"As I have done everything. I will show them. We must show them. I need your help in this, Celos. They look at me as a woman. I am strong, yes, but I am not truly one of them. You are. Most of the Knights of Leander look to me and love me, but it is not the same love that they have for you. They follow me into battle and to lead them in Leander's glory, but while they may fight for me and for Saint Leander through me, it is you they seek to emulate."
Celos nodded. "I see where your thoughts lie."
"Will you aid me? Will you help me teach these people? We can and we will punish the brutes but these people—all people—must also see the good that can come of virtuous behavior."
"As always, Dame Aleena, it seems our fates are bound together."
Aleena's eyes sparkled as she smiled. "Sir Celos, I have a hard time imagining anyone else at my side."
Celos's eyes narrowed for a moment but then his smile washed away the shadow that crossed his face.
"Come, let us request an audience with Her Majesty," Aleena said. "If we can gain her support, then perhaps we can stop this before it's truly begun."
Celos nodded and fell in beside her as they walked back through the tunnels of the mountain the dragon Sarya had once made her lair. Ketten stiffened when he saw them and moved to stand in front of the door that had been constructed in the tunnel.
"Dame Aleena, Sir Celos," he greeted them. "You've returned quicker than I expected."
"Expected, or hoped?" Celos asked with a smirk.
"Ketten, we must speak with her."
He nodded. "I understand your concerns, but—"
"Do you?" Aleena challenged him. "Do you understand why it's so important?"
Ketten's eye twitched as he met her unrelenting gaze. He sighed and glanced away. "I understand your desire to speak with her," he amended.
"You have no wife or children, do you?" Celos asked him.
"What?" Ketten turned to the paladin and shook his head. "No, of course not. What woman would be fool enough to marry a man who spent more time hunting and trapping in the mountains than at home?"
"You don't do much hunting and trapping anymore, though," Aleena pointed out.
Ketten sighed. "And I've no want for taking a goblin for a wife! We're a bit short of eligible maids around here."
"Any sisters or nieces?" Celos asked.
Ketten's cheeks twitched as the man tightened his jaw. He nodded. "Last I knew, my brother has a daughter. I've not been to see them in years though, so it's no—"
Celos waved his explanation off. "Take a moment and think of what might happen if there was war between your queen and the Kingdom? Do you think she would be safe because she's a woman and a child?"
Ketten looked him straight in the eye and answered, "I reckon she'd just as likely be raped and killed. Maybe even cooked over a fire and eaten. Ogres aren't too picky when it comes to their meals."
Aleena's breath slipped through her lips in a gasp. "You're okay with this?"
Ketten shrugged. "Said I ain't seen them in years. Don't matter, though, not whether they want nothing to do with me or not. I'm Queen Rosalyn's man and that's all there is to it."
"You'd give up everything for her? Even your humanity?"
Ketten hesitated a moment before saying, "She already took what I got. Besides, things are good around here. A man like me could do a lot worse for himself."
Aleena opened her mouth but fell silent when the large doors behind Ketten opened to reveal an ogre staring at them. His arms hung slack at his sides and his eyes were dull. Ketten frowned and stepped to the side.
The ogre raised one hand and pointed at both of them. "Come." It stepped back and turned around before shuffling up the passage.
Aleena and Celos spared a look and then glanced at Ketten. "That's the queen's new puppet," he said. "You'd best be on your way. Don't keep the queen waiting!"
"How did she know we were here?" Celos asked.
Ketten let out a sharp laugh. "Told you, she's a witch!"
Aleena caught Celos's eye and nodded, and then started through the door and followed the ogre up the tunnel to the chambers Queen Rosalyn used to conduct her private affairs. The smaller room was large enough to hold court in, given she never met more than one person or party at a time. A large opening in one wall led to another room, this one larger and much cooler as the roof was absent. The room was the caldera of the ancient volcano, where Sarya had fallen to the warrior Alto.
The ogre stopped and stared into the caldera, silently guiding them. Aleena nodded and offered him a smile but his dead eyes showed no recognition of the small act of kindness. She moved past him while a chill made the plate mail on her shoulders shift and rustle.
