by Sam Ferguson
Aikur sighed and looked up at the ceiling. Why couldn’t they see? Something wasn’t right. “Have you seen one goblin body?” Aikur asked.
Wallace sighed and shook his head. “No, but that doesn’t change the fact that these attacks happened. For all I know, it could be a band of ogres. They have been known to mutilate livestock and kill people, but it isn’t something we can ignore.”
“How many attacks have occurred since I built up our defenses?” Aikur asked.
“Zero,” Krip said.
“That’s right. Not one single sheep or cow has been harmed since we put up my traps. That tells me that we have done enough to ward off whatever was attacking our animals.”
Wallace shook his head. “Krip, see that he is comfortable and has enough food and water.”
Aikur’s mouth fell open. “You aren’t serious,” he said.
Wallace shrugged. “You won’t agree to fight with us, and I can’t let Paavo report that I am too weak to control my town. Just… go quietly and we’ll try to sort this out tomorrow.”
Chapter 5
Aikur sat on the rickety cot, which still smelled of booze thanks to the town drunk that normally occupied the only holding cell, and lightly thumped the back of his head against the wall. Had everyone gone mad? Why were the others so quick to believe that Jeriston had in fact been attacked by goblins? Why not augment defenses here and then send a search party to investigate?
As if someone had heard his thoughts, a voice called out as the door at the top of the stairs opened up, casting a bit of light down into Aikur’s darkened cell.
“Aikur, you awake?”
It was Wallace. Aikur sighed and leaned forward, hoping that a few hours had been enough to convince the town master of his errors. “I’m awake,” Aikur replied.
“You have a visitor,” Wallace said.
Aikur turned to see long, shapely legs descending the steps and knew instantly who had come. “Karyna,” he said with a smile. He rose from his cot and moved to the old iron bars that held him prisoner.
“So, this is where you would rather spend your nights instead of sharing my bed?” Karyna teased as she approached. The flame from the ceramic oil lamp in her hand cast dancing shadows upon her right cheek, obscuring her smile just a bit.
“How did you know I was here?” Aikur asked. He slipped his fingers through the bars, reaching out for her hand. Karyna grabbed him with her free hand and sighed with a shake of her head.
“Nolan said he saw you come into town with Krip, and suggested that I should come for myself.”
“Was he in the church?” Aikur asked, guessing that it had been Nolan he had seen watching him earlier.
Karyna shook her head. “No, he was in the general store trading for supplies. Why do you ask?”
Aikur shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. Karyna, where is Dezri?”
“I brought him along. Nolan and Wallace are watching him upstairs.”
“Ah, so they sent you to talk to me, is that it?”
Karyna nodded. “I know it is not our way, but perhaps we can change. After all, we are not in New Konnland anymore,” she said.
“But I am still Konnon,” Aikur replied. “I have already turned my back on my people. I won’t give up what little honor I have left by invading the mountain lands.”
“Why is it so important to you?” Karyna asked.
“My father, and his father before him, and his before him, they all passed down the teachings of Dossman Steeds. New Konnland was given to us as a promised land from the gods, but only if we gave up our abhorrent ways and traditions. When the minotaurs and Kottri challenged us, we had to defend ourselves, but we couldn’t give in to our lust for battle. If we went beyond the borders of our promised land to seek new land through blood, then we would have rejected the new life the gods had given us.”
“But we are in a different land, with different rules,” Karyna said. “I know you mean well, but sometimes you can be too stubborn.”
Aikur grinned. “Do I shame you, my wife?”
“No, my husband. I am not ashamed of you,” Karyna replied as she reached in and stroked the side of his face with her fingers. “But think on it. We must live with these people. Perhaps there can be compromise between their ways and ours. After all, they have graciously accepted us into their culture and their lives. Should we not embrace them as well?”
“If the goblins, or any foe, were to come to the town, you know I would be out in front, defending all that we hold dear, but I cannot lead a charge into lands that are not ours. I would dishonor my fathers, and in turn I would dishonor Dossman Steeds. I may be here, among strangers, but I cannot change all that I am to suit them. I must do that which is honorable.”
Karyna sighed and shook her head. “You are as thick headed as an ox, but I do love you.”
Aikur smiled and tried to squeeze enough of his face through the bars to get a kiss.
Karyna moved in and gave him a quick peck on the lips and then pulled away. “I should take Dezri home.” She turned away, but then stopped and looked over her left shoulder. “Aikur, think on it. See if there can’t be room in your honor for their ways as well. If there are goblins out there attacking towns, would it not be honorable to bring them to justice?”
Aikur frowned, but offered a somber nod. “I will think on it,” he said.
“Good, then I will be back in the morning. Get some sleep.” She went up the creaking stairs and through the door. As the portal closed behind her, Aikur’s cell was cast back into darkness.
He slapped one of the bars and then turned to find his cot and sit down once more. “Even my own wife thinks…” Aikur stopped mid-sentence and shook his head. “Perhaps she is right.” He leaned back against the wall and took in a deep breath. “If my father were here, what would he say?” Aikur asked himself aloud. He already knew the answer. Aikur’s father would be sitting in the cell right beside him, just as stubborn and adamant as he was. An offensive war was not their way.
