They had to know that they now faced real Knights instead of farmers. Perhaps we did have a chance of ending this siege without battle after all.
A Perth Hollow Knight, Sir Tremaine, second to Captain Thomas, approached our table nervously for the third time before changing direction. I wondered about that, as he had been back with squad Charlie, what was he doing here?
Sarafine stopped eating. Placed her fork down purposefully then sighed as she raised her head toward the man and growled out, “What is it, man? You're hovering. Either say your piece or begone and let us eat.”
He straightened and swallowed as he turned his eyes to us. “Umm... my Ladies. I was tasked by Captain Thomas to bring word to you. I wasn't sure what time would be best as you are dealing with the enemy through sorcery.”
Sorcery? We really needed to let all our men and women at arms know that it is just mechanical trickery, not magic possessed by Avalon. I'm sure that would alleviate a lot of fears of our Knights who do not possess a spark.
Celeste said as much, “There is no magic involved... Tremaine is it?”
He nodded. “Yes, my Lady.”
She countered, “Remember Laney and my capacity in this mission Tremaine, either address us as Sora or our given names. Chain of command is essential here if George is to have any plausible deniability in our rescue attempts. And if I recall, our mission was to do reconnaissance and return to Sparo to report.”
The man stood even straighter, the poor guy was going to snap his back. “Yes, Sora. And the three Captains have a unified response to that my... Sora Celeste.”
I cocked my eyebrow, intrigued at the smirk on his face, and prompted, “And what is that response, our good Sir Tremaine?”
He smiled nervously then looked around and took a half step closer and whispered to us, “I believe it was 'fuck that,' Sora.”
We all chuckled, half at that, and half at the blush of embarrassment he had for telling us. Celeste picked up a thick strip of bacon and bit off a piece of it and chewed in amusement as she asked, “Is that so?”
He saw her amusement, and he gained some confidence and said, “It is.”
She tore off another bite and nodded as she asked while she chewed, “And what news did the Captain bid you pass on to us? Oh, and we've a message that needs to be relayed back to base camp as well.”
He looked around, obviously not comfortable speaking in such a large group and leaned in to whisper, “There was an incident at the airships last night. The Captain had the Outrider deliver me to the scout camp at the top of the valley after they signaled that you've had contact with the enemy. I thought that Bexington fool was going to kill us all as he skimmed the treetops to keep us low in the night sky.”
While I went pale at the mention of an incident, and my mind went racing in fear for the children, and I heard no less than five growls when he disparaged Bex. It was Verna that beat the others to a reprimand while my heart threatened to beat its way out of my chest in worry. “That would be Templar Bexington, young Baron. Do not forget that, nor his ability in piloting the Outrider so skillfully to maintain as much stealth as possible.”
I could see his brow crease as he thought on that and weighed it. He didn't like what he discovered, judging by the shame on his face. “Of course, Lady Verna.”
I couldn't hold back anymore and rasped out in a hushed tone, “The children? Are they alright?”
The man looked almost shocked, like I had just asked the most ridiculous of all questions. He smiled and supplied, “The children? I would think so, Sora.”
Celeste and the rest of our Greva stood as one, including Verna and Bowyn, that is when I realized I was already standing because of my inner panic. Then Celeste was motioning her head toward Journey's End. She asked Corrine, “May we?”
She nodded and stood. “Of course.” She and Elaine joined our group. Dru and Angelus parked their imposing bulk in the doorway, arms crossed in a mirror of each other. I marveled at how similar the two Gypsy men were in their protectiveness of the leaders of their families.
The irony of the dichotomy of it was not lost on me, the farmer and the warrior standing side by side. I looked up at Celeste as she led me by the hand to the great table by the hearth. Here we were, my girl and I, also a farmer and the warrior, standing side by side. I wondered if there were some sort of divine balance in this world of ours which wove itself through the lives of man through fate and serendipity.
I almost chuckled at myself, realizing how different a person I have grown into from my serf beginnings. Since here I was, Laney Herder, thinking about things greater than myself like serendipity. Just five years aforetime I hadn't even known the meaning of the word. Was I growing?
We all sat, and Celeste said firmly, “Report.”
The man paused, looking like he was thinking of the proper place to begin. Then he nodded to himself and assured me, “Sora, there isn't much you'd have to worry about with those children. That is what I am here to relay. The base camp was infiltrated by scouts of the enemy last night under cover of darkness.”
He saw my eyes widen in worry and he held up a placating hand, “Trust me, Sora Laney, the children are fine. Better than fine.”
Then he started the report of the infiltration. “Captain Thomas himself had heard a mechanical growl in the distance, above the sounds of last meal. He took Lady Gen and me to investigate the sound which had stopped by that time.”
We nodded. Where Mountain Gypsies did things in fives, Knights patrolled in teams of two but worked in teams of three.
He pointed toward the hearth as he recalled the scene. “We paralleled a wide game trail, keeping to the brush. Standard five-yard spacing. It took some time to make our way to the source of the sound stealthily. After ten minutes we came upon a metal wagon, with a man leaning against it.”
