by Tom Liberman
"Mike, don't be like that. It's good advice no matter where it comes from. What's the sense in spending all that time worrying about something you can't change? When we talk to Lofo we'll find out what he wants, not before."
Mike said nothing but continued to walk at as fast a pace as her short little legs could manage.
"Come on, Mike!" said Rhia chasing after her. "Why do you have to be this way all the time? It's not a big deal. We disagree, who cares?"
Mike spun around so quickly that Rhia almost ran into her, "It's a big deal to me. I hate my mother. If you can't accept that then you can just go back to doing whatever it was you were doing before I found you. I'm the leader of this team."
"Team?" said Rhia looking down at the girl with a frown. "I thought it was you and me. Partners."
Mike spun back around and stalked off while Rhia stood and gaped. She waited for a few moments, laughed, and then followed after Mike, chuckling all the while. Eventually she arrived back at the building where Lofo apparently worked. It took her a few minutes to remember the correct path to his room but eventually she found it.
When she got there she noted Mike stalking back and forth in front of Lofo's desk. The girl spun around, "Finally!"
"Good morning, Rhia," said Lofo and Rhia noticed a pretty red-headed girl sitting in the corner off to his right. It took her a long second to realize it was Marianna and only then because there was no other reasonable explanation. She looked across at the far wall and her shoulders were slumped but Rhia could see that her face had some color and she looked somewhat healthy.
"Marianna!" said Rhia walking over to her and smiling. "You look much better than the last time I saw you. I doubt you even remember that we'd met."
The girl looked down at the floor for a moment and then up at Rhia; finally she gave a wan little smile, "Lofo told me what you did. I’m very grateful."
"Now we can really begin," said Lofo with a smile.
"I told you we didn't need her," said Mike looking daggers at Rhia. "I can do whatever you want on my own."
"I am the one who decides if I am willing to send you out there by yourself or if I require that Rhia go along," said Lofo firmly and put his palms on his desk. "Rhia, are you still working with Mike?"
"I am," said Rhia with a glance toward the girl whose crystalline green eyes smoldered with hate and anger. "She's prone to getting a bit angry at times but I'm willing to put up with just about anything if it gets me closer to being a Gray Knight."
"Good," said Lofo with a nod of his head and he glanced at some parchment paper on his desk. "We've discovered a number of things in the last few days about Pillswar and his plans."
"Tell me then," said Mike interposing herself between Rhia and the Gray Captain.
"In good time," said Lofo looking over to the red-haired girl. "Marianna here is trained as an archer. Her father took good care of her while he was alive and I'd like you to take her with you. She knows more about Pillswar and his plans than any of us. She was there and she overheard a great deal. She will be invaluable."
"She's weak," said Mike almost spitting the words out.
"Mike!" said Rhia moving between the girl and Marianna.
"It's ok," said Marianna quietly, no more than a mumble. "I am."
"A woman's strength is best not underestimated," said Lofo with a smile to the girl. "You endured more than most could and survived. I suspect you are far stronger than you imagine yourself to be. I could be wrong of course, but I think it best if we find out. I'm sending Rhia and Mike here on a very dangerous mission and I want you to help them the best you can. If you die, then that is the way of it."
"I'll do my best," said Marianna this time speaking more clearly, and her eyes glowed as she gazed at Lofo. "You can count on me!"
"Great," said Mike shaking her head and the sarcasm dripping.
"Glad to have you as part of the … team!" said Rhia with a short pause as she looked for the word that would irritate Mike the most.
Mike muttered something under her breath but it was inaudible. Marianna smiled up at Rhia.
"Pillswar has been working with a gnoll clan by the name of Sunbringer and we suspect he is involved in the death of the most recent high chieftain," said Lofo.
"I don't know what any of that means," said Rhia looking down at the rough-hewn orc who did not look like he belonged behind a desk. The fellow was broad of shoulder and his face and arms bore the scars of many battles.
