I dropped the flowery staff next to the pack and dropped down onto the pelts. They were itchy and uncomfortable, but it was better than the hard ground. Cathy entered the room and started to remove her armour.
“You doing okay?” she asked.
“Yeah, just a long day; those berries only made me more tired,” I answered.
“I thought I had hit a nerve out there,” Cathy said. “We were only screwing around.”
I smiled. “I know. You are going to have to do a lot worse than that to upset me.”
She smirked. “Is that an invitation? Now, scoot over. Don’t give me that look. There is only one bed in this village so that means we share. Spread out the pelts and start scooting.”
I chuckled and rose to my knees. I spread out the pelts to make the bed larger and ‘scooted’ onto one side so Cathy could lie down. She settled in beside me and wiggled around to try and get comfortable.
“This works out if you have another nightmare,” I said.
“Exactly,” she replied. “We will be back to separate beds by tomorrow.”
“You know, it is okay if you want to sleep close to me,” I said. “We’ve shared the same body. A bed is nothing in comparison.”
She sighed. “I know. But at the same time, I don’t. Things are different now that I am in a different body. It feels different, but at the same time, it feels right. Does that make sense?”
I chuckled. “I might be the only one who makes sense of that because I feel it too. I wonder if it is like Carlia said. Because our souls merged together and then separated, they just want to be back together.”
“I blame you for that,” Cathy joked.
I laughed. “I know.”
“Good,” she said. “I’m going to roll over now and go to sleep.”
She rolled away from me and I couldn’t help but laugh again. After a couple of minutes, I reached out and wrapped my arm around her. “Just in case you get cold in the night,” I said.
“Sure, any excuse to feel me up,” she said.
“Go to sleep, Cathy,” I said.
I felt her shift a little closer to me and I closed my eyes.
*****
Another dreamless night passed with an early wake-up call from the blasted sun. What I wouldn’t give for a couple days off to recover. It had been nonstop since Lady Middleton first showed up in the forest and I was hoping the end would be near soon. First, we had to walk three days to reach the Nesqian border through a corrupted Archanion. They really needed to invent something to make communications easier.
I rolled over and Cathy’s arm slid off me. She groaned and rolled away from me. “Come on,” I said. She responded with another groan and sent a little power to my fingers. They grew cold and I touched Cathy’s cheek.
“What the Void!” she exclaimed, shooting up into a sitting position. “You do that again and I’ll murder you.” I chuckled and sat up. “No, I’m serious, I will end you.”
“Relax,” I said. “It wasn’t that bad.”
She rubbed her cheek and I stood up to gather our gear. Cathy sighed and joined me to put on her armour. I searched through the pack quickly for something to be called breakfast and found the pile of salted meat.
“Jerky?” I offered.
“That’s a little forward, we only just met,” Cathy joked. I allowed my shoulders to slump as she grinned and took the meat. “Thank you.”
I fastened the pack on my back, slid the flowery staff in between and started to eat my breakfast.
“Didn’t you have a sword?” Cathy asked.
“No,” I answered. “I kept losing track of it so I didn’t grab a new one when we left Thurlborn. I probably would have lost it yesterday after all my clothes were burned off.”
“Speaking of which, are you still going to wear that robe?” Cathy asked.
“We have a couple of nights camping out in the open ahead of us,” I answered. “I’ll hold onto it until we get to Nesqa. Maybe it is time for me to take Natalie’s advice and get some armour. The Nesqian stuff only covers vital organs and leaves a lot of skin bare. I can use my Harden Skin with no problem then.”
“Good!” Cathy said. “You’re finally learning.”
“Hey, you can’t blame me for not being in a hurry to wear something like...” I pointed to Cathy’s armour.
“Aww, but look at the way it accents the hips and chest,” she said, modelling the armour.
“Yes, but it wouldn’t look that good on me,” I said. “I am lacking a little in the chestal region.”
Cathy giggled. “I don’t know. You should try it on. It could give your flat chest the needed push up. It’s time for you to start accenting your assets, darling.”
“Time to go,” I said, pushing past her.
“Aww, did I make you uncomfortable?” Cathy teased.
Our journey was going to be a long, but necessary one. We were close enough to Ghanlar that we could keep an eye out for anymore camps the Red-Brown Mages had set up as well as keep Cathy away from the distortion. It meant an extra day of travelling, but it would be worth it in the long run.
The first day was about getting out of the forest towards the edge of Archanion. It had proved to be the safest spot to camp when we travelled with Lady Middleton’s group and it worked like a charm the second time around.
The second day proved fruitful as Cathy found the tracks of Evenawks and a single set of Human footprints heading deeper into Archanion. The number of Evenawk tracks suggested just a scouting party but the Human tracks had us interested. If it was a Mage we might be able to stop them before they set up the staff. If it turned out to be Balendar scouts, we could save some innocents. Cathy took the lead and we followed the tracks.
We pursued them for most of the day, drawing no closer to the distortion than I was comfortable with. Cathy, to her credit, hid whatever feelings she had and stayed focused on the task. When we stumbled upon a fresh battle scene, we knew we were getting close.