Clad in a red dress that wrapped around her frail body in an almost serpentine fashion, Queen Rosalyn stood in the midst of the smooth stone floor. She stared up at the intricate silver statue of the deposed dragon, Sarya. The queen turned away once Aleena and Celos stopped and Celos cleared his throat. As she turned, the rays from the sun caught the ruby eyes of the statue and reflected glittering red lights about the room. Rosalyn's eyes seemed have a fading hint of redness to them as she turned towards them.
"Dame Aleena and Sir Celos, welcome," she said before nodding her head to them.
Aleena curtsied as best her armor would allow while Celos bowed. After they straightened, Aleena glanced at Celos, deferring to him. He turned his head enough to catch her hesitation and pressed his lips together in a disapproving line that she knew all too well.
"You disapprove of how Graak handles his men?" Rosalyn prompted them.
Aleena gasped. "How did you know?"
Rosalyn swept her hand around in a wide arc. "I rule this land now. I make it my business to know. What sort of a ruler would I be if I did not know my people's minds? What future would I have if I was not aware of any who might plot treachery within my realm?"
"Your Majesty, what Graak permits is not humane. It is violent and brutal. It is shameful, for his actions are a direct representation of you. If he does a thing such as this, it seems as though it is done with your approval."
The queen was silent for a moment as she tilted her head to consider Aleena's question. "Does he get results?"
"At what cost?" Aleena asked. "Do you wish your neighbors to fear you? Do you want them to build higher and thicker walls so that you have trouble trading with them? Would you risk them feeling threatened and going to war with you?"
"You disapprove then?" Rosalyn asked.
Aleena nodded. "Yes, I disagree with his methods."
"Do you think you could do a better job?"
Aleena stiffened even as she heard Celos suck in his breath. "My lady?" she asked.
"You have proved your mettle to me time and again, Aleena. Your principles are unmatched and your resourcefulness is remarkable. You truly possess Leander's blessing and succeed where others would fail time and again. Whether you are proud of it or not, defeating the wood elves would not have been possible for us without the help of yourself and the Knights of Leander."
Aleena curtsied again. "Thank you, Your Highness."
Rosalyn favored her with a slight smile. "So I tell you now, if you wish to be my general, I will grant you the position. We seek the enlightenment of the world to a new age where people can do as they wish without fear of being treated differently because of their race. Will you do me this honor and become my sword?"
Aleena turned to look at Celos with her mouth hanging open. Celos's brow furrowed and then his shoulders shifted as he offered a small shrug to the paladin. "Seems a good place to campaign for your beliefs," he offered.
Aleena clamped her lips together and nodded. She swallowed and turned back to the queen in her dress that was both conservative and provocative at the same time. "Your Majesty, the honor is mine!"
Rosalyn smiled wide enough for her white teeth to shine in the shadows of the tall caldera. "You need only send a message to Graak and let him know, but be warned, he may not
be pleased with this change."
Aleena's smile faded. She nodded and said, "No, I expect he won't be. For what I witnessed, his crimes demand punishment. I shall mete out that punishment and let it stand as an example of how a proper civilization should behave."
"Yes, you most certainly will," Rosalyn said. "Rest the night and ride out in the morning. Ketten will alert the citizens in Dragonfall of your new appointment. Congratulations, General."
Chapter 3
"This is miserable," the large man grumbled while peeling a sheet of skin from his shoulder.
Another man, this one much older and smoking a pipe, cackled. "Told you not to take your shirt off!"
"We've been down here long enough," the tall northerner argued. "Even out to sea it's not this bad!"
"It's the sand," another man replied as he cleaned the pipes he held.
"Aye, the sand's too damn hot too!" he complained.
Another man, this one a dwarf, tossed a skin filled with water to him. "Bah! Quit your bellyaching. Garrick, giant killer and dragon slayer, laid low by a suntan."
