During the corpses’ less-than-fruitful dissections, Persus had removed his armor’s breastplate with Aetos’ assistance to assess the damage caused by the demon’s incredibly powerful pincer, and apparently satisfied that the damage would not hinder his movement, he signaled for Aetos to help him don the piece again.
“We still know nothing of their number, Akantha,” said Leonora simply. “If the goal of this mission is to be intelligence gathering, then speed is of the essence.”
“Indeed,” Akantha agreed. “We are to make haste along their trail so we might ascertain their strength and condition.”
Persus shook his head shortly. “My Lady, we must not become overconfident due to this first encounter,” he said with a hint of reprimand in his voice that irritated Akantha. “We had terrain, surprise and numbers on our quarry,” he continued, “but next time we are certain to be denied at least one of those advantages.”
Akantha ground her teeth in the manner which had aggravated her mother ever since she was a little girl. “Understood, Persus,” she finally said through gritted teeth. “We will make haste, but also observe caution so as to avoid relinquishing any such advantages unnecessarily.”
Leonora nodded abruptly, inserting herself into the scene. “Shall we proceed as before,” asked the handmaiden pointedly, quite obviously trying to redirect the group’s attention.
Akantha snapped her head around to find Leonora’s gaze, and was almost instantly reminded just why these two people had become so invaluable to her during her young life. She took a deep breath and looked back at Persus, who had nearly completed reassembling his armor. “Persus?” she asked as warmly as she could manage.
Persus took a moment to consider before shaking his head. “I believe we three would be best suited keeping in tight formation, with Aetos taking point at least fifty paces ahead,” he said finally. “His familiarity with the terrain and tracking skill make him an obvious choice.”
“I agree, My Lady,” Aetos began, “I can move more quietly than you three, and can signal you if there is anything amiss with the whistle of a river finch.”
“Then we proceed,” Akantha ordered, eager to do what she had set out to do when they had left the Citadel.
The vegetation on the demon’s side of the river was much denser, and the terrain was considerably flatter as well. Aetos chose a path parallel to the one the monsters had apparently taken, about twenty paces off. The beasts had made no attempt at stealth as their tracks were plain enough for Akantha to see even at that distance, and she was no accomplished huntress. She had always enjoyed the outdoors, as well as the challenge of a hunt, but the art of determining which broken twigs were meaningful and which were not had always frustrated her.
The pace they were able to maintain was good, and after an hour they had nearly cleared the miniature forest composed of shrubs and bushes when they heard Aetos whistle from ahead. Akantha felt her heartbeat hasten and she continued forward as quietly as she was able.
They saw Aetos quickly enough, and he gestured to them indicating how to approach his position. A few moments later, they found themselves standing behind a Stoutnut tree looking down a rolling hill, and the sight which greeted them took Akantha’s breath away.
Gathered around a farmer’s cottage much like the one Aetos and Fedora live in, she saw at least two dozen total demons which resembled the ones they had killed on the riverbank, approximately equal in proportion to each other. The door to the house had been smashed, and she could see trails of blood on the ground just outside the doorway. The smaller, delicate looking demons were holding more of the strange weapons that Akantha had noted on the one her party had already killed, and the purpose of these noisome alien devices became clear quickly enough.
With inhuman efficiency and speed, the smaller demons were using their strange little weapons to cut down every kind of vegetation around the farmhouse in an ever-widening circle while the larger, pincer-bearing monsters were carrying the chopped pieces of grain stalk and shrub back to the area in front of the farmhouse as an apparent set of offerings to what could only be described as a living nightmare, and easily the largest living creature Akantha had ever laid eyes on.
It was fully fifteen paces long, four paces wide at its incredible girth and nearly as ‘tall.’ It had hundreds, or perhaps thousands of tiny legs covering the bottom quarter of its rounded body, which resembled nothing so much as a gigantic, nearly translucent grub or worm. The eyeless head of the foul behemoth was rimmed with a series of appendages similar to a crab’s or spider’s legs, but there were dozens of them and they seemingly never ceased to take the offerings of the armored, pincer-handed demons and rhythmically pass them into the circular orifice which was clearly the monster’s mouth. This portion of the foul creature’s body appeared to be a meter wide sphincter, the inside of which was lined with a multitude of hooked and barbed teeth that churned in a hypnotic fashion, grinding the vegetable matter into tiny bits before being passed into its stomach, which appeared to comprise the vast majority of its impossible, vile bulk.
“World of Men,” Akantha whispered under her breath.
Her companions were silent as they took in the scene, each processing the horrific imagery in their own way. After what seemed like an eternity, but was most certainly not more than a few seconds the silence was broken by Persus.
“We’re going to need a bigger warband,” he remarked tightly.
Akantha was double-checking the number of the foul creatures and her count came back at a total of twenty eight: twelve of the larger pincer-bearing type and sixteen of the smaller ones with the whining weapons.
