by Joe Jackson
“Don’t ask,” Kari said simply and quietly. “I’ve been assured it’s going to someone who wants it as a curiosity, not someone who intends to use it. I don’t like it, but that’s the bargain I made, and I have to trust it.”
Everyone went quiet, so Gwerine stood up and clapped her hands together. “Well, who’s hungry?” she asked, which roused everyone’s spirits. “How about we cook up some supper, and maybe you and Lawrence can tell us about some of your victories during the War?”
Kari was agreeable to that. Grakin helped Gwerine prepare the meal, and Lawrence showed Kari and her companions around the orchards a bit. He explained that life had been quiet and calm since his return from the War, something he was thankful to his God for. His wife and sons had managed to stay sheltered in Lajere through the darker years of the conflict, and the farm had been in good condition when they all returned. Things were profitable and he was living happily and comfortably, which he said was all he ever really wanted. Kari took his words in with a smile, wondering if she might find the same peace on the estate she had been given by the Duke.
Dinner was delicious and filling, and a nice break from the road rations Kari and her companions had been eating during their trip. Kari and Lawrence went back and forth trading their perspectives on several key battles during the War, but the one point both of them always agreed on was the brilliance of the Warlord, Kris Jir’tana. The brigadier general was more often called the Warlord, something Lawrence adhered to more than Kari. Their tales of his tactical brilliance impressed even Aeligos, who Kari knew had a keen tactical mind despite his lack of real experience in large-scale battles.
While most of them prepared the hay loft to be used for sleeping quarters, Aeligos and Typhonix went into town and sold off the horses and the carriage. As Aeligos expected, he was able to get a fair resale price on them, since horses were always in demand and the carriage was in good condition. They wouldn’t need the beasts or the carriage going forward: Sonja assured Kari that she could transport them to Atrice, which was the closest place she’d been to Se’ceria’s mysterious valley.
The farewell from Lawrence and his family the next morning was warm, and the captain and Kari exchanged promises to see each other when opportunities presented themselves. Kari did get one other thing from her talks with Lawrence: he gave her the names of several master tradesmen and exporters with whom he worked or sold his harvests to on the wholesale market. Kari was glad to have some clue who to speak to when she took over her estate, and Typhonix had also taken an interest in Kari’s affairs as a landowner.
Sonja took her companions to the clear area before the Machall farmhouse, and Kari was glad to see the confidence in her sister-in-law. After a final farewell, Sonja cast forth her arcane power, and it felt to Kari like she was suddenly grabbed and yanked sideways through a tunnel of wind. When her mind could focus again, Kari found herself and her friends on the road just east of Atrice.
*****
Atrice was a beautiful city. Liberated early in the War, Earl Jacob Morrigan had wasted no time rebuilding and fortifying his city. Where once it had been open and free to expand to its citizens’ desires, it now had a high wall and gates. Despite this militant addition, it was still one of the most picturesque cities on Askies Island, bordered on one side by the majestic peaks of the northern Barrier Mountains, and on a second side by the endless expanse of the Sandur Jungle. Its eastern face, by comparison, looked out over the broad plains of the northern heartlands. To the north was Dryad’s Lake and its waterfall, long a sight that tourists and adventurers alike went to see.
Kari wondered how many members of her Order had been sent to investigate the lake and its reported ability to capture souls. It brought Kari’s mind back to what Amastri had said about her master not being a collector of souls, and Kari realized it was a subject she honestly was rather ignorant about. She knew about possession, and she believed that people had souls that were drawn to their deity’s realms when they passed. Whether or not sorcerers or demons or demon kings could steal those souls and hold them prisoner, she wasn’t sure. She certainly hoped it wasn’t so, and from Amastri’s words, it seemed the part-elven woman felt the same.
Her belly gurgled, and Kari put her hand to it, concerned. She wasn’t sure what sort of effects, if any, using arcane transportation had on an unborn child. The others showed concern, but her stomach settled after a minute and she assured them everything was fine. Grakin came and touched the armor over her belly, and she fell lightly and happily into his embrace. She was just starting to really show, and it wouldn’t be much longer before her armor would be too tight. She could loosen the straps to accommodate a larger belly, but it would widen the seams on the sides and, she mused, she shouldn’t really be out adventuring when she was showing that much.
