepped forward to greet Thorgrimm. The dwarf grinned into his beard, then took Sage's hand and kissed the back of it.
“You're a sight for sore eyes, Lady Sage,” Thorgrimm stated.
“Thank you... Thorgrimm, was it?” Sage asked.
“Aye, Thorgrimm Holkenhammer! At yer service,” the dwarf said, giving a bit of a bow.
“If you want ale, that is,” Rykar interjected. Sage gave a confused look.
“I own a little establishment in Black Sand,” Thorgrimm stated.
“The Drunken Dwarf,” Rykar clarified with a smirk.
“Oh! I've heard of that place. We've had soldiers and merchants travel to Anklis that have been in Black Sand. They say The Drunken Dwarf is the best place to eat or drink around there,” Sage said.
“They're too kind, I promise ya that,” Thorgrimm said, though he was beaming with pride. Granted, most of that beaming was hidden by his beard.
“Thorgrimm is also very good with an axe,” Rykar informed Sage with a gesture. “Helped us fight off some of Adathir's men when they tried to arrest Kaidia.
“Bah! We don't need to be telling old war stories, Rykar,” Thorgrimm said, giving a dismissive gesture with his hand.
“Old? That was barely two months ago!” Rykar retorted.
“Yes, yes. Now, since you mentioned Kaidia, where might I find the woman?” Thorgrimm asked.
Rykar's expression darkened. “She took an arrow laced with Hell's Bane near the end of the fighting. She's not dead, but she's been out of it for the past two days.”
“She took on Hell's Bane and lived? That's our girl. Any idea when she'll wake up?” the dwarf queried. Rykar opened his mouth to answer when one of Kaidia's Dragon Guard nearly tore the doors off their hinges as he came bursting into the room, blue medallion gleaming where it was set in his breastplate.
“Sire! She's awake! She's demanding you.”
“Right now, apparently,” Rykar said with a gesture to the man in the doorway, eyes on Thorgrimm.
* * *
After a hurried jaunt across the city, Rykar, Sage, and Thorgrimm were passed into an acolyte's care and led through Kaidia's temple and into the back rooms where clergy lived. In the very back of the temple, where all halls eventually led, there was a single room reserved, much like the throne in the main room, for Kaidia. Two Dragon Guard knights stood outside the closed door. One was Edgar, the other was a young woman that looked to be around Kaidia's age.
Thorgrimm led the way, stumping straight toward the door. Rykar slowed his pace and hung back, his hands rising to stop Sage and the acolyte from following the dwarf. Sage gave him a confused look.
“Sire? Why are we stopping?” the acolyte inquired.
“Wait for it,” was all he got in response.
Thorgrimm walked toward the door, only to have the two Dragon Guards step in front of the doorway and block his path. The dwarf paused, growled, looked at both armored soldiers.
“Out of my way.”
“I'm afraid I cannot do that, master dwarf,” Edgar said, obviously oblivious to who Thorgrimm was to Kaidia.
“And just why is that, boy?” Thorgrimm asked, his tone less than friendly.
“Only certain people are allowed to see Mistress Kaidia and you aren't on that list,” Edgar retorted.
“The hell I'm not! I've know the lass for years!” Thorgrimm argued.
“So you say,” Edgar accused.
“You want to keep your stones, lad?” Thorgrimm asked with deadly intent.
“Keep my stones?” Edgar asked, incredulous.
“I'll castrate you like a mongrel,” the dwarf snarled, hand straying to a rather large dagger on his belt.
“Come and try, dwarf!” Edgar's hand went to his sword.
Then, from inside the room, came a shout. “He's fine, let him in unless you don't want children, Edgar!”
Rykar burst into a fit of laughter, having thoroughly enjoyed the entire scene. The acolyte was staring at Rykar, bewildered at the king's behavior. Sage just shook her head.
“Are you sure, my Lady?” Edgar asked as he pushed the door open.
“He's an old friend,” Kaidia answered.
The acolyte left to attend to other duties. Rykar and Sage walked up behind Thorgrimm.
“That was fun to watch, dwarf,” Rykar remarked. Thorgrimm whipped around and landed a backhanded fist in Rykar's gut, doubling the man over with a grunt.
