by Tom Liberman
“He doesn’t do that anymore, not for the last few years. He doesn’t do much of anything really, except eat. That’s why Pillswar and his friends want to take over. They think he’s weak.”
“Is he?” asked Rhia watching the gathering crowd.
“It doesn’t matter,” said Mike shaking her head. “We need to do something to get noticed so we can be Gray Knights. That’s what’s important. Lofo wants us to find out about Pillswar. That’s what we have to do. I don’t care if the Gray Lord is a damned goldfish. If we want to be Gray Knights we go against Pillswar. That’s it.”
“Maybe Pillswar has a point about the Gray Lord?” said Rhia. “If he doesn’t do much of anything anymore maybe it’s time to change things. In Elekargul nobody would let a First Rider do nothing.”
“Pillswar’s a bad man,” said Mike simply. “We don’t want him in charge. Besides, Jane Gray will be in charge soon and she’s not weak.”
“Not Jon?” asked Rhia looking at the young girl with surprise.
Mike laughed, her green eyes shining, “He’s too busy chasing girls to worry about being in charge of the nation. But he’ll support Jane and Pillswar knows that. Jon’s popular.”
Rhia nodded her head and muttered quietly to herself, “Yeah, he was like that.”
Mike peered into the crowd, “Look for anyone behaving suspiciously. The faker is that one in the middle with the swan on his shield. He works for Pillswar.”
Rhia watched the crowd and did spot several young men loitering about in what could only be called a suspicious manner. One of them was a goblin boy and he had a knife at his side that he couldn’t stop fingering. Another was one of the gnoll creatures that lived in great numbers to the north of Tanelorn. It had a wild look to its eyes and sipped continuously from a drinking pouch.
“There,” said Rhia pointing to the goblin. “And over there,” motioning with her head to the gnoll.
“Yeah,” said Mike nodding her head as she took in the gnoll. “I know him. He’s about my age I think. He works for Pillswar. The goblin I’m not sure but he looks like he’s up to something. There are probably more. Look, the ceremony is starting. If they’re going to do something it will be soon.”
The distracted looking man on the podium looked up from his book and appeared to be almost startled to see all the people but Jane Gray shouldered him to the side with a grin and began to speak in a loud voice.
“Welcome to everyone,” she said with a big grin and waved to a few friends in the crowd. Then, suddenly, an auburn haired girl appeared next to her. She was shorter than Jane by a head and had lustrous long hair that curled around her face. She appeared almost insubstantial, her womanly form wavering in the cool air of the morning. Her eyes seemed to gaze out at nothing but her voice was clear.
“Help me,” she implored. “I’m free at last but I am still imprisoned. Anyone, help me, please.”
Then she vanished.
Jane stood with an open mouth and there was dead silence amongst the gathered.
“What was that?” said Rhia turning to Mike but saw the girl was as mystified by the event as anyone else.
“The Girl in Glass!” screamed a voice. “She’s free!”
Then another voice came from the crowd, “Now!”
A group of young men, including the goblin, the gnoll, and the inductee Mike pointed out earlier, immediately pulled out weapons and began moving through the crowd waving them and shouting various accusations and warnings, “The Gray Lord is weak! Tanelorn is vulnerable! Enemies are everywhere!”
Then there was a clang and one of the agitators went down in a heap. Jon and Sorus were moving.
Rhia looked over to the sound and saw Jon Gray take a huge stride toward another of the swordsmen and the great stone sword he used swept out in an almost gentle arc and touched the man on the head. He went down in a shower of blood. A second man moved toward Jon and directly into the blade of Sorus Nightwalk who moved in tandem with the big warrior.
Jon and Sorus turned at the same moment and a feint from Jon sent another foe ducking directly into the pommel of Sorus’s blade. They danced on, leaving a trail of destruction behind them. In a matter of mere seconds eight of the would-be trouble-makers lay dead, dying, or unconscious on the ground.