The group headed toward the city along with some light traffic coming in from the distant heartland farms or from other cities. The large, mixed group of rir and serilian-rir didn’t really attract that much attention, but people stopped or gave a wide berth when they saw Se’sasha. The syrinthian priestess was mindful of their fearful or distrustful glances, but she kept her attention on the road ahead and stayed close to Kari. Kari touched Se’sasha’s shoulder lightly, and the syrinthian girl looked up and tried to manage a smile.
The guards overseeing traffic at the gate watched Se’sasha with wary-eyed stares, but the humans did nothing to impede the group’s progress when they saw Kari’s dog tags. Once inside the gates, the group was assailed by the sights, sounds, and smells of a populous and busy city. Atrice wasn’t just a farming town: it was also a logging community, it had mines in the western mountains, and it was a stopping point for caravans coming through the mountain passes from the west coast. Humans, rir, and even the occasional elf filled the streets, though the elves were of the darker variety. Unlike their fair-skinned cousins of Laeranore, these were of darker skin tones that resembled the bark of the ancient trees they lived among.
Kari didn’t know much about the dark elves other than that they were as xenophobic as the elves of Laeranore. They preferred to live among their own kind, though occasionally they did appear in the towns near the mountains. Despite their reputation, they weren’t a marauding or hostile race, but they got antsy and had a tendency to go to war when people encroached on their lands. The ones here in Atrice didn’t look friendly, but they also didn’t appear to be troublesome. At least until one of them saw Se’sasha.
The dark elf didn’t attack, but he put his hand to his hilt and yelled at Se’sasha in the elven tongue. The dialect and accent were a little different than the one Kari knew, but she could understand what he said well enough: the snakes shall not return to the summer valley. Kari got between the elf and Se’sasha and held her hand up for calm. Before she could speak a word, a couple of human watchmen jogged over and demanded to know what was going on.
Kari introduced herself to the guards by name and rank, and after only the slightest delay of surprise, they saluted her respectfully. “I think our elven friend here was just a little surprised to see a syrinthian,” Kari explained, and only then did the guards fix their own suspicious gazes on the snake-woman. “She is under my authority and protection, and we’re just passing through. We want no trouble, not with your city or with the elf or his people.”
“The snakes shall not return to the summer valley,” the elf warned again, in the common trade tongue this time.
“I wonder if he’s one of the ones that attacked us when we found Se’ceria,” Eli mused, putting his hand menacingly on the head of his hammer. The gesture drew warning glances from the guards, but the half-corlyps didn’t back down.
“Calm down, everyone,” Danilynn said, stepping forward. She glanced at the elf. “This priestess is going to the summer valley to put an end to what happened there, not to cause any more harm or grief. I’d consider it a favor if you went back to your people and let them know that. We don’t want any part of trouble while we pass ne
ar your people’s lands.”
“You are fools to trust these creatures,” the elf said, gesturing toward Se’sasha. “If your leader is a hunter of the Order, we shall trust you for now. But we will be watching you. If she betrays your trust, her life will end swiftly and mercilessly.”
You have no idea, Kari thought, but she brushed such thoughts aside as quickly as they'd come. She had no reason thus far to not trust Se’sasha, and she didn’t want to start thinking about the likelihood of betrayal or having to put an end to the priestess' life. Instead, she simply nodded, and the elf moved off without any further trouble. The guards continued to stare at the group before them, though, on the one hand being respectful of Kari’s position, while on the other hand seeming unsure what to do about the syrinthian’s presence.
“Where is the baron’s home?” Kari asked, trying to get the guards’ minds off of Se’sasha and also get some useful information from them.
“Which baron? There are several,” one of the men returned.
“Lord Jacob Morrigan,” Kari said, and though there were several strange sounds from her friends, no one spoke up before the guards answered.
“With all due respect, ma’am, Lord Morrigan is the Earl of Montgomery, not a baron. You can find his state house up the north main road,” the guard answered.