“And why weren't you there to help, jackass?!” the dwarf roared.
Rykar took in a deep breath to replace the one that had been driven out of him by Thorgrimm's fist. He then, rather abruptly, grabbed the dwarf into a headlock.
“Because I knew you could handle yourself, tiny!” he said, merrily taunting.
“Damn you to hell!” the dwarf shouted in return, twisted, lifted Rykar off the ground and sent both of them tumbling backward onto the marble floor. Sage groaned and put her hand to her forehead in amused exasperation. Edgar and the other Dragon Guard had no idea how to react to the human King brawling on the floor of the temple with a dwarf. After a few moments, Sage tried to separate the two.
“Rykar! Thorgrimm!”
And then she was pulled down into the tussle. A few confusing moments later, Thorgrimm was laying on his back, all by himself and bewildered, while Sage was pinned to the floor by Rykar who looked mildly perplexed about how he had ended up with his lover on the floor, but not at all upset about it.
“Why, hello there, pretty lady,” he said with a wink.
“You idiot. Get off of me,” Sage said, but she couldn't hide the smile that curved her lips.
“Ha! Bet you hear that a lot, scorpion boy!” Thorgrimm jested as he sat up.
Meanwhile, Edgar and the other Dragon Guard looked between themselves and the three on the floor, utterly speechless.
Sage couldn't help but laugh at Thorgrimm's last barb. Rykar snorted in response, got up, and then helped Sage to her feet.
“You're lucky I like you, lady,” he growled playfully.
“Yeah, I am,” Sage replied, arms going around Rykar's neck.
“Blech. You two can make googly eyes at each other later,” Thorgrimm said as he pushed himself to his feet.
“Don't be jealous, garden gnome,” Rykar verbally jabbed as he turned to walk to Kaidia's door. Thorgrimm shouldered him aside in response, vying to be first. He pushed the door open, took two steps inside, then froze. Staring him in the eye was Valka, Kaidia's rather large panther. As if this were not enough to send Thorgrimm's insides into a cold panic, the dwarf noticed that said panther was lying down and it's eyes were easily level with his own.
“H... hello there, kitty,” Thorgrimm said, voice a tad shaky. “You're a mighty large beast.”
“Valka, he's a friend,” Kaidia spoke from where she lay. A long moment passed and the panther laid her head down against the floor, revealing the rest of the room to Thorgrimm, who'd been blind to all but the gigantic feline since he'd walked through the door.
Kaidia lay in a large bed in dark red cloth pants with a matching tunic. They were soft, the highest quality of fabric. Snuggled up to Kai's side, half asleep, was Echo. Her tail flicked lazily as her ears perked, hearing the dwarf in the room, but she didn't open her eyes. Thorgrimm walked up to the side of the bed while Rykar and Sage entered the room and closed the door behind them. Rykar quickly busied himself with petting Valka's head and neck. Sage just watched him, silently admiring that the man, who often proved himself to be of questionable sanity, was so enamored with the massive animal. She had to grin when the man and the beast bumped their foreheads together.
“What are you doing here, Thorgrimm?” Kaidia asked from where she lay in the bed, her voice a little
gravely from its lack of use over the past couple of days.
“I heard about you and King Jackass waging a war and I wanted to join in. Seems I missed it, though. Also, I hear you decided to get shot by an arrow laced with Hell's Bane. I take it you're feeling better,” the dwarf observed.
“Mostly. I think I might have a scar left from it all,” Kaidia replied.
“Most people would be happy with the scar, all things considered,” Thorgrimm retorted.
“I am. I'm just irritated. I do have good news for you, however,” Kaidia said.
“Oh you do? What's that?” the dwarf asked, a brow arched.
“The twin elves that started this whole mess are still out there. They got away when my dragon had to help me get back here. We've got to hunt them down,” Kaidia explained.
“Ah, well, I can help with that,” Thorgrimm stated, seemingly delighted.
“I was hoping you'd say that,” Kaidia said, giving a smile.
“So, for what did you summon me?” Rykar asked, standing as he did.
“To see if you had ideas on tracking those bitches down,” Kai answered.
