by Joe Jackson
Preoccupied with the prospect of a hot, meaty dinner, none of them even noticed their visitor until he spoke. “By the gods, it really is you,” he blurted, though his voice remained light and even-toned, even through his shock.
Kari reached instinctively for one of her swords, but when she turned on the speaker and took a good look at him, she froze, stunned. She took in the light skin contrasted by the short, dark hair, and the way his golden eyes were wider and narrower than a human’s. He was dressed in hunter’s garb that appeared to be handmade, a far cry from the intricate armor she’d normally expect to see upon an elf. There was that hazy dividing line between her past life and the current one that sometimes made memories come a little more slowly. Looking at the elf’s face, though, the memories of her days among his people clogged up only briefly before coming back in a flood. She remembered their woodland home, their beautiful cities, their rigid militarism that masked and safeguarded a prosperous and loyal people. And finally, she recalled the name of the man who stood before her.
“Shefter!” Kari barked suddenly, shocking her friends and the elf. He recovered quickly, though, and made no move to dodge Kari’s hug. Despite her desire to cling to someone familiar, Kari kept the hug cordial and brief. After sorting through the wave of emotions that continued to rebound between her heart and her memories, she turned to her friends and gestured toward the elf. “This is Shefter Dragonseek, Outrider of Laeranore.”
Shefter bowed politely to Kari’s friends, who introduced themselves in turn. He turned back to Kari. “What are you doing here, old friend?” he asked, but he didn’t even give her a moment to answer. “I had heard rumors when the War began…that you had been returned to Citaria somehow, but I could scarcely believe it. I have so many questions…but please, tell me what you and your companions are doing here, with a syrinthian among you?”
Kari laid out the story for him with some input from Danilynn and Sonja. The mention of Uldriana’s death made Sonja’s breath catch again, which even their elven guest didn’t miss. He took in the entire story eagerly, and even tried to speak to Se’sasha in infernal before Danilynn explained that the girl spoke only syrinthian. Unfortunately, the ranger couldn’t understand the tongue of the snakefolk, so Se’sasha was still cut off from the rest of them by language. Soon, Kari turned the question back around on Shefter, and asked what he was doing on Mehr’Durillia.
“I was one of the legion chosen to follow King Kalamaris Talvorus into battle during the War,” he answered, but that only created more questions in Kari and her friends. Shefter could apparently see as much, so he sat down among them and silently offered to dress and prepare the bird for cooking while he explained. His nimble hands made quick work of the bird carcass, and it was on a spit before he ever started explaining the details of his marooning.
Once the bird was cooking, Shefter began to tell his tale in full. “Kalamaris Talvorus was king of the nation of the Luranar, and was considered a Tenth-Order paladin by our people,” he said, once again considering the confusion on the faces of the women before him. “Our people identify paladins by various orders. A First-Order paladin is one who never recognizes that they have been called, but they have the moral urge to serve and protect others. They typically end up in positions you might call a policeman or city watchman. A Second-Order paladin is also one who never recognizes their calling, but these follow a slightly higher call to serve and protect. These you find among the military, serving as battle clerics or commanders, protecting and serving their entire nation through service to the military.”
“A Tenth-Order paladin, by contrast, is one who has not only received and followed their calling, but risen to a position where the strength of the gods flows through them in a completely overt manner. The first time King Kalamaris stood among our people before our Queen, he drew out this incredible sword that appeared to be carved from ice, and by force of will he made it sprout the blue flame of the pantheon. You may have seen such blue flames on the porches of your deities’ temples: the eternal flames that judge the hearts of those who touch them.”
Kari recalled all the times she’d run her hand through the light blue eternal flames of the deities in front of Zalkar’s churches. She remembered how Eli had hesitated to do so, afraid that his decided lack of faith or trust in the pantheon might cause him to be burned. Kari had hardly been surprised when he wasn’t; obedience to the will of the gods came in many forms, and though Eli may not have bent knee to any of them, he did their work, even if unwittingly. Kari could only imagine what it would feel like to be a force of evil and be struck not just by a sword, but by one shrouded in the judgment of the gods.
“King Kalamaris asked our Queen to send her fiercest fighters to aid in stopping a demon king from crossing over onto Citaria from here, what we commonly call the underworld. I still have little idea how he knew of Arku’s coming, but the Queen had no reason to distrust or refuse a Tenth-Order paladin. She immediately committed her strongest legions to aiding the luranar king: the Arborean Guard, who were our most skilled archers and hunters; and the Spearguard of Laeranore, our vanguard warriors for combating threats to the kingdom.”
“You were a member of the Arborean Guard, I remember that much,” Kari said. “But you were still just an initiate when I first met your Queen.”
“Aye, well, that was nearly two centuries ago, old friend,” he said with a chuckle. “I will be happy to tell you details of the battle if you like, but for now, I will try to keep this tale short. When Arku was defeated, it opened some arcane maelstrom that pulled many, many corpses and survivors through to this realm, Si’Dorra. King Kalamaris and his friend and fellow paladin, Galadon Turcullen, were both killed in combat with Arku, and I believe they were also pulled through. Myself and several others, who were close enough to witness Galadon return a fatal blow at the same time he suffered one, were likewise brought through.”