"This is no tan!" Garrick protested as he held up the several inch wide sheet of skin he'd pulled off his shoulder. Elsewhere, his chest, arms, and back were uneven with bubbles of trapped sweat beneath his scorched outer layer of skin.
"Give it a rest," Alto said as he walked back into the firelight of their camp. His face showed a lack of humor "We've lost her trail. The winds have blown it clean."
"Where's Carson?" Namitus, the man with the pipes, asked him.
Alto grunted and jerked his head behind him towards the darkness. "Still looking. He's a better tracker than I am by far, but no one's that good." He glanced around the people sitting near the fire and frowned. "Where's Trina?"
Patrina answered for the others as she stepped out of the darkness on the far side of the camp. "Here. I had some personal matters to attend."
Alto frowned. "You shouldn't wander off alone."
"Why, are you wanting to aim it for me?"
Garrick jerked and twisted his head to look at her. His lips parted and he turned back to Alto. "Aim it?" he echoed in a whisper. "Aim what?"
Alto blushed and looked away. "No, I just mean…"
"Wait a minute, you ain't like that witch in Mira, are you? What was her name? Arc—"
"Arcturia." Kar removed the pipe from his mouth and supplied his friend's name for the barbarian. "And no, I hardly think she's like that. Look at her."
Garrick took the opportunity and leered at Patrina. Her suit of armor was indecent at best, offering scant chain-link protection of her breasts and midsection before joining a skirt made of pleated strips of metal that fell to her mid-thigh only if she pulled them down. She continued to wear that magical armor both because it had been a gift of the powerful troll shaman, Thork, and because it had proved itself to be more protective than any leather jack or even plated armor she'd tried on. As unlikely as it seemed, the revealing armor served to both distract her foes and protect her when they did find a way to strike at her.
"I still squat to pee, if that's what you mean," Patrina said with all the grace and subtlety of her rugged Kelgryn upbringing.
Alto rolled his eyes and caught Karthor laughing silently at him. Alto scowled and tossed a small rock towards the priest of Leander.
Carson walked back into the firelight and slowed to look about when he saw everyone laughing. He shrugged a moment later and said, "We can keep heading to the north and west if you'd like, but with as much land as there is out here, I don't hold much hope for finding her."
Alto frowned and took out his sword to study the blade. It was an unnecessary gesture; his sword had been forged of dwarven steel and infused with the magic of Saint Leander and Saint Jarook, as well as Kar's own wizardry as he sought to bind the unlikely religious forces together using Alto's soul as a medium. He felt better with the sword in his hand, though, and without blood to spill, inspecting it for imagined imperfections was the best justification he had.
Mordrim walked over and clapped Garrick on the shoulder as he sat down. Garrick's breath hissed between his clenched teeth while the dwarf asked, "Why did you come with us? You could have lived a fine life with Lady Badawi."
Alto's lip curled up in a sneer. He hated the name his sister was forced to take. She'd opted to stay in the capital of Shazamir after they'd freed her of the Order of the Dragon's clutches. Her husband was dead and she'd inherited his position. She had no blood tie to the throne of Shazamir, making her a noble but not a royal.
"I don't belong in a city," Garrick glanced at Alto and said with a shrug. "Especially one stuck in all this heat. My heart longs for the mountain wind. She's a fine woman, in spite of her brother."
Mordrim chuckled and even Alto was forced to smile. Patrina settled in beside him and laid her hand on his thigh and her head on his shoulder.
"I expect we're all pining for home," Patrina said.
Carson took a swig from his flask and shrugged. "Speak for yourself. My home's been an abandoned island with only a giant abusive monkey for company. I'll stick to wandering, if you don't mind."
After the chuckles died down, Karthor cleared his throat and stood up. "Seems I need to find the jakes too. Alto, would you like to help me?"
Raucous laughter followed as well as a few suggestions that the leader of the small group could aim it for him. Karthor wandered off into the darkness and a thoughtful silence settled over the group. When the priest returned, Alto nodded to him and flashed him a brief smile before he cleared his throat.