“Ah, well, there is good news on that front,” Rykar stated.
“Which is?” Kai asked, a bit sharply.
“Those two scouts we sent after the twins when they met with us outside the city on their own? They came back with the location of the twins' camp,” Rykar revealed.
“That's all well and good, but wouldn't they have moved it by now?” Kaidia questioned, her tone skeptical at best.
“It's possible, but the twins themselves, along with their high ranking officers, were staying inside an ancient but fortified structure in the forest. From the description the scouts gave me, my best guess is an old outpost from near the beginning of the Second Age. Also, they had a lot of equipment. I doubt they'd leave all that behind. Beyond that, they have to know we're going to come for them and if either of them is of a tactical mind, they'd rather defend that outpost than fight us in the forests or open fields, ” Rykar contended.
“Second Age? That's... that's a thousand years old, at least,” Thorgrimm said, more to himself than anyone else.
“Probably closer to three thousand years old, if it's actually from the beginning of the Second Age... and if our collective knowledge about the time period is correct,” Rykar explained.
Thorgrimm paused to ponder what he knew of the Ages of Valen. The First Age and the Second Age were both a curiosity to historians, for different reasons. Record keeping was almost non-existent in the First Age, so little was known about it. What few records were kept were largely destroyed during the Second Age's constant wars, along with many of the records of the Second Age itself. Thus, the length of those Ages were in constant debate among historians and scholars. The First Age was anyone's guess while the Second Age had lasted, at least, a thousand years with some believing that it might have been as long as four thousand years. However, the generally accepted length was roughly three thousand years. The Third Age had been going strong for nearly eight hundred years.
“At least it's a place to start looking,” Kaidia said as she sat up, her muscles complaining.
“Nngh, stay put,” Echo broke her silence as she tried to pull Kai to lie back down.
“Honey, I have things to do. So do you, probably,” Kaidia chided lightly.
“Nu uh,” Echo protested.
“Honey?” Rykar raised a brow.
“What's this now?” Thorgrimm asked, coming out of his cogitation of Valen's history.
“What?” Kaidia asked, looking between the two men.
“Are you two an item or something?” Thorgrimm asked, gesturing to Kai and Echo.
“I... guess so?” Kai said, uncertain.
“Hmph. Yes, we are,” Echo muttered from where she lay.
“Congratulations! Who is she?” Thorgrimm asked.
“Echo-Seras. The highly regarded kyrian General,” Kaidia answered.
“Well, look who's aiming high,” Thorgrimm said with a grin.
“I always do,” Kaidia said.
Echo sat up finally, stretched her arms above her head, then yawned aloud, showing off sharp teeth as she did. Rykar raised a brow.
“So how's it feel when she bites you during a romp in bed, Kai?” he asked, casual as could be.
“Rykar!” Sage admonished and smacked the man's shoulder. Thorgrimm laughed aloud. Echo blushed a little bit, obviously not sure how to respond.
“Same way it feels when Sage bites you, I assume. Just sharper,” Kaidia retorted playfully.
“Kaidia!” Sage exclaimed.
Thorgrimm just laughed louder.
“Touché,” Rykar replied.
Once Thorgrimm stopped laughing, Kaidia cleared her throat.
“Rykar, get what Scorpions you have left together. When you leave the room, send Edgar in. I'll get what's left of my Dragon Guard together as well. We'll have a meeting tonight and set out tomorrow morning. We don't have any time to lose, especially if they're going to try and get out of the area,” Kaidia instructed.
“Sure thing, Dragon God,” Rykar said with a wink, then turned on his heel to leave. Sage followed him to the door.
“I'll stick with King Wingnut, keep him out of trouble. See you tonight,” Thorgrimm said, jerking a thumb at Rykar.
“I heard that, shrimp,” Rykar said.
“So what if ya did, lad? What're you gonna do about it?” the dwarf challenged.
“I'll kick your ass, but after we go elf hunting,” Rykar promised, barely hiding his grin.
As Thorgrimm, Rykar, and Sage left the room, Echo nuzzled Kaidia's jaw and mewed softly.
“Are you sure you're well enough for all of this?” she asked, vibrant eyes searching Kai's face.