“Here, we have remained for the last several years, trying to find some way home, but to no avail. Arku’s minions hunted us down, and were it not for my skills in tracking, hunting, and keeping out of sight, I would not be the last survivor of my kin.” He went silent for a moment, tending to the cooking bird busily, though it hardly needed any maintenance. When he looked back up, he added, “Now, we have more important issues to see to. You are being tracked by servants of Arku.”
That hardly surprised Kari. She thought about what he’d said, and wondered if it was just coincidence that they’d met. “How did you find us?” she asked.
Shefter beheld her curiously. “I followed the mark you left on the tree. Breaking the branch to attract my attention was very clever; you learned the ways of my people well.”
“No, I mean, what were you doing in this area?” she pressed. “Is it just coincidence that we happened to cross paths, or did someone tell you to look for us here?”
“The border has been the safest place for me to live,” he said. “The people here, they do not respect their king very much. I am usually able to find some small measure of hospitality from the people of Si’Dorra in exchange for hunted meats, pelts, or other products from my foraging and ranging. When Arku’s hunters come into the area, I can cross the border into the realm of Sorelizar, as long as I do not remain there long. If I do, King Sekassus has a habit of trying to have me captured as well. Arku has put quite a price on my head.”
“But none of his people try to collect it?” Danilynn asked.
“As I said, most of them here do not respect him. He is not a good king to his people by any stretch of the imagination.”
“Why haven’t you just gone to Anthraxis and tried to find a way home?” Kari asked.
“I have been to Anthraxis before, but no one has ever been willing to help me get back home,” he answered. “The Overking watches anyone who can go back and forth between worlds very closely, so those who try to help our kind escape Mehr’Durillia are typically rooted out and killed. I spent some time in Anthraxis, but it is not a very
pleasant place to live, so I returned here in the hopes I might find some others of my kin still stuck here, as I am.”
“But no luck so far?” Danilynn asked rhetorically.
“You are the first ‘familiar’ faces I have seen in years,” he said. “I have searched this realm from one end to the other, listening for rumors or gossip about elven prisoners or slaves, but I have heard nothing with respect to my kin. I believe I am the last survivor. Which brings me back to why you are here, and how you plan to get home if you came here by choice?”
“We have a contact in Anthraxis that’s going to take us back to Citaria,” Kari said, sitting up straight and meeting Shefter’s eyes. “If you can get us safely back to Anthraxis, she can take you home, too.”
“We are but scant days from the border of Tess’Vorg,” he mused aloud. “King Emanitar is one of the more trustworthy kings, if you have not already learned that yourself. We should be able to cross his realm and reach Anthraxis easily, as long as we avoid notice here – which is where my specialties should serve you well. I have already put considerable work into hiding your tracks, and setting false ones. Now that we have a lead on your pursuers, we must make our way to Tess’Vorg and Anthraxis with all due haste.”
“We need to make a stop in Pataria on the way, though,” Kari said, drawing interested looks from everyone except Se’sasha. “I made a promise to a woman there, and I intend to keep that promise.”
Sonja began to cry lightly, but she got herself under control quickly, especially once Danilynn put her hand on the sorceress’ shoulder. Shefter was clearly at a loss, but Kari simply told him she’d explain later. With the bird nearly fully cooked, they started preparing to have an actual hot meal, and Se’sasha looked eager to get real meat into her belly. Shefter started to serve everyone their portion, and while he handed out the food, he told Kari and her friends a little bit about the travel ahead. It sounded like it would be straightforward enough, and he even suggested that they could stop in a small town in the southeast of Si’Dorra without worry. He was certain the trackers wouldn’t expect them to go there, and the people weren’t loyal to Arku.
Dinner passed with some quiet introductory chatter amongst the rir women and their new elven companion. Kari explained that she had met Shefter in her prior life, and that the elven ranger had been one of several to help teach her some of the elven peoples’ ways. His primary contribution to Kari’s education had been tracking and hunting, naturally, and they had shared a mutual respect as teacher and student. In return for his tutelage in the ways of the elves, Kari had taught him some of her swordplay expertise, which, he explained, eventually led to him being named to the Arborean Guard’s highest order.
They took turns keeping watch, and with the rising of the sun, Shefter set them out toward the east. He seemed less concerned with the prospects of discovery or capture, even right along the bluff that marked the border between realms, as with leaving false trails. Kari deferred to his judgment, given that he had survived more than three years in Si’Dorra and Mehr’Durillia in general. That proved a wise decision, as he led them around obstacles and the occasional dwelling without issue, and several days passed free of incident. He checked often for signs of pursuit, but he was doing a more than adequate job of throwing their trackers off the trail.
The weeks on the road were beginning to grind on Kari well beyond the soreness of pregnancy and travel, though, and she had to laugh at herself. There’d been a time when being on the road for weeks was her normal routine, traveling across Terrassia again and again in her prior life. Now she had gotten so accustomed to bathing all the time and sharing a warm bed with her mate every night that traveling felt alien to her. She shook off the feelings and tried to keep her focus on aiding Shefter in scouting the forest, and getting home safely.
