by Sam Ferguson
“Aikur…” Krip said from a few yards away.
The large warrior could feel his heart pounding in his chest. “These six are fine. Give them a few more weeks and we can test them again,” he said motioning to the others on the ground. “But this one, throw him back into the pond and fish for another recruit. He’s useless.”
“Aikur, we work with what we have,” Krip said. “I can get him ready.”
“You can’t train someone to grow a spine. They either have one, or they don’t.” Aikur then turned to the others that had been watching. “The rest of you had better take a good look. I was unarmed. If you are ever called to fight in a real battle, you had better be ready to fight dirty, and fight hard. If this had been real, I would be the only one still breathing.”
“Lucas, get these men cleaned up and then go back for chow. We’ll do some additional exercises afterward,” Krip ordered.
“Yes sir!” one of the recruits, presumably Lucas, shouted before grabbing a couple others to help him.
“Well, at least we know one thing,” Krip said calmly as he walked up to Aikur and handed the warrior his shirt.
Aikur took his clothes and gave Krip a questioning look.
“You’re definitely worth more than any five of us,” Krip said with a wink.
Aikur smirked and pulled his shirt over his head. “Before you berate me for being too hard on them, I can assure you that I was being as gentle as I would with any group of ten year olds back on New Konnland.”
“I don’t doubt it,” Krip commented. “Walk with me,” he said as he gestured back toward the road. “I have had a visit from one of Lord Consuert’s officers. Marsten, I think his name was. Captain Marsten, to be precise.”
“What did he have to say?” Aikur asked.
“Oh, just updating me on the reports, that’s all. He admired your defensive work, but said that it wasn’t enough.”
“Has Captain Marsten ever fought minotaurs?” Aikur cut in. “My traps stop them dead in their tracks.”
Krip nodded and clasped his hands behind his back. “I like you,” Krip said. “You don’t ever feel the need to temper your feelings or thoughts. It’s refreshing.”
“It’s just honest,” Aikur replied evenly.
“Let me be equally honest,” Krip said. The two stopped and Krip sighed before clearing his throat. “Look, Captain Marsten reported that Jeriston has been sacked. There were only a handful of survivors.”
“And he said goblins were responsible?” Aikur asked.
Krip nodded. “Jeriston is seventy miles south of here, so it is possible that even though you haven’t seen any sign of goblins, they might very well be marching into our lands. We must act.”
“How many guards did Jeriston have?” Aikur asked.
“Maybe a dozen, two dozen at the most,” Krip replied. “There was a bad flu about ten years ago that took out most of the young folk in the town. Those that remained were too old to do much fighting now. Captain Marsten said they found a good number of goblin bodies, but in the end Jeriston fell.”
“We have nearly four times as many guards,” Aikur commented. “We also have outer defenses. We have armed our women with crossbows and fortified the town church as well. We will not fall like Jeriston.”
“That isn’t the point,” Krip said. “Lord Consuert has ordered all able-bodied men to join in the offensive. Captain Marsten will return in one week to collect those of us who can fight, fold them into his regiment, and then set off into the mountains after the goblins.”
“All of us?” Aikur asked.
“Lord Consuert feels a decisive strike is best.” Krip slammed a fist into an open palm. “Crush the enemy before they can reach our town.”
“Did Marsten say where the goblins were?”
Krip nodded. “He has a group of scouts watching them. The goblins are making their way north. Since they ravaged all the livestock in Jeriston, they will likely strike us next. Captain Marsten plans to rendezvous with us, and then head south by southeast and hit the enemy army head on.”
“I can’t go,” Aikur said.
Krip looked up at him and shook his head. “With all due respect, you can’t refuse. Lord Consuert is ordering all of us into the action. It might have been acceptable for you to run around avoiding your duty when there was no sign of goblins but—”
“Avoiding my duty?” Aikur cut in. “My family is my duty. I don’t owe you anything! I came here for peace.”