"The entire nation of Grelm is somewhat chaotically ruled by a High Chieftain," said Lofo leaning back in his chair and putting his thick hands behind his head. "But it's largely just a loose knit group of tribal families that bind together for a common goal for a short period of time and eventually splinter into warring factions over some minor slight. They are a wild people, unpredictable, and incredibly fecund."
"Fe … what?" asked Mike stirring from her funk.
"It is said rabbits breed like gnolls," said Lofo looking up but he did not wear a smile. "They are perhaps half a million of them in various families spread all over the region north of Tanelorn and the Five Nations. They might be able to field an army of fifty-thousand battle ready warriors if they were to ever be united under a single and charismatic High Chieftain."
Mike nodded her head and smiled, "I like where this is going!"
Rhia looked at the girl and shook her head, "Fifty-thousand, you say?"
Lofo shrugged, "It's not easy to say for certain. They are spread out of a huge territory with so many different families. That's an estimate."
"How many soldiers do you have here in Tanelorn?"
"No more than ten thousand at the most," said Lofo with a wry grin. "I doubt it's even that high to be honest."
"That is a serious threat then," said Rhia her hand on the hilt of her sword.
Lofo nodded his head, "Now this is important, girls, the current regime is dead-set against any overt actions against Grelm or any other nation for that matter. As long as they stay on their side of the border then we are not to instigate any sort of attack. Nor are we to interfere with the inner workings of their government."
"That makes it hard to do much of anything," said Rhia watching Lofo carefully. “Are you just informing us of what the rules are or are you telling us to follow them.”
"I work for the Gray Lord and you work for me," said Lofo. "And that's all I'll say. This is a delicate mission. We want to know what Pillswar is doing with the Sunbringer tribe. What are their plans?"
"How are we supposed to find out?" asked Rhia.
"With the death of the High Chieftain the clans are gathering in the plains to the north to choose a new leader. It's a violent affair. We'd like you to go up there and see what happens."
"We'll stand out like clouds in a clear sky," said Rhia shaking her head. "None of us are gnolls."
"That's all right," said Lofo with a smile and again glancing at the papers on his desk. "The choosing of a new High Chieftain is a bit of spectacle and people from all over attend. There will be orcs of the Five Nations, dwarves, elves, and many others to witness it. You'll be fine."
Rhia nodded her head, "Where is this place where they meet?"
Lofo smiled, "Head north and you'll eventually find it. There will be gnolls from all over heading to the site. As I said, it's a bit of a spectacle."
"How do they choose their new High Chieftain?" asked Marianna speaking up from the corner.
“Good question,” said Rhia looking over to the girl and smiling. Apparently she had some wits to her after all.
Mike said nothing and continued to glower.
"Ritual combat," said Lofo. "The last survivor wins."
"That's a little brutal," said Rhia thinking about her homeland. "In Elekargul the finest knights go on foot out into the plains and the one who returns with the finest steed the next morning is declared First Rider for the next twelve month."
"Interesting," said both Marianna and Lofo and even Mike seemed somewhat intr
igued although she looked away as soon as Rhia glanced over at her.
"How long does the High Chieftain rule?" asked Rhia.
"Until he dies," said Lofo. "That's why it's such a spectacle. The current High Chieftain had reigned for almost ten years. He was a sturdy fellow from all reports. We suspect he was assassinated but there is no way to confirm such rumors and it's useless to worry about things you can't change. He's dead and that's what's important. We need to find out who is going to be the next High Chieftain and what sort of plans he has for Grelm. If he is going to attempt to unite the various tribes and attack Tanelorn, we must be prepared for such a threat."
"And you can't make any sort of strike against them first," said Rhia considering all of the possibilities.
"Naturally not," said Lofo appraising Rhia with a critical eye. "And let me say it again, no matter what sort of plots Pillswar is up to over in Grelm, you mustn't do anything to interfere. You are merely to observe and report."
"But if Pillswar is going to put one of the Sunbringer people in charge of Grelm and we can stop it, shouldn't we do it?"