“I am. Don't worry about me,” Kaidia assured her lover.
“Hard not to,” Echo huffed playfully.
At that moment, Edgar slipped inside.
“You wanted to see me, my Lady?” he asked, standing at the foot of the bed, or rather, as close as he could get without stepping on Valka.
“Yes, gather what remains of the Dragon Guard. We're going hunting,” Kaidia said with a grin that made Edgar just a little uneasy.
* * *
The meeting between the Scorpion Company mercenaries and the Dragon Guard knights ended up being brief; the plan devised turned out simple. As the mercenaries and knights filed out, Kaidia leaned against the table that dominated the center of the room. The meeting had been held in a room in the back of The Golden Arrow. With all the soldiers out, Rykar left to spend the rest of his evening with Sage. Echo looked Kaidia over. The god looked tired; she was sweating despite the agreeable temperature in the room.
“Kaidia, you should rest,” Echo advised.
“I'll get to it,” Kai replied, looking up.
“I mean it. I have to go see the kyrian troops before they head out in the morning. They're carrying back the bodies of our fallen to be entombed properly. I expect you to be in your suite when I get back,” Echo said.
“Look at you, being all bossy,” Kaidia said with a smirk.
“I'm just worried about you. Don't push yourself. I know you heal quickly, but you're healing from something that generally kills people in seconds. You should give yourself more time,” Echo cautioned.
“I hear you. Now, go before you're late,” Kaidia said, making a shooing gesture with her hand.
Echo frowned a little, but kissed Kai's cheek before slipping out of the room. Kaidia let out a heavy breath, then slowly walked to the door and shut it to give herself some privacy. After taking another breath, she pulled up the hem of her tunic to look at her stomach. A blackish-blue scar marred her otherwise toned and smooth stomach where the arrow had torn through her flesh days prior. One hand held the hem of her tunic up while fingers of her other hand stroked over the scar. She dropped the tunic a moment later and leaned against the door, shoulders sagging, breathing heavily through her nose. There was an ache st
ill coursing through her body, though it wasn't as bad as it had been when she'd first awoken. Another breath and she pushed off the door, stood straight, and left the room.
Chapter XVI: Visiting the Dead
Kaidia found herself enveloped in an impenetrable black. The air was sweet as she breathed in, keeping her calm even as she peered into an endless dark. Slowly, the darkness lifted, revealing a long forgotten city. Crumbling buildings that were ancient as could be rose all around Kaidia, clawing at the sky with their decaying towers and rotting rafters. Vegetation grew up through the bricks of the street Kai stood upon as well as the walls of the buildings around her. Flowers bloomed from the foliage; new life growing among the ancient death that was the city.
This was all very strange for Kaidia. She was used to the blinding dark. She peered around, suspicious.
“You chose an interesting place,” a woman's voice said from behind Kai. The god whipped around, blue eyes wide. Standing in the middle of the overgrown street stood Ashlin, shoulder length brown hair hanging loose, an air of peace about her. She smiled at Kaidia warmly, love obvious in her gaze. She wore loose pants and a similarly loose tunic. She had been fond of such clothes when she was alive. Kaidia rushed forward and wrapped her arms around Ashlin. The embrace was happily returned and Kai found herself surprised that Ash was solid, as if she were still alive. In fact, as Kaidia stood there, holding her late wife, she noticed that she heard birds singing, felt the warmth of the sun shining in the sky, and could smell the scent of flowers mixed with the decay of the abandoned city around her and the scent of Ashlin that was so intoxicating and familiar even after years of absence. Kaidia finally pulled back a bit, hands staying on Ashlin's shoulders, keeping contact, subconsciously afraid that Ashlin might fade away if she let go.
“I didn't choose this place,” Kai contested.
“You did, whether you realize it or not,” Ashlin replied.
“How?”
“You're growing more at ease in this state. You slip into it more easily, which allows you to bring form to it. It is a manifestation of where you feel at peace. Apparently, you feel at peace in the remnants of civilization. Sentient beings no longer live here, obviously... but life persists. You are a fascinating woman, love,” Ashlin explained with an adoring smile.
Realms of Valen - Blasphemous Crusade (War of the Gods Book 2) Page 19