“Then you should have bloody well stayed back in Four Corners, or Rifley, or even Kildrin,” Krip snapped. “This is the wilderness out here. The edge of civilization, understand? Out here we have to protect what we build, or someone else will come and take it.”
“I refuse!” Aikur shouted. “I have been out on the farms. I have not seen any sign of goblins anywhere. Perhaps there is a rogue band of the little creatures, but if there is, then they are small in number. We stay inside the defenses I helped build, and we will be fine.”
“Aikur, you have to be reasonable,” Krip said.
“I am.” The large man pointed back to the clearing where he had trounced the recruits. “You think I was hard on them? My wife would have challenged all of them at the same time, and she would have broken a few of their bones too. Any goblin foolish enough to come through the traps and fences will be stopped at my door. I guarantee it.”
“So you would let the rest of the countryside burn so long as the fighting doesn’t come to your door, is that it?” Krip folded his arms and kicked at the dirt. “I thought you prized your honor above all else, where is the honor in letting others suffer when you have the ability to help them?”
“Fine, I’ll go to Jeriston and look around. If I see for myself that that goblins razed the whole town, then I will personally lead a defensive contingent here to protect our homes while you and Captain Marsten go out looking for the goblins.”
“There isn’t any time for that,” Krip said. “We have to go out and find the goblins right now!”
“But don’t you see? That’s my point, why do we have to invade their lands? We can easily protect ours without doing that. Let Captain Marsten station his troops along our border. I’ll even let them stay at my house, as my home is the closest to the border.”
“What was that speech about having a spine back with the recruits?” Krip snipped.
“I promised my wife I would never again fight in a war. I can’t break that promise unless there is no other choice. Forgive me, but until every option is exhausted, I cannot help you in the way you ask.” Aikur turned and took two steps before Krip called out for him.
“Aikur, hold where you are,” Krip ordered. “As captain of the town guard, I have been entrusted with the task of enforcing Lord Consuert’s orders. If anyone refuses to join the fighting, then I am under orders to arrest them.”
“You would arrest me?” Aikur asked, turning around and narrowing his eyes on Krip.
“Would your honor allow you to resist arrest if I was under orders to take you in for refusing to fight?”
“This is madness.”
“Please, don’t do this. I would much rather have you at my side then in a cell waiting for Captain Marsten to return.”
“Then wait until Marsten comes back. I’ll talk with him then,” Aikur said.
Krip shook his head. “I can’t do that. If I treat you differently, none of the town guardsmen will respect me anymore, and if we are to fight, then I need their respect and loyalty. Aikur, this is it. Either you are choosing to fight with us, or I have to take you in and put you in the holding cell to await Captain Marsten’s return. The only person who can show you any lenience is Wallace.”
Aikur couldn’t believe his ears. He could understand Krip’s position, but it seemed entirely unnecessary. There was no need for such alarm. “Very well, let’s sort this out with Wallace.” Aikur paused and then added, “But you aren’t binding my hands or leading me by the arm.”
Krip sighed and
gave a nod. “Fair enough.”
Chapter 4
As the two passed by the church on their way to the town hall, Aikur could have sworn he noticed someone watching him out of the corner of his eye, but when he turned to look at the window in the front of the church, the figure was gone.
“Did you see that?” Aikur asked.
“See what?” Krip said.
“I thought someone was in the church, and then they… never mind.”
“Come on, with any luck Wallace will still be there if we hurry.” They walked beside the graveyard, but Aikur couldn’t shake the feeling he was being watched, so he turned back to the church several times, but no one was ever there. Finally, they reached the longhouse and pushed their way inside.
“He’s still here,” Krip said with a nod toward the far end of the long table in the middle of the main hall.
“Aikur! What a pleasant surprise,” Wallace said. “I was just telling Paavo here about your improvements to the town.” Wallace pointed to a tall man seated at his left.