“Holy shit!” said Rhia rapidly blinking her eyes and shaking her head. She had not even had time to pull out her own blade. She looked over and saw almost everyone else in the crowd staring at Jon and Sorus with jaws agape.
A young Gray Knight had his hand loosely held around his sword and gazed at the big warrior with wide eyes filled with awe. “Have you ever …,” he started to say to the grizzled veteran at his side but the man didn’t let him finish his sentence.
“Never, nothing like that,” he replied.
“Hezfer and Eleniak,” cackled an old woman standing over one of the felled warriors.
“What?” said a young woman at her side, as she too stared at the dead man at their feet.
“They say Hezfer and Eleniak danced like that,” cackled the old woman and suddenly the crowd came back to their senses and the sound of excited talking came fast and loose.
Rhia looked around for Pillswar and Adusko but did not see them anywhere in the crowd, “I don’t see Pillswar,” she said to Mike.
“No, he wouldn’t be here when it happened. He’s too smart for that. But you can bet some of his spies are here watching. He’ll know what happened soon enough.”
“What should we do?” said Rhia watching as young Gray Knights began to wander over to the fallen rebels who were surrounded by citizens. The people looked around warily but did not appear particularly alarmed or afraid.
Mike started to speak but Jane Gray interrupted, the woman seemingly having regained her composure.
“I’m afraid we’ll have to cancel this morning’s ceremony,” she said in a loud voice as the people in the crowd continued to talk. “Everyone!” she shouted and people slowly subdued. “We’ll cancel the ceremony this morning. Go home and about your business.”
With that proclamation Gray Knights began to gather up the dead and wounded although the crowd didn’t seem to diminish at all. If anything it grew larger and the babbling grew louder. They spoke of the Girl in Glass and of Jon Gray and his friend Sorus.
“Come on,” said Mike pulling at Rhia’s hand. “We’ll go to the Golden Cider and see what Pillswar does.”
“The Golden Cider?” asked Rhia with arched eyebrows. “What’s that?”
“That’s where Marianna’s mother lives. Her husband started the business years ago but he died and Pillswar took over. He won’t be happy with how things went here.”
“I guess not,” said Rhia looking at the fallen soldiers. “I don’t think they could have done much damage anyway. Not with all those Gray Knights around watching the ceremony. He couldn’t have expected to kill too many people.”
“He didn’t want to kill them,” said Mike. “He wants to frighten them. That’s his weapon, fear. He’s not going to be happy because of Jon,” she concluded and her eyes suddenly got soft and glowed. “He’s a leader. I see it now. He doesn’t talk like a leader or act like one during normal times but in a crisis he’s the one. Pillswar will understand. He’ll need to move faster to overthrow the Gray Lord before Jon gets too much of a following. It might already be too late. You saw that, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” said Rhia nodding her head and remembering the speed at which the two men moved. Their absolute coordination in attack. Their movements, two as one. It was as if they were dancing, moving to some deadly tune. Unstoppable.
“I’m right,” said Mike nodding her head and setting her jaw. “Pillswar has to stop Jon now, not just Jane. He’s in trouble and he knows it. He will be desperate. He will move faster now. I know it.”
“What will he do?” asked Rhia thinking to herself that no one could stop Jon and Sorus when they were together, no one. No thing.
“Anything,” said Mike. “He’s ruthless, he does
n’t care about people. He wants power. He’ll kill Jon if he has to. He’ll kill Jane and the rest of them. He’ll kill anyone who stands in his way but he’s smarter than that. He’ll plot and scheme to disgrace Jon somehow. I don’t know. We just have to keep watching, that’s all I know. Come on.”
“And rescue that girl,” said Rhia suddenly remembering the defeated young girl.
“Yes, that too,” said Mike distractedly as she led the way past the gates of Tanelorn and into the city. They headed south toward what Rhia now knew was a merchant’s quarters where many shops resided adjacent to a large residential region of town.
“Tanelorn is laid out quite well,” said Rhia as they walked through the tree lined streets. “It’s nice how all the shops are together and close to where people live but not right in and amongst them.”