“I count twenty eight,” Akantha whispered and she saw both Aetos and Leonora nod their heads in confirmation. She noticed a small stream of tears running down Aetos’ cheek, which he made no attempt to wipe away. She could only guess who the inhabitants of this farm hold had been, but it was a good guess that he and Fedora Glaros had known them, being what passes for neighbors this far out in the countryside. After a moment’s consideration, Akantha hissed to get her party’s attention. “We pull back, five hundred paces,” she directed quietly. “Move.”
Chapter Nine: Regroup
After they had fallen back to a distance well over five hundred paces, Akantha signaled for them to stop.
“At least now we know what happened to your plum thicket,” remarked Persus sympathetically, to which Aetos nodded absently.
“Twenty eight of them, plus the inevitable scouting parties like we encountered at the river,” Leonora mused aloud, “I put their total number at less than forty.”
Akantha nodded, “That was my number as well. Persus?” she prompted.
Persus nodded in assent. “They were feeding the large one everything which lived,” he said slowly, “it is as though it is one of their gods demanding tribute.”
Akantha considered this, then shook her head. “We have no way of knowing what the large demon’s purpose is, but we can be certain that it is important to the others.” She paused for a moment before stating the obvious conclusion, “It is therefore our primary target.”
“They are too many for us to contend with, Hold Mistress,” Persus began, “If we had a true warband of a hundred men outfitted for battle as we are, we could be confident of victory. But even if we managed to secure the services of that many brave farmer folk such as Aetos,” he said with a respectful nod of his head to the farmer, “we would still be lacking proper equipment for a battle with foes such as these. You saw what they were able to do to our best armor,” Persus finished with a gesture to his cracked breastplate.
Akantha knew there was wisdom in what Persus said, but she felt her face beginning to flush at the notion that they could do nothing to stop these vile invaders from working whatever unspeakable plan they had in mind. Before she could reply to Persus, Aetos interrupted.
“The Stathis farmers were kin of mine,” the Aetos said slowly. “I knew them all, and they cherished this land
enough to die for it, which they clearly have. I have no choice but to take up arms in vengeance, even if I am to share my kinsmen’s fate.”
Akantha was not surprised to learn of the familial bond Aetos shared with the people of the ravaged farm hold, but she was suddenly overcome with just how difficult this must be for him.
“I have an idea, and it just might work,” said Leonora, who was looking off into the distance absently.
All three heads turned to her and she continued without pause. “The berries we saw the demon eat on the riverbank, they are razorberries, yes?” she asked Aetos.
He nodded slowly, and Leonora continued, “It is my understanding that those berries are not poisonous in the true sense of the word, but instead are host to a kind of deadly fungus which grows along the skins and stems of the fruit, am I correct?” she asked him. He nodded once more.
Persus was looking as confused as Akantha felt, but her freckled handmaiden continued, her words coming more rapidly as she revealed her plan.
“Isn’t that fungus the same type which is used to create Blackroot Spice? And isn’t this region infamous for Blackroot Spice production?” she asked pointedly.
Aetos looked surprised at this. “I am quite sure I don’t know what the lady means,” he began slowly, but it was obvious to Akantha that he knew exactly what Leonora meant. Blackroot Spice was a terribly addictive substance, the recipe for which was a secret brought from a distant hold. The users believed it acted as a kind of stimulant, quickening both the mind and body, but the price was high as is the case for most addictive drugs. Needless to say, the punishment for producing or distributing the substance was severe.
Akantha was unaware that razorberries and Blackroot Spice were connected in any way, but Leonora always had an interest in the not-so-legal aspects of society, which was a constant source of contention between the two of them.
“Aetos,” Akantha began shortly, “if you know of anything which can aid us, duty demands you to provide it.”
Aetos slumped his shoulders slightly and nodded with resignation. “Aye, there are Spice mixers here, probably due to the abundance of razorberries on the western shore of the river.” He sighed before continuing, “I truly do not know of the process by which it is created, but I can find someone who does.”
“Good,” Leonora nodded eagerly, “for this to work, we will need at least twenty bushels of the berries, or preferably the commensurate amount of pure fungus. We don’t need fully mixed Spice, just the fungus. Can you find someone who would have that much?”
Aetos thought for a moment and then nodded. “I believe I can find that much, but it will take some time to contact those who collect it,” he warned.
“How much time,” Akantha asked impatiently. She wasn’t angry that the man associated with Spice mixers, she just wanted to get the plan in motion as quickly as possible, before the demons moved on to the next farm hold.
“I make nightfall in four hours,” Aetos said. “I can probably bring them back to my farm by dawn, but I must leave immediately.” He hesitated before adding, “I cannot guarantee that these men will help if they fear punishment for their…questionable enterprises.”
Akantha nodded. “Then tell them I will not use this situation as an opportunity to bring them to the stocks,” she said smoothly, “and also make inform them that if they do not assist us adequately in this matter, the entire Citadel will be made aware of their…questionable enterprises, as you put it, and their worst fears will pale in comparison to the truth of Argos’ fury at her wayward citizens.” Satisfied that her meaning had been taken, she grabbed a nearby stick and she thrust it toward him, “Before you go, draw a map of the area in the dirt here before which shows all other farm holds in the region. We will need to rally a militia while you are retrieving the fungus, and we dare not linger near these demons any longer.”