He lowered his head slightly in the memory of crouching there. “The Captain had us halt to observe him from our vantage point in case any others were around or inside the contraption.”
Celeste nodded. “They have three-man teams in those scout conveyances. This is what we needed to be relayed back to camp, that we learned of a patrol out by the river.”
He nodded back and shared, “We did not know that at the time, but after we were sure the man was alone, we moved in. When he saw us, he pulled what we believed was one of the bang sticks from the report of enemy contact that was relayed to us by light code from the scout base.”
His chest swelled with pride as he looked over at Verna. “Lady Gen of York idolizes you Lady, and she carries an oversized double handed split blade like your own. I still don't know how she pulled that beast off her back and hurdled it so fast, but it pinned the man to the wagon in the blink of an eye like a butterfly to a board before he could point the small bang stick at us.”
Verna's fierce smirk showed her appreciation for Lady Gen's skill.
Then the man squinted one eye in mocked pain. “Yeah. Can't question a corpse though.”
True. We all just nodded at that.
Then he went on, “We hauled the body back to base to see if we could gain any intelligence off of his body or gear. But as we approached the base, we saw two figures slipping through the shadows, spying on the airships.”
He looked between Celeste and me, then said in a somber tone, “That's when we saw the three young ones, sitting at the edge of the clearing by the trees near the enemy spies. They were feeding the wildlife food from their plates. The animals seemed to flock to the girls.”
“The captain motioned for us to flank the spies while he approached from the rear. But that's when the men started moving. We believe it was their intent to spirit the unsupervised children away to use as leverage, dishonorable and deplorable as it is. We started moving swiftly, that's when the small Sora, your daughter turned to one man as he slipped up to them. She just smiled and said, 'Hello,' to him.”
Tremaine swallowed hard, showing a touch of fear as he lowered his voice as he loo
ked around, “The forest. It came alive. The roots of the trees wrapped about the man's feet, immobilizing him as the other girl splayed her fingers at the man and he started screaming as dozens of cuts appeared on his face, alerting the rest of the camp. The little one got on her hands and knees, and your daughter used her back to vault into the air and kick the man in the chest. He fell over backward with his legs bound as they were, as the second man rushed them.”
He smiled now. “The coward hesitated a moment upon seeing roots and plants wrapping around his compatriot as Sora Misty made looping motions in the air with her hand. That hesitation was all it took for Lord Jace to draw the glowing blade from Sora Misty's hip and the man froze, the blade a hair's breadth from his throat.”
He chuckled. “That's when the man was hit from behind like a pile driver and rode to the ground by Templar Bexington. It seems the children weren't as unsupervised as they appeared.” He added with a sardonic grin. “Not that they apparently needed any, to begin with.”
His smile faded. “They would tell us nothing when questioned. They had those realistic paintings in what passed as their coin purses, which had their names beside them.”
I nodded and supplied to him, “Photographies. Those paintings are called a photography.”
He inclined his head in thanks for the term.
Then he shrugged. “Their names, ranks, and a string of letters and numbers is all they will provide. The Captain wanted me to report to you before he dispatched them for war crimes against the Cristea, in case you had use of them.”
Celeste looked at him and me, then said, “We will hold our blades until we know how this will all play out. They may be returning to Sparo with us.”
He sputtered out in disbelief, “Alive?” Then catching the cold look my wife gave him, he straightened and barked out, “Yes, Sora.”
Then she went about sharing her plans with the man as Sara drew up a map for him to relay back to Captain Thomas. He saluted and headed off to wherever they had hidden the horses.
It wasn't until he left that I finally relaxed. I kept telling myself, “The children are safe.” Then I contemplated how much magic the mischief makers seemed to be using as just sensitives. They were indeed going to be formidable one day.
Then my blood ran cold as I glanced over at Sylvia. Her eyes were already on mine. Ingr had caused injuries to appear on the man? It made sense I had never thought of. If they had the power to heal, would it not stand to reason that their power could also be used to do the opposite?
Syl looked nervous, and I could feel her questing for my understanding. Mother Luna, could she kill a man with those gentle blankets of power?
I straightened and gave her a genuine smile. I had no doubt now that she could, yet I knew my pseudo-sisters heart. She was a healer and chose to use her gift to heal. But I could not fault anyone if they used their power to protect themselves or those they care for. I do the same every day, so how could I possibly begrudge her that.
I could feel Celeste's attention on our exchange, though she never once looked at us.
That's when the... what was it? The... radio? That's when the radio on her belt crackled and hissed, and a man's voice with the tone of someone in charge came from the device. “This is Commander Rex Hammond Stein of the Avalon Expeditionary Enforcers. Who am I speaking with?”
Celeste furrowed her brow and glanced at us before looking at the radio and asking nobody in particular, “Do all people of Avalon have three names?” That was a foreign concept to us but was a question for the future.