“My apologies,” Kari said, and after returning the stiff salutes of the guards, she led her friends farther into the city to try to find the Earl’s home. She glanced over her shoulder at Ty and he chuckled at her, but Kari simply rolled her eyes. Nobility and titles were things she was still trying to get a grip on. She didn’t even know what her official title had been when rising to Sword of the Heavens had given her a minor noble status; she couldn’t keep track of any of it.
They passed through the city, and Aeligos and Typhonix broke off from the rest of the group to pick up supplies for their pending trip into the mountains. Kari had little doubt that the two could find the Earl’s home when they were finished. She led the rest of her friends west and then north up what seemed like the main road. There was little doubt after they took to the north road, as farther along there was a large, stately house situated on a rise. It wasn’t a mansion or a palace by any stretch, but it was a sizeable home, and Kari recognized it from her time in Atrice during the War. The city had changed a bit, but the house looked as she remembered it. She wondered how she didn’t remember the Earl’s title, though; had he never corrected her when she’d called him Baron before?
The Earl’s steward seemed quite surprised to have such a large group show up at the home unannounced. Kari introduced herself and asked the steward to tell the Earl she was there to see him. Dannilyn asked him to further inform the Earl that she and Eli were there, and Kari remembered that they’d found the Earl’s missing daughter before the War. Once he knew who to announce, the steward had the butler lead the group to the fireplace room. Kari sat beside Grakin, and the others took seats where they could, but no one sat in the nicest of the seats near the fireplace. That certainly had to be the Earl’s, and no one wanted to make the mistake of taking the lord of the county’s seat. Little Gray kept trying to go to the fire, but Kari kept yanking him back by the tail. Serilian-rir or not, she didn’t want her son playing with the fire.
“Oh my,” came a voice from the hallway after only a couple of minutes. The Earl was in his sixties but in good physical shape. He looked like he could pick up a sword and help defend his own city and county if he had to. He was pale-skinned with short white hair and bushy brows, and he had a well-kept goatee that helped offset his pointed chin. There was such fire and life in his green eyes still, and Kari got a full measure of it as his gaze swept from her to Danilynn and Eli and back again. “How it warms my heart to have such visitors, and without even inviting them.”
Kari rose to her feet, as did the others. “Your Lordship,” she greeted him formally, but she saluted him as a demonhunter.
“Please, please,” he said, approaching quickly and taking Kari’s hand in a firm shake. “The woman who helped liberate my city need not be so formal. Call me Jacob – and that goes for the rest of you as well while you are my guests here. Lady Vanador, it is such an honor to have you in my city and household again.”
“Well, if I get to call you Jacob, then I insist you call me Kari,” she returned with a smile.
Jacob chuckled and turned to the others. “Danilynn, Eli: it is good to see you again.” Danilynn bowed to the Earl but Eli went for the more casual handshake, neither of which drew any protest from the old Earl. “The people who saved my daughter’s soul and the woman who secured my peoples’ freedom, in my home at the same time. I should say, this is a blessed day, but such a group…”
He paused as he met Se’sasha’s eyes, and the syrinthian priestess bowed politely. “Your Lordship,” she said, echoing Kari’s greeting and surprising her traveling companions.
Jacob nodded politely but his eyes turned back to Kari. “I must assume you are here on business, to bring such a creature to my city and my home.”
Kari held her hand up. “Jacob, I know you’ve probably heard a lot about the syrinthians, but this priestess, Se’sasha, is a turncoat. She’s come to Citaria at great personal risk to help us fight against their king.”
“Is that so?” the Earl asked, and Se’sasha bowed her head curtly under his gaze once again. “Fortunately, our city was spared any disaster related to whatever it was her people did up in the mountains. I have Danilynn, Eli, and their friends to thank for that. But if you ask me to trust any of her people, I am going to politely inform you that such is unlikely to ever happen. I am an old man, quite set in my ways, and I have seen too much to change where I lay my trust.”