Aetos departed after a few minutes of scrawling in the dirt and naming each farm hold, as well as providing an estimate of men, women and children at each location. The total number of people in the nearby farms was fewer than one hundred only half that many would be capable militia members, which was most certainly not going to claim victory in an open battle.
But a trusted friend had recently told Akantha that life isn’t about doing what is best; it’s about doing the best you can with what you have. She decided it was time to put that particular theory to the test.
Chapter Ten: Unlikely Allies and Unbreakable Bread
Thankfully, the rains had not returned by the time Akantha had already visited the six farm holds on her list. She had split from Persus and Leonora with the plan to rendezvous at the Glaros farm hold before dawn, and for her part of the recruitment drive, she had secured twelve grown men, nine boys who were old enough to handle the small hunting bows which were popular in this region, and five women who volunteered for the duty.
Akantha was both deeply honored by her people’s commitment to the safety of the Hold, and also bitterly disappointed that she had failed to gather more members for the impromptu fighting force. The children these people had left behind had been sent to stay with their elders for the time being, and Akantha’s heart had swelled with pride at how few tears and outbursts the families had shown. These people knew their duty, and they would spend their lives fulfilling it. It was up to her to ensure that their contributions were meaningful.
She had seriously considered making a run for another set of farm holds she had learned of from the last family on her schedule, but she had decided that speed, coordination and planning would ultimately decide the outcome of this battle, so she had made as quickly as possible for the Glaros farmhouse. Along the way she had taken the opportunity to speak with the people about life here on the western edge of the realm. She hadn’t learned anything significant, but hearing these people recount their experiences of hard labors and even harder winters, yet still going out of their way to thank her for coming to help with this crisis touched her. She was humbled by their respect and appreciation, and she was also hardened against the thought of allowing the Sky Demons to claim another life, another piece of livestock, or even so much as one more handful of grain from these diligent people.
It was still at least two hours before dawn when she came to the ruined field which had previously been the Glaros plum thicket, and Akantha hoped Leonora and Persus had been as successful in their recruitment efforts as she had been. She came to the farmhouse with her party of recruits in tow, and was pleased to see that Persus had already completed his charge and was standing watch outside the door, a small lantern hanging above his head from the end of the roof truss. He nodded to her and raised his eyebrows as he silently counted her tally.
“Well done, my Lady,” Persus said with a wry grin, which immediately brought attention to his swollen, bruised nose, “I fear you have exactly doubled my own tally.”
Akantha frowned. “Your list included twenty able bodies, Persus,” she said shortly, “as you pointed out yesterday: we will need many strong warriors to even hope for victory against this foe. I surely hope you managed better than thirteen members for our band,” she finished hotly.
Persus lowered his eyes to the ground. “I fear the number is correct; I brought only thirteen,” he said sheepishly. “I was never any good convincing people with words, my Lady,” he continued, “I’ve always been better with my fists.”
Akantha sighed and rubbed her eyes. “Well, where are they?” she asked wearily. “We have what we have, and we might as well get all of these people into one of the outbuildings here so we can take inventory of our weapons and armor.”
Persus nodded, “Aye, we should take stock,” he said slowly, “although, I think it would be best if we put your people somewhere away from mine,” he said slowly.
Akantha shot him a look. “What exactly do you mean by that, Persus?” she inquired warily.
He cracked a grin again, and this time Akantha could see he was missing at least one prominent tooth which had
been there the last time she’d seen him. “Best if I show you, my Lady,” he said with a wink.
She nodded and followed as he led her to one of two outbuildings near the house. This one, she suspected, was for keeping livestock warm and dry but the sounds of animals were not what came from inside. Instead, she heard loud, roaring laughter and could smell the mixture of smoke and cooked meat wafting outside. She briefly wondered which animal had surrendered its life to pay for a feast at this time of night.
Persus opened the door to the small barn, and Akantha saw an overly large fire burning in the middle of the dirt floor, over which was a spit which bore little more than a handful of blackened bones at this point. She didn’t care to examine the remains too closely, so it would have to remain a mystery as to which animal had provided the meal. But the men sitting around the fire were familiar enough to her, even if she had never met any of them.
They wore long, furry cloaks in the alternating diamond pattern of brown and grey, which was the naturally occurring pattern found in one of the largest ice cats known in the entire world. A male specimen could reach ten feet long and could look a man in the eye while sitting on its haunches, with teeth as long as swords and claws as sharp as Leonora’s stone blades.
The men who hunted such cats in their native lands were insane, bloodthirsty and ill-tempered, and there was only one way to earn the honor of wearing a cloak made of their fur: to kill the one you intended to skin under the winter moonlight with no weapons, armor or supplies of any kind. A rite like that was reserved for the foolish, the arrogant, the desperate, and the incredibly brave. Akantha had always believed that those four qualities represented facets of the same basic thing, but looking at the men inside the barn just now, she was no longer so sure.
Admiral's Lady: Eyes of Ice, Heart of Fire Page 6