Shefter halted the group in the later afternoon of their fourth day traveling with him, and Kari understood why before he even said anything. Kari wrinkled her nose and Shefter nodded, but Sonja and Danilynn still didn’t seem to understand. “We’re getting close to a town,” Kari said, glancing northeast into the wind. “You can smell the sewage and the garbage…not far off that way. Shefter, is this the town you said it might be safe to stop in?”
“The additional risk would seem minimal,” the ranger said with the barest of nods. “The people are less and less loyal the farther you get from Arku’s stronghold. They have little reason to believe we would be wanted by King Arku, and even if they thought so, I find it unlikely they would do anything to aid him. With this town’s proximity to Tess’Vorg, I would assume they are not particularly fond of their king.”
Sonja didn’t seem entirely convinced. “Are we anywhere near Curlamanx’ holdings?”
“We are currently in Curlamanx’ holding,” Shefter answered. “How exactly do you know the duke?”
“My siblings and I bested him during the Apocalypse, and forced him to flee back here,” Sonja answered. “If this is his duchy, we should probably just keep moving.”
“It would seem unlikely that he would be looking for you here,” Shefter returned. “If anything, King Arku is looking for Kari, and possibly this syrinthian girl, though I suspect it is also possible he is currently sparring with King Sekassus over the incident when you crossed the border.”
Sonja shrugged away her anxiousness. “If you think it’s safe, I’ll trust your instincts.”
“Frankly, my back is telling me that sleeping in a bed again will be a welcome change,” Danilynn said, and she turned a wry smile toward Kari. “It’s been too many years since we camped out in the mountains, it would seem.”
Kari chuckled but didn’t bother explaining what Danilynn meant to their elven guide. She set her feet to follow Shefter again, thinking about the possibilities of a bath and a drink to warm her blood. Just a bed, as Danilynn said, would be a welcome change. It was possible they might be refused service by the inhabitants of the town, but Kari had the sack of marks that Amastri had given her, and she had to hope that the currency would be sufficient to overrule the fact that they were outsiders. The biggest possibility of trouble lay in the people of the town telling their king that Kari and her friends were there or had passed through, and that seemed highly unlikely.
They agreed to take the risk, and Shefter led them toward the village. In all honesty, it didn’t smell that bad, but the presence of concentrated waste made it easily identifiable among the more natural scents of the woodlands. The town was barely that: more of a central market and meeting place for those who lived in the nearby woods. From her initial glance, Kari could see what looked to be a general goods store, an open marketplace, an inn, a blacksmith, and a meeting hall. The wide street was dry but had the ruts and track-marks that said it was quite often muddy, and there was a dredged-out ditch that served as a gutter running down the slope toward the south.
There were a fair number of beshathans in the town, with the greatest concentrations being elestram and mallasti. Kari wondered what realms the valirasi, harmauths, and even sylinths were more prominent in, other than Sorelizar for the last of those. There were a few erestram here and there, and the ten-foot-tall wolf creatures stood out among their shorter peers. A couple wore armor and carried the long war scythes that were common among the lupine demons, and Kari assumed they might be town guards. The blacksmith was also erestram, and was busily hammering away at tools and other metal bits.
“We should not dally here,” Shefter said. “Let us find rooms at the inn, and restock our rations and travel supplies. The less time we spend on the streets, the better.”
“Agreed,” Kari said, and she turned to her friends. “Why don’t you two take Se’sasha and head to the inn, and see if you can get us two rooms? You two can pair up, and Se’sasha, Shefter, and I can share the other room. Or he can get his own, if he prefers.” The elf nodded to this last suggestion, probably out of modesty, Kari thought. “Better that no one’s sleeping alone, but if you don’t mind, Shefter, that’s up
to you. In the meantime, we’ll head to the market and get some fresh meat and some other hard rations for the road.”
Sonja and Danilynn agreed, so Kari split off a fair portion of the marks to let them go with Se’sasha to secure rooms for the night. The market wasn’t far from the inn, so they didn’t have to split up too soon. Kari gave Shefter the sack of marks to do business, since he knew the infernal tongue, and Kari wasn’t sure whether or not the people here spoke any of the languages she did. The elven ranger took the coins and headed straight for one of the stands with fresh game. Kari looked the selection over: it was mostly birds, but there was what appeared to be some venison as well, and the merchant also displayed a fair amount of jerky. Shefter began to haggle with the merchant, a narrow-eyed elestram who looked like a shrewd businessman.
Kari turned away from the haggling and looked out over the town. Late in the afternoon, there were a fair number of people walking the streets, particularly near the market, and Kari assumed many were purchasing food for their dinner. She wondered where the farms were, as there were fruit and vegetable stands among the stalls as well. Kari had always assumed the demons were carnivores, but again, here they were buying and selling fruits and vegetables, so she had to believe that wasn’t the case. Somewhere nearby, they had to be running farms to keep their kind fed; hunting alone couldn’t sustain their populations for long, and the myth that they went to Citaria to capture people as food wasn’t exactly supported by evidence – or logic.