“I guess,” said Mike with a shrug. “I haven’t spent a lot of time in the city until recently.”
“You lived outside of Tanelorn?”
“My family has a villa. A fort really. My paw-paw was a soldier of Stav’rol but being a dwarf he couldn’t get promoted, so he deserted. Fled to Tanelorn fifty years ago when the Gray Lord first settled, or at least that’s the story I know. He’s been here ever since.”
“And you father and mother?” said Rhia remembering the stout dwarf and the beautiful elf woman.
“What about them!” said Mike turning to face Rhia aggressively and the tone in her voice suggested further questions were not welcome.
“Nothing,” said Rhia with a smile and looked away.
“It’s a stupid story anyway,” said Mike more quietly. “We’re almost there so we have to be careful. That damned Adusko is smarter than he looks. He’s in charge of security.”
Rhia remembered the massive fellow and the throbbing in her nose suddenly came back in full force. “I’ll kill him,” she muttered to herself.
“Yes, good plan,” said Mike although in a distracted way as if she hadn’t heard what Rhia said at all. “We’ll climb to the roofs, the buildings here are pretty close to together, and you can generally get from one to other without coming down. Here, there’s a low roof, we can use the trellises. Try not to make too much noise; you’re big for a girl. Big feet make loud noises.”
“I’ll be quiet,” said Rhia for once sorry that she was just over six feet tall and muscularly built. She didn’t mind that she wasn’t pretty like other girls because it meant boys didn’t bother her. She didn’t want babies, she wanted to be a hero.
Mike went up the trellis with nimble movements that had her at the top in seconds while Rhia worked her way up more slowly, testing each foothold to make sure the thing would bear her weight. Eventually she got to the top and saw Mike standing against a chimney and motioning her over.
“There, that way is the Golden Cider,” she said pointing to a group of buildings. “It would be better if we could watch the front and back at the same time but I don’t want to split up in case something happens. Come on, we’ll cross over to that building there and we’ll have a nice view of the front. They’ll be bringing back the tent and all the unsold pies from the ceremony and we’ll see who comes with them.”
The two girls followed this plan and quickly found themselves hunkered down on a roof overlooking the Golden Cider. The building was clearly once quite nice but had fallen on hard times. Only small patches of gold paint stood out on a mostly weather-beaten façade and the sign-post out front was broken only showing the words Golden Cid. The streets were not particularly crowded, as most people in town remained at the site of the ceremony, but those who were in the area didn’t seem to give much notice to the dilapidated shop as they walked past.
They waited for almost an hour before Pillswar, his wife, Marianna, and a few other employees started to filter back. It was immediately apparent that the red-haired girl was doing most of the work. She began to unload the wagon while everyone else went inside. She worked slowly, her movements seemed to indicate exhaustion, and she had to drag some of the heavier pieces of equipment that made up the tent. At one point a couple of young boys came out and rather than helping her began to pinch her on the arms and legs. If she objected she didn’t voice any complaint but simply went about her job with the same listless expression.
“That girl is defeated,” said Rhia shaking her head. “Why doesn’t she fight back?”
“I don’t know,” said Mike with a shrug and a yawn. “She’s too weak I guess. That’s why we have to rescue her I guess. She can’t do it herself. Weakling.”
“What are we going to do with her if we get her away from those people?” asked Rhia stopping to think about how they would take care of such a girl. She looked no older than Mike but she didn’t appear capable of taking care of herself.
“We turn her over to Lofo, I guess,” said Mike with yet another shrug and yawn. “Look at her, what good will she be to anyone like that?”
Rhia nodded her head in agreement, “In Elekargul I’ve heard about kids who are beaten and abused but only in other nations. No one would allow that where I’m from.”
“Where are you from?” asked Mike suddenly taking an interesting in the conversation. “We could be here all day. May as well get to know each other a little at least.”
“The south, very far south.”
“What brought you all the way up here, then?”
“Jon Gray came to my village when I was little,” replied Rhia smiling at the memory.