Lofo shook his head, "The Gray Lord expressly forbids us to meddle with how any other nation chooses their ruler. It is their decision, not ours."
"The Gray Lord just sits in his house eating food all day," said Mike, suddenly intervening. "Maybe we should think about doing something more active before Tanelorn is destroyed? Doesn’t that make sense?"
Lofo shook his head, "No. Even Jane Gray agrees. If we meddle in the affairs of a foreign state they will have legitimate grievances against us down the road. Let's say we do keep Pillswar and the Sunbringer gnoll from becoming the High Chieftain. That clan will bear a grudge against Tanelorn for many generations. And rightly so. No, we must observe and no matter who comes into power deal with it as a foreign nation. No one has any right to choose who rules this nation nor do we have any right to influence who rules another. That is for the people of the nation to decide in whatever manner they choose."
"It seems short-sighted to me," said Mike quietly.
"Just the opposite," said Lofo with a curt shake of his head. "In any case, I've given you plain orders. I expect you to follow them but your life is your own to lead."
Rhia nodded her head, "That's fine by me, Lofo. I don’t want to get involved in any political business anyway. It's a good way to get killed. I learned a lot traveling from Elekargul to Tanelorn. It took me four years and I saw a lot of things I'd rather have not seen in that time. Come along Marianna, Mike, are we ready to go? I don't really have much to pack and there's no sense taking too much on the road."
"I guess so," said Mike looking back at Marianna as the girl stood up and moved over next to Rhia.
"I'm ready," she said picking up a well-fashioned bow from where it stood leaning against the wall. She wore a quiver of arrows on her back and her leather jerkin seemed well-made and sturdy enough, if slightly ill-fitting.
"I never thought I'd be going to Grelm," said Mike with a laugh as they turned to walk out the door. "But I guess freedom isn't free!"
Rhia turned to walk with her but an ear-shattering crack made her jump and spin around.
Lofo was standing, his fist clenched and trembling, for it was he who had made the noise by hitting the top of his desk, "Where did you hear that?" he demanded.
Mike turned around and saw the ferocious scowl on the face of the orc knight and her eyes opened wide in fear for a moment before a scowl came to her face and her hand went to the small knife at her side. "I don't know, people are saying it all over. It's true. Freedom isn't free. Someone has to pay for it. Someone has to risk their life; someone has to defend the frontier!"
Lofo's face hardened even more at these words and he shook his head and even his ears seemed to be turning red with rage, "Wrong! Freedom is absolutely free. You are free to take this mission or you are free to skulk home and live in the cellar for the rest of your life. Freedom is the freest thing there is in this world. We're all free to do as we please. If you don't want to defend Tanelorn, and by extension yourself, then you don't have to do so. Walk away, no one is stopping you."
"But," said Rhia trying to calm the man. "I mean, Mike does have a point. Someone gave their life in war to make sure you have freedom today."
"In Tanelorn the only reason anyone fights is because they are free to do so if they choose. If they don't fight then they are free to do that as well. In some nations the people are enslaved, forced to fight, forced to dig for metal, forced to perform sex acts, forced to pay for safety. That is the opposite of freedom and yet that is exactly what ‘Freedom isn't Free’ means. It's a means of getting you to give up your freedom to give someone else something they desire. Join the army so your children can survive. Give your money to the government so they can protect you. Freedom is absolutely free and nowhere do we recognize it more deeply than in a nation of people who are free to choose their own path in life."
Mike shook her head, "I don't really understand."
"Perhaps if you live long enough you will," said Lofo sitting back down in his chair and his facial expressions slowly returning to normal. "Girls, I'll tell you one thing, if you're willing to listen, and then you can be on your way. You are free to stay and free to go."
"I'd hear you," said Rhia.
Even Mike nodded her head.
"Freedom is absolutely free, it just isn't safe."
The three girls stood and waited for more but there was nothing else forthcoming.