Aikur nodded to the man and noted that Paavo was very obviously a soldier. He wore a dark cloak, the hood pulled back to reveal short, dark hair set over a scarred cheek and a pair of piercing blue eyes that resembled the ocean’s violence more than its beauty. A pair of short swords rested on the table in front of him, and a bow was leaning against the chair beside him.
“Wallace tells me you are a legendary warrior,” Paavo said. “I don’t think I have ever had the pleasure of meeting one of your kind.”
“My kind?” Aikur echoed, a hint of anger giving his words edge.
Paavo grinned slightly, but didn’t make an attempt to apologize.
“He walloped seven of our recruits today,” Krip said as he gestured for Aikur to take a seat.
“Recruits? That’s a bit below your skill level, wouldn’t you say?” Paavo said as he turned his right hand over to inspect his nails. “I would think that seven recruits would hardly break a sweat for you.”
“I was proving a point,” Aikur said. “They need to understand the realities of the battlefield.”
“Quite right,” Paavo said with an approving grin. “I’m sorry I missed it.”
“Right, well, Wallace, we have something we need to discuss with you,” Krip said.
“Ah, that’s my cue to leave, I take it?” Paavo said. “No matter, I’m sure I will get plenty opportunities to see you in action. I look forward to fighting beside you, Aikur,” Paavo said.
Aikur took his seat and folded his arms. “I’m not going to be joining your forces,” Aikur said flatly.
Paavo’s smile vanished. “A Konnon who refuses to fight?”
“Aikur, let’s keep this between the three of us,” Krip said, resting a hand on Aikur’s shoulder.
Aikur shrugged it off. “I have seen no proof of goblins in these parts,” Aikur said. “So I can’t justify an invasion into their lands.”
“Their lands?” Paavo scoffed. “Do you hear yourself? You would give the goblins the same rights to land and resources that we have? Preposterous. They’re animals. Like the minotaurs and the Kottri you Konnons are famous for fighting.”
“I killed hundreds of minotaurs and Kottri,” Aikur said with a nod. “But we never once invaded their territory. We kept to ourselves on New Konnland. When we arrived, the Kottri and the minotaurs only occupied a small portion of the southern region. We stayed in the north. We fight defensive wars only.”
“Ah, well then perhaps you haven’t been informed; Jeriston was destroyed,” Paavo said as he took up his weapons and secured them around his waist. “This is a retaliation, not an invasion.”
“All I have is Marsten’s word, but where is the proof?” Aikur countered.
“Proof?” Paavo echoed. The man narrowed his icy blue eyes on Aikur and shook his head. “Neither your race nor your heritage will exempt you from fighting alongside us. We all must do what we can to protect that which we have built. Lord Consuert has issued orders, and we must obey them.”
“Where I come from, a commander shows proof that fighting is necessary, and then they lead the charge. If the goblins are such a threat, then why does Lord Consuert sit at his home hundreds of miles away?”
“Aikur, shut your mouth,” Krip whispered in the large warrior’s ear, but Aikur shook his head.
“Perhaps it is true then,” Paavo said. He turned to Wallace and pointed at Aikur. “I had heard rumors that this particular Konnon only came to Kelsendale because he had lost the stomach to fight.”
“Show me a goblin coming here, and I will defend!” Aikur roared. “Until then, I see no reason to waste our time provoking something that may turn into a larger fight. There are goblins in the mountains, many of them, but they do not come down here. Even if a few of them did, invading the deeper reaches of the mountains will only provoke the rest of them into war. If we lead an offensive, it will become far more bloody than any of you can imagine. Have you ever seen a nation desperate to keep its homeland?”
“The mighty Konnon is afraid,” Paavo stated.
“I would command a garrison if you wish, but I will not be part of an invasion. It goes against everything I stand for.” Aikur turned to Wallace. “This isn’t just about the promise I gave to my wife. This is about honor. No Konnon starts a war if there is any other option. We have our defenses, we are safe here. Let Captain Marsten and his army station themselves at my house. If the goblins come, we will be ready, but at least we will not become the aggressors.”