The battle had been with the wildlife. Another pack of wolves driven to the edge of sanity had attacked the group and claimed the lives of a couple of Evenawks. The wolves had been completely eliminated making the area safe, but I still felt guilty that they had to be killed.
We left the dead behind and saw the formation of a small camp on the horizon. Cathy and I scouted it out from a distance, being careful not to be seen. A few times I had to cover us with an Illusion spell when an aerial scout flew overhead.
The camp was nowhere near completed and we were right to think it was a scouting party. Their job was to set up and wait for reinforcements. With it and the staff’s destruction, it should cause enough disruption for Markus’ army to take back the land before Desroche could recover.
Cathy suggested waiting for nightfall before we attacked. We would use the darkness to surround the camp and play to our strengths. I would take the Mage down and hit the sky archers from behind while Cathy caused a distraction.
We spent the evening doodling battle plans in the dirt and watching out for sky patrols. When the sunset disappeared from the sky, we circled around the camp and headed for our positions.
I reached out with my mind and concentrated on the Mage. He would periodically scan the area around the camp, possibly looking for more wildlife, but his limited range wasn’t a cause for me to be concerned. The Evenawks circling the camp were the true guards.
Cathy and I didn’t have a signal. Everyone was too alert and edgy. Any sound or unexpected sight would be treated as hostile and attacked. I had to wait for Cathy to strike first, whether I was in position or not. Luckily, I made it as the first sounds of alarm broke through the quiet night.
I immediately started towards the Mage’s tent. All the Evenawks were clearing out of the camp towards Cathy and the Mage emerged from his tent to assess the situation. I summoned my power and launched an Ice Bolt towards his back. The Mage turned and the Ice Bolt missed its target and struck him in the left arm. He cried out and turned toward
s me.
I broke out into a full run towards him and my skin changed to scales quickly. The Mage raised his good arm and sent a Fireball at me. I raised both scaled hands and the Fireball exploded harmlessly around me.
I was close enough now to slow my run to a walk and I summoned my strength and launched Pulse after Pulse at the Mage. He raised a Barrier and as each Pulse bounced off of it he wobbled. The strength of my attack wore him down and as the Barrier started to fade, I stopped and sent a wave of fire at him with both hands. His barrier shattered as he was knocked down and engulfed in flames.
With the Mage defeated, I turned to the sky and sent my Ice Bolts at the few Evenawks that were able to take to the sky. The sound of giggling over the squawks of the fallen Evenawks meant Cathy was doing okay and would be finished shortly. The last sky archer fell and I launched a chain of lightning to take out the last couple of ground troopers for Cathy.
“Hey!” she exclaimed. “Get your own!”
“I’m starting to get sick of killing Evenawks,” I said, my scales returning to skin. “It feels like killing old friends.”
“We’re working on it,” Cathy said. “Every small victory like this means we are closer to stopping Desroche and freeing them.”
I nodded and watched Cathy approach. She had five arrows sticking out of her armour and I gave her a weird look as she approached.
“Shield wasn’t working?” I asked.
She held up her shield to show ten more arrows. “No more room.” She started to pull the arrows out of the armour. “I enchanted the armour with my magic for a little more protection.” She flinched as she pulled one out of her back. “Looks like one made it through. Lucky shot.”
“Any poison?” I asked.
“No, these ones are dry,” she said, pulling one out of her shoulder and handing it to me. “They must not have been able to mass produce it after Desroche took over. Special warriors will be the only ones using it.”
“That’s good news for us,” I said. “The staff should be in the tent.”
She dropped the arrow and followed me into the tent. Except for a hammock and a table, the rest of the area was empty. The staff lay on the table next to a note and candle. We approached it and Cathy picked up the staff.
“Can I break it this time?” she asked excitedly.
“Be my guest,” I said, picking up the note.
Cathy smiled and took a step back. Her arms glowed blue and she gripped the staff in both hands. In one swift movement, she brought the staff down on her knee and snapped it in half.
She scoffed. “Too easy.”
I turned my attention to the note. It was a simple scrawl of instructions from Desroche for drawing the rune and setting up the staff. Power flowed through my hand and I set the note on fire. It burned quickly and I dropped it as it turned to ash. The world didn’t need records of this horrid magic.
Cathy squealed in delight and handed me the broken staff. “Do this next!”
I grabbed the staff and let the power flow through each hand. The simple wood of the staff caught fire easily and it burned down to ash and fell out of my hand.
Cathy clapped excitedly. “Let’s burn down the tent next!”
I laughed. “That might attract too much attention. We should go before more people show up. How are you doing resisting the distortion?”
“I think my defences are failing,” she said happily. “It’s amazing!”
“Yup, definitely time to go,” I said. “I don’t want to have to carry you to camp.”
“But why not?” she whined.
“Come on,” I said, leading her out of the tent. “Walking is just as fun.”
She scoffed. “Not likely.”
We needed to get back on track. Nesqa could be reached in a day if we moved quickly and I had the feeling there would be another camp closer to the border. We needed to get to the Emperor, shut down that camp and get the Nesqian warriors to join Markus so we could stop Desroche before the entire Evenawk population was eradicated in this silly war.