Jacob walked over and uncorked a glass ewer of whiskey or scotch, and poured himself a short glass. “Help yourselves if you would like a drink,” he said, and he made his way over to sit by the fireplace with his spirit. “So tell me, Lady…Kari: do you take this woman back to the valley where her people were causing such trouble before?”
“Yes,” Kari answered. “There’s one thing left to do to put that entire matter to rest, and Se’sasha is the only one who can do it. While we’re there, we’ll take a look around and make sure there aren’t any stragglers that might still cause your county trouble.”
Jacob chuckled. “After this many years, if they have not already, it seems unlikely they will ever do so,” he said. “I do, however, regret that the czarikk are no longer in the valley. I always found them to be curious but fascinating neighbors, and I, for one, took great pleasure in those few times when they came to the city to trade.”
“The czarikk came here, to Atrice?” Kari asked, shocked. Czarikk weren’t particularly fond of outsiders; to visit their cities seemed well out of character for the reclusive lizardfolk.
“Very rarely, but at times they would, yes,” the Earl said. “They knew that we typically have an abundance of food and textiles, so in seasons where they had shortages of either, we would occasionally see them come to the city to trade.” Little Gray walked up and tried to hop up on the Earl’s lap while he spoke, and Jacob laughed. “Whoa! And who is this young man?”
“This is our son, Grakin junior,” Kari said, placing her hand on Grakin’s.
Jacob smiled and stared at Little Gray for several long minutes. “It is good to see that the War has not had a lasting hold, even on its fiercest fighters,” he said. “I think you, of all people, deserved a blessing like this. So, anyway, getting back to our discussion, the czarikk would come to the city with trinkets and odds and ends made from wood, or jewelry made from wood and plant fibers. Their works were curiosities to the people here, mostly, but they were always able to find buyers, and then use their coin to buy the things their people needed. They never made any effort to establish diplomacy, but they were agreeable people, all things considered.”
Kari smiled but didn’t bother to start talking about her own experiences among the czarikk, or the fac
t that she was their deity’s adopted daughter. Aeligos and Typhonix arrived and quick introductions were made. As Ty stood in the doorway, Jacob saw the hilt of the katana across his back, and Kari could tell that the Earl knew what and whose it was on sight. The katana was not a common weapon, and just the sight of one tended to remind people of Seril’s murderous son and the ones he carried. Kari tried to gesture for Typhonix to put the sword somewhere out of sight, but he didn’t notice or didn’t pick up on what she was trying to tell him.
“That…that is Taesenus’ sword, is it not?” the Earl stammered after a minute. “I know you took it from him, Lady Vanador, but…why would you carry such a horrible thing with you, let alone bring it into my house?”
“Jacob, I’m sorry,” Kari said quickly. “We’re taking it somewhere to get rid of it, and it slipped my mind that we shouldn’t let you see it. I’m sorry.”
The Earl stayed silent for a minute, his eyes unfocused. Kari knew the look on his face: he was trying very hard not to cry in front of his guests. She wanted to kick herself for not even thinking about what bringing the sword into his presence might do, and she wondered that neither Danilynn nor Eli had thought of it either. The Earl stood up. “I have things I must see to,” he said. “Please, show yourselves out.”
He left the room without another word, and Kari sighed and shook her head. Grakin laid his hand on her shoulder, but she didn’t bother to take the time feeling sorry for herself or the Earl. She got to her feet and gestured for her friends to follow, and they left the Earl’s house solemnly. After only a brief walk, they found a suitable inn and arranged for rooms; the day was still young, but Kari was all too happy to take a rest before any mountainous forays. She wasn’t sure if she should return to the Earl’s house the next morning and apologize again, but it was on her mind for the rest of the day.
After supper, Danilynn and Eli took the time to explain where they were headed. They said it would likely only take two or three days to reach their destination – four, if Kari needed to stop for rest often. Kari was nervous about taking Little Gray to the valley itself, but the others figured they should be safe in such a good-sized group. The valley was southwest of Atrice, and there was a climb to reach the lip of the valley, but Danilynn assured them that the travel wasn’t that difficult: she and her friends had gone there several times without the aid of climbing gear or pack animals.