Chapter 16 – Planning
My girl sat upon the table, her feet on a chair as she leaned forward. Exuding the air of someone in charge as she cocked her head at the radio and pressed the button, again supplying her litany of titles. “I am Countess Celeste of the Techno Knight Order, Blade of Temperance of Wexbury, daughter of Prime Techromancer Donovan, Sora of the Lupei, and Templar of Sparo.”
The man replied, “That's a mouthful.” Then his tone sounded contemplative. “Where are my men?”
She unabashedly responded in a matter of fact tone, “We have dispatched those laying siege to Aratreya, save two. As well as those in the scout conveyance to the east by the Gateway. Our troops have dispatched one and apprehended two others from the patrol at the river beyond the crater.”
The man's tone sounded of controlled anger as he accused, “You killed eight of my men?”
Celeste just shrugged at the radio like he could see her then said in that same emotionless matter of fact tone, “And you have killed hundreds of defenseless farmers.”
The man actually tried to justify it as he said, “If you had not resisted and just did as you were told, then nobody had to die. This is a mutually beneficial relationship we have with you barbarians.”
Her eyebrows arched and she asked in confusion, “How is it mutually beneficial? You have laid siege to the Westlands and enslaved the people here.”
I kept hearing an echo of both of them as they spoke.
Then I understood with his response that he was just baiting her, to gauge her self-control. “You work for us, and we give you protection. We simply enforce a curfew for your own good. And we have educated you, taught your people English. As we have taught all the uncivilized pockets of life in this God forsaken world of ours.”
Protection from what? It seems Avalon is the only thing they need protection from. Then I moved a step closer to Celeste as I realized that he had just told us there are other bastions of life out there.
My girl looked up to the ceiling high above, the beautiful exposed timbers carved like all the other exposed wood in the village. Then she looked down, her calm still in force. “The Cristea no longer require your – protection – they have us now. We would like to meet under a banner of truce to parlay an end to your siege and your withdrawal from the Westlands.”
There was a long pregnant pause, I thought maybe whatever technology was allowing them to speak had stopped operating as I moved over to the gear of the man Alexandru had brought to us. I picked up the other radio there.
Then I almost dropped it when Commander Stein's voice came from it and the radio Celeste was holding, that's where that echo had been coming from. I held it up for her to see. Apparently, anyone with one of these could hear what was said over them. She nodded once to me as the man spoke with a hint of suspicion in his voice. “You speak as if you are not from New Home. Where are you from and what are your numbers?”
Celeste chuckled into the radio as she said, “You can't possibly expect me to tell you that now can you Commander? We can discuss these matters at parlay, just keep in mind what we've already done to your men without any casualties to our numbers.”
We all knew there was a big difference between surprise and battle where the enemy is anticipated. But I understood what Celeste was doing. Casting doubt into the mind of Commander Stein. He would want to meet if just to assess us and if found lacking, maybe even use the parlay as an ambush. Only a man without honor would violate a banner of truce, but from what I have seen, Avalon didn't seem to have much honor.
He was silent a moment then he replied, “We will meet you under a banner of truce at Aratreya in four hours.”
Celeste countered, “We meet on neutral ground. But we cannot travel as quickly as you. The road at the base of Domed Mountain in six hours.”
She clipped the radio onto her belt and ignored his counter proposals as she looked around. “Right. The man believes us daft. You said they could move those tank conveyances to the village in three hours, he would have dug them in around the village and forced us to capitulate to any demands with the village as a hostage.
She looked over at Alexandru and gave him an apologetic look. “We need the airships here, now.”
He inclined his head, clearly perturbed that he would have to leave our sides to get Bex, but he also knew that besides Goliath and me, he was the fastest rider we had in our group.
My stomach clenched, r
ealizing that bringing the airships here meant we were bringing the children into a hostile zone, but I knew we couldn't defer a full third of our numbers just to protect them. It still tied my insides up in knots.
Then I furrowed my brow in question, and my scheming wife gave me a sly smile. “Do you believe Stein will not show up with a show of force in an attempt to assuage us of our insistence that Avalon end the siege and subjugation of the people of the Westlands?”
Her smile turned vicious. “So I intend to do the same. What do you think they will do when they see the Outrider approaching.”
I started to smile but then stopped and narrowed my eyes in confusion. “But the outrider is neither armed nor armored.”
She nodded and made a show of drawing her sword and examining the hone on its blade, her smile getting mischievous. “Ahh, but my dear Herder, they don't know that. And it would demonstrate technological parity with them. You heard them, they see us all as savages, not peers. The Outrider may give them pause. And give us a good vantage point to see if they attempt to flank us.”
I had to grin back. She knew as I did that we were not even close to being at technological parity with them. My hand drifted to the radio on my hip to punctuate that point to myself. But our Bexington was a clever, clever man, and he and others like him throughout the realms were rapidly closing that gap.
And from what we have seen of them, the Avalonians did not possess airships as we did. So that may give the illusion our red-haired strategist wished to project. Not to mention the sheer size of the Outrider was imposing in its own right.
My smile turned into a smirk as I added, “Maybe this will let Bex feel as though we haven't left him behind.”
She inclined her head, thinking the same.
Techromancy Scrolls_Westlands Page 19