Chapter 24
It took until midway through day three but we had arrived at the border of Nesqa. We had spent most of the night before putting distance between us and the distortion so Cathy would stop giggling at everything like she was five. It helped us reach our goal faster but we were both in the mood for a mid-afternoon nap. We pressed on into the tropics.
My strategy was always the same in Nesqa; wander around loudly until their border patrol picked me up. The forest was too dangerous to navigate without knowledge of the land and plants and despite the few times I’ve been here, I am nowhere close to being comfortable with walking around alone.
Everything in the forest has the potential to kill if a traveller wasn’t careful. It’s this natural defence that makes Nesqa tough to invade, but it also forces its inhabitants to live on the southernmost tip of the continent; except for a few small farming communities hidden within the trees.
We didn’t have to wander far before I detected a patrol advancing quickly on our location. Three warriors emerged from behind the trees. They were dressed in traditional light scouting armour; a chest plate of hide and a battle skirt for easier mobility. It would be a type of armour I would look for while in town.
I didn’t need to search with my mind to know that two more warriors would be up in the trees with their bows drawn. It was the standard Nesqian greeting, but I was pleased to see that the three weren’t pointing their spears at us. Today was going to be a good day.
The leader of the patrol stepped forward, examined my robes, looked at Cathy and then back to me. “You have my attention.”
“My name is Moumno,” I started, using the name he might be familiar with. The leader’s eye widened slightly in recognition of the name. “I travel with Lady Sandra Middleton of the Court of Balendar. We are travelling to Kay Julis to meet with Emperor Naliwa to discuss an alliance with Nesqa to wage war against the Evenawks. Surely you have heard reports of the Evenawks recent aggression?”
My old friend Donkor had taught me how to handle the patrols last time I was here. They can be sceptical and unwilling to trust outsiders, especially Mages. It’s the type of attitude that kept a person alive out in the forests. Being open shows the patrols that you had nothing to hide.
The leader was silent for a second. “You are Moumno?”
“Yes,” I answered.
“Then you know when the Red Sun will set?” he asked.
It was a strange question out of context but it was a system worked out with the Emperor to ensure I could travel to the forests and islands of Nesqa unharmed. “When the Okoro dynasty comes to an end,” I recited.
“Welcome, Moumno,” the leader said, pressing his fist to his chest. “It is good to receive you too, Lady Sandra Middleton of the Court of Balendar. I regret to inform you that Emperor Naliwa passed away from illness a cycle and a half ago. Empress Morowa has the throne and will take your request.” He looked saddened for a second. “Hopefully.”
“Hopefully?” Cathy asked.
“It is not my place to speak on this subject,” the leader responded and turned to one of his warriors. “Baako, take them to Kay Julis and report back to me quickly.”
Baako stood at attention and pressed his fist to his chest. “Yes, Kali.”
The leader turned back to me. “You speak correctly about the Evenawks, Moumno. Hopefully you can achieve your goal with the Empress. We would gladly march into battle with the Balendians if it means stopping the Birds.”
“That’s good to know,” I said with a slight nod. “Please lead on, Baako.”
He moved at a quicker pace than we would have liked, but he ensured we didn’t fall behind. We kept to the wider trails for protection against the trees and pushed through the afternoon into the evening. Cathy, in her heavy armour, was starting to look completely exhausted as we emerged from the forest to the tall con’creat walls of the Nesqian capital.
With the trees being too soft fo
r construction purposes, the Nesqian’s developed the technology to form what they call con’creat from the natural materials around them. Casting it into blocks, they use it to build everything from walls, to forts to simple houses.
We circled around the wall to the front gate and Baako explained our situation to the gate guard before leaving to return to the border. I still had to answer when the Red Sun would rise, but it was a small price to pay to freely enter the great port city of Kay Julis.
Kay Julis, or the Jewelled Isle in the modern tongue, is the capital of the Nesqian Empire and their only city on Kalenden. The other cities rest on other islands and are ruled by a Minister. After spending what felt like forever in the forest or grasslands, the sight of the water was uplifting.
“It’s one thing to see it through your eyes,” Cathy said dreamily. “It’s another thing to see it with your own. I think we should live here for a few decades after all this.”
“I’d agree to that,” I replied, heading down the path to the city itself.
The city lay at the bottom of a ravine right on the water. Our destination, the palace, was carved right into the far side of the ravine with a large stone staircase leading up to the entrance. We just had to make our way through the bustling city without getting lost.
Being the only city on the continent, it was Kay Julis’ job to supply the other cities. This left the street a bustling marketplace from sun up to sun down. You couldn’t take two steps in any direction without someone trying to get you to buy something. Despite the coin weighing down my pack, I couldn’t think of a reason I would need a rug to fight Desroche. Unless I made it fly or something.
The people watched us closely as we travelled. Whether they recognised me from my previous time or not, their stares were weary and hostile. It was almost flattering to think that people would actually stop what they were doing just to stare at us. Usually busy people ignore everyone around them. I smiled, exchanged nonsense about the weather and continued on, making sure Cathy hadn’t disappeared behind me.
The Vacant Throne: The Legend Of Kairu Vol 3 Page 19