Chapter 7
Five days later they reached a high hill giving them a far off view of a little villa situated along the northern border of Tanelorn. Mike knew it was the last of its kind in Tanelorn.
"Maybe we should stop in and get supplies?" suggested Rhia but she knew what Mike would say and in five short days she also knew that Marianna would go along with just about anything Mike said as long as the half-elf girl was forceful enough.
"No sense," said Mike. "We've got a fair amount of food and water already."
"A fair amount is fine," said Rhia looking up to the sky and preparing herself for yet another argument with Mike. "But why not top off our food? We don't know how much game we'll find out there. I'm not used to plants and animals of this region and, don't get mad at me, Mike, but you've never really roughed it before. You grew up wealthy. I spent four years traveling and I know what it's like to be hungry. I've seen villages ravaged by drought and crop failures. It's not a pretty thing. If we've got a chance to get supplies before we head off into the wilderness I think we should do it."
"I'm against it," said Mike crossing her arms across her chest in a now familiar stance.
"Just because it's some family you know and they might recognize you is no reason to risk all our lives," said Rhia folding her own arms across her chest.
Mike pursed her lips and shook her head, "I'm against it."
Rhia turned to Marianna and looked at the girl. The five days of exercise, fresh air, and good food had continued her remarkable recovery. She was still pale but there were muscles under the skin and she'd brought down several rabbits with beautifully launched arrows. The girl was clearly more than just a beaten and downtrodden wreck. "What do you think, Marianna?"
The girl looked quickly at Mike but then lowered her head, "I've been hungry before. I think we should get supplies while we can."
"Good," said Rhia.
"Fine!" said Mike but seemed to recover quickly enough as they changed course and headed to the villa in the distance. "It's not a bad family. They're named Treowe or something like that. I think the grandmother used to know the Gray Lord a long time ago. She came by our house once when I was little."
Rhia nodded her head and smiled, “I’m glad you agree, Mike. We don’t know what we’re going to be facing up there in Grelm and the better prepared we are the better off we’ll be.”
“I get it already,” said Mike with a snort. “You don’t have to repeat yourself over and over again. It’s two to one
against me so I’ll go along, but you remember that when it’s two to one against you!”
Rhia shook her and looked at the ground before returning her gaze to the headstrong girl, “I’ll remember. We’re a team and we make decisions that are best for all of us, not just one of us.”
“I get it!” said Mike.
“Are you two coming?” said Marianna with a little smile as she stood patiently beside the two as they argued.
“Lead the way,” said Rhia and grinned at the girl.
Marianna turned toward the villa at a brisk pace. As was common with the little fortresses that dotted the landscape of Tanelorn, a number of small farms and even little hamlets were scattered around the main fort. It was here people settled to farm and make their lives. This region was no exception and they passed by half-a-dozen farmsteads and spotted children playing and men and women hard at work in their fields although the trio did not stop to say hello.
Mike suggested that they could pick up what supplies they needed from one of these homes and while Rhia silently agreed that this would work, she did want to see one of these little villas and meet the inhabitants, so refused the request.
They spotted smoke apparently from a small village not far from the villa but again Rhia insisted that they continue on their chosen path and within an hour they arrived at the walls of the small fortress. They stood in great contrast to those outside the capital city of Tanelorn. They were almost twenty feet tall and made of solid stone. A gate banded by iron stood open and a young couple strolled in a large flower garden planted outside the fort.
“Hail, strangers,” said Rhia moving to the front as Marianna and Mike slipped in behind her.
The two looked up with pleasant smiles on their faces and the young man, perhaps in his early twenties smiled and wave, “Hail, welcome to Villa Treowe. I’m Andrus, what can we do for you?”
“We’re heading north to watch the High Chieftain selection ceremony in Grelm and hoped we could get resupplied before we cross into the gnoll lands,” answered Rhia as they approached. The boy was tall and quite handsome and the girl was in her early teens with a rather severe case of spotted face.