Aikur slid off from his cot and knelt on the ground. He envisioned his father in his mind, as if the man was walking toward him from somewhere in the Plane of the Dead. “Father, give me your wisdom,” Aikur prayed. He pushed all other thoughts from his mind and concentrated on the image of his father, imagining that he drew nearer. Aikur slowed his breathing. “Father, tell me what to do.”
The image stood tall and proud in Aikur’s mind. His father’s silver hair looked almost like a crown upon his head, and the traditional cloak and robes displayed generations of Anarin family pride and honor. Aikur’s father looked down at him, and smiled.
“Father,” Aikur implored once more as he focused on the image in his mind. “Tell me what I should do.”
Arays Anarin took in a breath, and then he turned around and walked away without saying a single word.
“Father!” Aikur called out. The image in his mind would not heed him. Soon there was only darkness in Aikur’s mind, and he was left to himself. He opened his eyes and pushed up from the ground. Had his father come only to shun him? Aikur sighed heavily and walked to the far wall of his cell. “Have I dishonored you so greatly by seeking peace?” Aikur asked as if his father could hear him. “I have never felt alone before, but…” Aikur shook his head and placed his hands on the wall as he leaned into it. He hadn’t prayed to his father since before leaving New Konnland.
He and Karyna had seemed so sure of their choice that neither of them felt the need to consult with their respective ancestors. They made their announcement to their tribal elders, and then boarded a ship for Kelsendale without any real amount of debate. It was the best thing to do for Dezri, of that Aikur was sure.
Or was it?
Other Konnons would grow up with one less Anarin clan to protect them. Dezri would no longer stand as a proud link in the chain of warriors that spanned generations. He would grow to be an outsider. Aikur had known all along that he would be dishonored for leaving, but this was the first time he felt r
egret for his decision. What was to be done? Perhaps Karyna was right. Maybe they had become something other than true Konnons. If that were true, then dishonoring Dossman Steeds’ teachings was not the worst thing he could do. If even his father shunned him, and refused to accept him, then his only honor would come from how he worked with his new neighbors.
He turned around and paced back toward the bars of the cell door, shaking his head and arguing with himself between the merits of retaining what little honor he imagined himself as possessing, and merging with the people of this new town. If Nolan was to go out and fight in the mountains, then should Aikur really sit behind and do nothing?
He spent the next two hours pacing back and forth in his cell, continuing the debate.
Then, after a long struggle, an idea occurred to him, and a smile crossed his lips.
Aikur rushed to the cell door and called out. “Wallace! WALLACE!”
No answer.
“WALLACE, come down here!” Aikur shouted. Still, no answer.
Aikur grunted and wrapped his fingers around the bars. He gave it a shake and smiled when he discovered that the bolts securing the left side to the stone wall had come loose. Sure, they were strong enough to hold in an unconscious drunkard, or perhaps a young adolescent caught stealing, but there was nothing holding Aikur in the cell. The large man positioned himself near the left side of his cell and gave three solid kicks to the bars. Each strike pulled and bent the bolts until the last kick popped them loose in a shower of dust. Aikur then pushed the whole frame until the upper and lower rails that secured the bars in place bent just enough for him to squeeze through.
Aikur rushed up the stairs and grabbed the door knob. It too was locked. Aikur sighed and leveled his shoulder, preparing to knock the door open. He backed up and then charged upward, but just before he made contact the door swung open.
A wide-eyed Wallace yelped and dove out of the way as Aikur tumbled out of the doorway and onto the wooden floor of the main hall.
“Hey Wallace, I was trying to call for you,” Aikur said as he rolled over to face the town master, who was pushing himself up and brushing off the front of his pajamas.
“Yes, I heard you, I just thought I would wait until morning before trying to talk with you again,” Wallace said.
“Is this how you treat normal prisoners?” a voice called from the table.
Aikur turned over to see Paavo sitting there. “Hi,” Aikur said with a sheepish grin and a wave. Paavo returned the greeting with a half-hearted salute. “I wasn’t trying to escape,” Aikur put in quickly. “I just wanted to say that I found a way that would allow me to fight with everyone else and still retain my honor.”
“I see,” Paavo said as he poured himself a drink from a long necked wine bottle. “And you thought busting out of the cell would prove your willingness to help, is that it?”
Aikur stood up and shrugged as he moved to the table. “The only thing holding me in that cell was my word anyhow. I could have escaped anytime I wanted to.”
Wallace grunted and moved to the table as well. “Paavo, pour me a glass as well.”
“I thought you had to leave?” Aikur asked as he sat down.
“I decided to wait until the morning. I wanted to see how Wallace would handle your conversation.” He took a drink and then smiled. “Sending for your wife was a shrewd move,” Paavo said.
“Nolan saw me come into town, he told her to look in on me, that’s all,” Aikur said.
“No, actually I sent him to fetch her,” Wallace put in. “I had hoped she would be able to get through to you. We need your help. Most of the townsfolk don’t have any real experience, and you already saw how the recruits are faring.”