“Really?” asked Mike turning to look at the young woman with her green eyes looking thoughtful. “That far? In the south? Like in the center of the continent?”
“Past that, far past that,” said Rhia her eyes gazing out into the distance. “At the very southern part of the world.”
“Jon was gone for a long time,” said Mike and put her hand to her perfect little chin.
“Do you know him too?” asked Rhia looking at the girl and trying to figure out how many years it must have been since Jon left Tanelorn for his travels.
“Sort of,” said Mike and then suddenly grinned widely. “Well, not really at all. Supposedly when I was little he came to visit our family and he was teasing me and pinching me so I bit him.”
“No!” said Rhia turning to face the girl.
“Believe me; everyone loves to tell the story so it must have happened. I haven’t met him since he got back but I doubt he’d recognize me, I was just a little kid, not much more than a baby. It’s not important, get on with your story.”
Rhia nodded her head, “In Elekargul girls can’t be knights, but I always wanted to be a warrior. Jon was a big hero in my town. He helped the First Rider and found the Staff of Sakatha. He got his own name and everything. So after that I wanted to come to Tanelorn so I could be a knight.”
“I’m not sure what a lot of that means,” said Mike shaking her head and pursing her lips as she put a hand on the wall in behind of them. “First Rider, Staff of Sakatha, own name?”
“The First Rider is the leader of Elekargul,” said Rhia and suddenly she was homesick. “I’m not sure what the Staff of Sakatha is, to be honest. I saw it when Jon brought it back with him. It sort of looks like a crocodile. The whole naming thing isn’t easy to explain. In Elekargul people get names based on who they are. I was born a girl, obviously, Rhia was my aunt’s name but my last name was Swift. That means you’re a girl not old enough to get married. Once you’re old enough to get married your name changes to Speed. Then when you get married your last name becomes whatever your husband’s first name is.”
“That’s confusing!”
“It’s actually quite simple and makes things easier,” said Rhia with shrug. “I get confused by everyone having different names. It’s impossible to tell who is what sort of person. I think our system is better.”
Mike tilted her head to the side and grinned. Then she turned her attention back to the red-haired girl as she struggled with a particularly heavy load, “So you’re Rhia Speed then?”
“No,” said Rhia shaking her head. “I didn’t want to get married. I don’t want babies. I ran away and headed for Doria. It wasn’t easy for a girl my age but my father taught us how to use the sword and my uncle is a priest. He loaned me a good horse. He was the only one who knew I was running away and helped me, which was nice. One day I will thank him properly,” she finished with a firm nod of her head.
“Doria!” said Mike her green eyes glowing with excitement. “That’s where the Spider Wizards live! I’ve heard they eat their own young and only allow the strongest to survive!”
“I don’t think that’s actually true,” said Rhia shaking her head again and grinning. It was not the first time she’d heard such tales although she knew them to be completely untrue.
“I also heard they give birth to thousands of little babies at the same time and they spin webs from their … you know … place.”
“I don’t think that’s true either,” said Rhia with a laugh. “The city gets its name from all the walkways that go between the towers. From a long way away it looks like a humongous spider web, the whole city does.”
“I’ve also heard that they have fangs just a like spider and they drink their food from the inside of their victim’s bodies!”
Rhia laughed again, “How far have you traveled from Tanelorn and that villa of yours?”
Mike stopped for a moment and thought, “Well, my mom is from Acanthus which is where the elves live. It’s a forest northwest of here and I’ve been there with her a few times. She’s a princess of course. I hate her.”
“She seemed ok,” said Rhia and rolled her eyes a little.
“She’s not,” said Mike shaking her head and a scowl came across her lovely face. “You have no idea. She’s the worst. I don’t even want to talk about it. I’d have been better off with no mother at all.”
“My mom was pretty great,” said Rhia and again smiled, her homesickness settling in her stomach like a lump of bad food. “I mean, she didn’t encourage me to be a knight or anything but she didn’t discourage me either. In Elekargul you sort of get to make your own way. No one tells you what to do.”