"I promised Jethallin I'd take her with us," he began. "But then she ran off on her own four days before we could even leave the city to look for her. She helped us and for that I'm thankful, but I don't know where or how to help her. We've driven the Order from Shazamir for a while, I think."
"North a day's ride and we'll find a small coastal village," Kar offered. "Big enough we could buy a trip across the Sea of Broken Shards and find proper transport in Peltarch. It's that or back to Mira or northwest to Mistmoor. Could find us a ship there too, but it'd be a few more days out of our way."
"Peltarch and then north," Alto said. He turned to Carson. "Didn't you say you were born there?"
Carson nodded. "Yes, but that was a long time ago. I don't remember much of it, to be honest."
Patrina turned her head to look at the woodsman. "No family?"
"No," Carson said. He shrugged his shoulders and reached over to grab his quiver of arrows. Without offering anything else, he pulled out his arrows and began inspecting them for signs of wear or damage.
Alto felt Patrina twist around to look up at him. He offered a smile and a brush of his lips against hers. She smiled and burrowed in against him. Her metal armor felt comfortable against his hip and side and helped to convey her warmth through his clothing. He felt a stirring that suggested he take her back into the wilderness but knew better. She'd probably welcome it but he wasn't ready for that.
"What's wrong?" Patrina whispered so that only he could hear. "I can't wait to get home and get back to a normal life."
A normal life? He hadn't had a normal life since he was sixteen and goblins attacked his father. Returning home now meant Holgasford and the planning for his and Patrina's wedding would resume. He loved her dearly, but he felt like he had so much yet to do. The Order had to be stopped and then there was the troubles in the mountains Garrick had spoken of. He offered her a smile and admitted, "I'm just worried about what waits for us."
"In Peltarch?"
"There, and beyond."
Patrina frowned. "That's right! Thork said one of Shazamir's children rules there. Is it safe for us to go that way?"
"Doesn't matter," Alto said. "If the ruler of Peltarch serves the Order, I will destroy him. It won't be safe for him by the time I'm done."
"Awfully sure of yourself," Karthor said with a smile from where he sat a few feet away.
Alto glanced up at him and met his gaze. The young thane
nodded and smiled. "With such friends at my side, how could I fail?"
Karthor chuckled. "Haven't we explored that possibility many times now? I'd just as soon we didn't find any new ways to tempt fate."
Patrina shifted against Alto and spoke up. "The Order is a great darkness in this world. You don't mean to tell me a representative of Leander, the patron saint of light and good, is shirking his duty?"
Karthor snorted. "Don't think to use your feminine wiles against me. I took an oath."
Kar choked and coughed from the far side of the campfire. "What? You said Leander didn't demand such foolishness!"
Karthor rolled his eyes. "Father, that's not the oath I'm speaking about. I meant the one to fight back the forces of evil in the world."
Kar harrumphed and clamped his pipe between his teeth. He sat down and nodded. "Good!" he muttered around the pipe. "And see to it that stays the only one."
Alto chuckled and shook his head. Karthor met his eyes and let his guard down long enough to show both his irritation and concern for the wizard. Alto swallowed the sudden lump out of his throat. As difficult as Kar sometimes made his son's life, at least he was around to do so. Alto's father had been murdered along with the rest of his family save his sister.
"You've had a rough time lately," Karthor said to Alto, snatching him from his thoughts. "I want to make sure your head remains clear."
"Yes, it's clear," Alto said. "I'm fighting the Order to protect my family, both Caitlyn and all of us here, as well as the people in both the Kingdom and Kelgryn."
"Hey!" Garrick grunted. "What about my people?"
"But you're so big," Mordrim piped up. "Can't you fight for them? Maybe you could throw your spent skin and make them think you're a leper?"
The barbarian turned to the dwarf and growled. Alto and Karthor turned away and let the two unlikely friends bicker. "We'll start with Peltarch and then head north," Alto said as a plan began to come together for him. "I won't go out of my way to root out the Order. I know better than that, no matter what I may have said before. Our future lies to the north. We must figure out what's going on in the north. Once that's done, it's well past time I made an honest woman of Patrina."
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