Aikur nodded. “I can help, but first I need to know something,” the large warrior said. “I can justify attacking the goblins as an answer to their attack on Jeriston, but the borders have to stay the same. We can’t claim any of the wilderness beyond our borders in battle.”
“Why not?” Paavo asked pointedly. “Don’t we have a right to keep what we take in war?”
Aikur shook his head. “Because my honor will not allow me to fight a war only to enlarge our borders. It is a part of me that I cannot change. But, as long as we don’t do that, then I can join the expeditionary force.”
“So now you believe there are goblins?” Paavo asked after another drink.
“I’m still not convinced, but my wife has helped me see that as part of this community, I should be willing to shoulder the burdens that fall upon all of us. Your ways are different from mine, but some compromise can be made.”
“Excellent,” Paavo said with a slap on the table. “Then I shall be happy to report to Lord Consuert that everyone has risen to the call. He will be most pleased.” Paavo turned to Wallace. “And I dare say he will remember how well you have handled the town.”
Wallace tried to duck his head and hide his grin, but failed miserably. Aikur could easily see that the man was beyond pleased to hear that his name would be spoken well of to Lord Consuert.
“Well, shall we retire for the remainder of the night?” Paavo asked after draining the rest of his wine.
Wallace raised his goblet and gave a nod. “To victory over the foul, green-skinned buggers that plague our woods.” He drank the entire drink and then set his goblet on the table and smacked his lips. “Aikur, it might be best for you to spend the rest of the night here. You can return home in the morning.”
Aikur frowned. “No, I think I should be going.”
“You’ll need your sleep,” Wallace countered. “Tomorrow you and Krip will be discussing who takes command over the town guard.”
Aikur waved the notion away. “Let him command. I will be a good soldier when needed, but I don’t need to command. Your men have trained under him, and they have a good synergy. It’s best not to stir things right before a possible engagement.”
“Well spoken.” Paavo stood up and stuck the cork back into the bottle. “I am headed into the guest room. Sweet dreams gentlemen.”
“I’m going up to my own room,” Wallace said. “That leaves the cell downstairs.”
Aikur glanced to the still open door leading to the cell and then back to Wallace. “You want me to sleep in there?”
Wallace tossed the key to Aikur. “In the morning I’ll have you help repair whatever you did down there too. Get some rest.”
Chapter 6
Aikur woke early the next morning. Unable to fix the bars he had bent out of place, he worked with the blacksmith, mostly holding things steady while the smith worked to set a new frame of bars in. When he had finished, Wallace offered him a bit of bread and cheese, but Aikur refused, anxious to leave and get back to his wife.
“I’ll go with you,” Paavo called out.
Aikur stopped, his hand resting on the ring of iron set into the town hall’s front door. “You want to go with me? I will only take you in the wrong direction.”
“True, but I want to meet this wife of yours and see what kind of magic she has.”
“Magic?” Aikur echoed. “She isn’t a witch.”
Paavo smiled and caught up with Aikur. “And yet somehow she was able to reason with someone that had only hours before had a head seemingly made of stone.” Paavo slapped Aikur on the back and stepped out ahead of him. “I’d say she’s at least an enchantress.”
Aikur grinned and followed after Paavo. “Perhaps there is some truth to what you say,” he commented. “Without her, I may never have changed my mind.”
“Exactly my point. Maybe we can send her to the goblins,” Paavo said with a wide grin. “She can flash her pretty smile and dazzle them into believing they should just pack up and go to the other side of the mountains. It would save us all a lot of trouble. After all, the goblins can’t be as thick-headed as you were yesterday.”
Aikur snorted. “If you sent her, she would likely bring back all of their heads,” he said. “She is a better fighter than I am.”
“Tru
ly?” Paavo asked. “I heard that Konnon women fought in the army, but I have never known any, so I thought it might be a rumor.”
Aikur shook his head. “No, it’s very true. They are cunning and ferocious. My wife’s tally of slain minotaurs is higher than my own, and she has killed nearly the same number of Kottri as well.”
“Could she take you in a fight?” Paavo asked.
Aikur laughed. “I should think you already know the answer to that question based upon last night.”
“Ah, so her enemies she defeats with the blade, and her husband she conquers with her smile. I think I shall like her.”
Aikur nodded as they walked by the church. The large warrior glanced to the windows once more, but this time there seemed to be no one inside. “Do you have a wife?” Aikur asked.
Paavo grunted. “Had one once,” he said with a half-smile. “Didn’t go very well.”
“What happened, did she get sick?”
“You could say that,” Paavo said. “She contracted a case of loneliness. Apparently, it got worse each time I left the house.”
Konnor frowned. “I’m sorry.”
Paavo shrugged. “It’s all right. We never had any children, and sooner or later I came to realize I loved roving the wilderness more than being at home anyhow. We were both happier going our separate ways.”
“I couldn’t live without my Karyna,” Aikur said. “We have been together since we were fourteen. Our fathers arranged the marriage after they realized they couldn’t keep us apart. It has been wonderful. That’s why we decided to move here. We didn’t want our children to grow up only knowing the harshness of New Konnland.”