“At your house?” Paavo said. “I see, so you won’t fight to protect others, but you would want an entire army posted at your home to protect you, just in case. How noble.”
“Enough,” Wallace said. He stood up and offered a nod to Paavo. “Excuse us, and I will see if I can talk reason into Aikur’s head.”
“And if he proves stubborn?” Paavo asked.
“Then he will sit in the holding cell until he comes to his senses,” Wallace said.
Paavo nodded. “Very well. I have orders that take me north to another small town. I will probably return with Captain Marsten.” He turned to Aikur. “I hope to see you ready for battle then. I would hate to have a Konnon wasting away in a cell while the rest of us do his fighting for him.”
“You did it now,” Krip said as he took the seat on Aikur’s right.
Paavo left the hall and closed the door hard on the way out.
“You idiot,” Wallace said after Paavo had gone. “If you could have kept your mouth shut, I might have been able to work something out, but not now!”
“I had to say what I thought,” Aikur replied.
“Enough! I don’t care what you think. I care what Lord Consuert thinks! If I allow you to make a fool of me in front of Consuert’s men, what do you think will happen here?”
Aikur started to respond, but Wallace slapped the table to quiet him.
“I’ll tell you what will happen. Lord Consuert will put Captain Marsten in charge of the town. Then I won’t be able to help anyone. He’ll declare martial law. Everyone will have to evacuate, and those left behind will have to fight. The whole town would be turned into a war camp, and nothing would be left of it by the time this whole thing ends. Don’t you see? You are forcing me to put you in a cell unless you promise to cooperate right now.”
Aikur shook his head. “Everything I said was true. We are legendary warriors, but Konnons do not invade others’ lands. Our strength comes from knowing that our wars are righteous - that we defend life and honor.”
“Goblins have killed our livestock!” Wallace shouted. “You can’t keep denying it. The proof is clear as the day is long!”
“No, all I have been shown are mutilated animals and a few stone arrowheads. Tell me, why would goblins come in and slaughter our animals, risk retaliation, and then not take the meat?” Aikur asked. “If Jeriston was destroyed, then why was most of the meat wasted there as well?” Aikur looked to Krip. “That is what you told me, is it not?”
“They have brains and walk upright as man does,” Aikur said. “They understand enough to know that you don’t go into a snake pit and start kicking vipers without getting bitten in return.”
“Aikur, this is the way it is here,” Wallace said. “We all do what Lord Consuert orders. Normally, we are left to ourselves, but in times of need, we have to rise up to face our challenges.”
“How do we know it isn’t a band of human brigands living in the forest?” Aikur asked. “Why goblins?”
“Why would a human mutilate cattle?” Wallace asked.
“Maybe they didn’t like Lord Consuert,” Aikur huffed.
Krip slapped a hand to his forehead. “Aikur… use your head for once instead of your angry heart.”
“I am!” Aikur shouted. He turned back to Wallace. “Give me a week. Let me go and investigate Jeriston. Let me see what happened there.”
“Why, so you can verify whether it was goblins?” Wallace asked.
Aikur nodded. “Precisely. I need proof before I can act.”
Wallace sighed and leaned back in his chair. “Aikur, you have to stop. Doesn’t it occur to you that maybe, just maybe you might be wrong? Nolan says it was goblins that attacked his homestead. Dremmond says goblins attacked his cattle. Others have reported similar instances. Captain Marsten reports that an entire town has been razed by goblins, and you are sitting in denial.” The town master leaned forward and clasped his hands on the table. “I know your promises are sacred to you, but in this case, I see more than enough proof that the time has come to make an exception to your vow of peace. After all, your home is the closest to the wilderness. If the goblins attacked en masse, they would strike your home first. Surely you believe that would be good enough to justify breaking your oath, don’t you?”
