Traitor to the King

by Clare SM Keating

  Jarl was not sure he’d chosen the right person to look for as Ling was clearly a little higher maintenance then he had imagined her to be. Still, he had found one of Anouk’s group and… stunned by the overall manner and mix of intelligence within the sentences, Jarl almost forgot completely why he was looking for her. But the mention of Sarag slapped the urgency back into the situation and with a swift shake of his head in surprise, Jarl managed to pull himself from Ling’s grip and grab her firmly by the shoulders. Her eyes became wide with fear as for the first time in her life this admittedly handsome but far too arrogant gentleman, who was only recently married, pinned her in place. She clenched her fists in preparation to punch his teeth out until she noticed the panic flickering in his eyes and the desperation too. Why else would a gentleman like him be up here, in this inn, looking for her unless there was some serious trouble going on?

  “Listen, I need your help to get out into the swamp. Damara believes there’s a stone out there and she’s gone with a bunch of dangerous looking soldiers at the behest of Lord Lutas to find it. She’s in serious peril and I know it probably doesn’t mean anything to you, but I don’t trust the general one little bit.” By this time Sarag had pulled himself out of a room filled with some particularly uncomfortable leather clothes and looked a little startled by Jarl’s eyes snapping on his. But the young gentleman swiftly lifted the leather jerkin he’d removed to show the massive burnt hole in the middle from where he’d been practicing his magic. But when Sarag’s ears twitched at the mention of Lutas’ men his face scowled and he pushed over to Ling’s side before she could lift a hand and make a point of being interrupted. Jarl was pleased by the expression of urgency upon Sarag’s face but when he was then grasped at the shoulders and given a firm shake Jarl almost punched the young man as well. However, the question of whether the general had been marked with a scar made Jarl’s face drop. “Yes... one across the nose... I don’t recall a soldier looking like that, but the voice was very, very familiar.”

  “That’s because it’s General Ynvirius; he’s Ijah’s father and a total bastard. He’s got the best bowman outside of the patrols and guard but he’s not really part of the army so much as styles himself as a mercenary. He and the Lutas household go back years and they’re not to be trusted... if the rumours were true then the scar on his nose was from Damara’s father in a fight over the execution of his brother for failing at his post.” Sarag stated and Jarl’s face only became more depressive and weak as he realised his mistake in not having pulled her away and rumbled the party immediately. Sarag then turned to Ling, looking at her for ideas and suggestions as she froze in attempting to remove the leather money pouch from within Jarl’s robes. The moment he realised he swatted her hands away and growled at her to take the situation more seriously. Ling just snorted gently before looking back up the stairs and grimacing before grasping both men at the shoulders.

  “Here’s the plan... Sarag go below and find Anouk, she needs to know exactly what is going on up here. Meanwhile Jarl and I will track them and make sure that nothing happens to Damara.” Ling stated before patting Sarag into gear and then grasping Jarl firmly by the wrist with a grin. “Come with me, it would be better if you weren’t dressed so fancy, but you’ll just have to cope with the swamp smell.”

  Anouk sat inside the master bedroom of the household with an anxious expression upon her face. She did not like violating this sacred space within the house, no one did and she still recalled her mother's fear for years that the ghost of Anouk’s grandfather remained within. After he’d died bleeding from his wounds in the city plaza, his body had been brought back to sit upon his side of the bed next to where his wife had died for three days to allow everyone to visit and honour him. Anouk remembered that time with tears, never wanting to leave him unless her father or Loteg urged her away... but she was not thinking about the death whenever she came into the room. Instead she looked to the desk, the open journal and the undisturbed quill and ink as if he were still sitting there ready to listen to her sorrows again. Although Anouk could not bring herself to claim this room and in that way, take over the Benaga Household completely, she did like to come here to voice her thoughts and her fears. Right now, her conversation with Loteg rang around her head and she pondered over the way she had reacted to Damara’s story and just what her grandfather would have done. Barbanos would always have listened to Anouk’s stories; he knew that she was never one to lie and that when she put her faith to something it was always something profound. He had never told her off for wanting the foreigners to have better rights or the orphans, he’d been the one to champion such things after-all... and he would have done everything to make sure Damara’s thoughts were checked. He would have done so doubly, not purely for the sake of the King but for the fact Damara had never lied or joked about anything in her life. But Anouk breathed a sigh of disbelief at her own faith in the matter and remained sitting in cross-legged contemplation trying to think of what to do when she noticed something unusual within the room she had previously never noticed.

  It was a curious thing to get excited about, but the interest was purely because it had not existed within the full spectrum of her memories as sitting there. Gently Anouk unfolded her legs and pulled herself up before pacing across the stone floor towards the massive bed, trembling as she stretched out her hand to touch something tied to the rope about the canopy curtains. It should have stuck out like a sore thumb to her every time she’d come into the room, after-all the bed sheets were all dark blue and the curtains were silvery-grey, and she was staring at a strand of some red and white fabric. But it was not really fabric, it appeared like bandage material that had been clumsily tangled up in the black rope around the curtains. She pondered if perhaps it had been from her grandfather, but as she looked to the red on the shred she realised it had been from fresh blood. No such memory of her grandfather ever bleeding in the bedroom leapt into her mind and without too much thought Anouk stretched out her hand and grasped the bandage. The moment she did she regretted it as she collapsed onto the floor, landing heavily on her side with her eyes open and saw some strange memory inside her head.

  The memory was of her as a child, she must have been only about eight or nine years old, rushing out into a howling storm on the surface with a basket containing either food, water or a basic medical kit. She had been too young to really understand how to use it, but she’d crossed the grasses above without fear to the shed where the cattle and horses were kept where she’d found that poor....

  The memory cut out and Anouk gave a scream of anger and upset that alerted the Dreggs into galloping up the stairs. There were other sounds of feet heading towards her and Anouk grasped the fabric of the bed and yanked herself up as she recognised the sounds of her companions screaming for her help. Well, she could recognise that Talon was calling for her, but she could not quite remember the voice of the woman calling! Still, with a groan as she tried to push out the strange flashback that had made her chest burn as if she’d eaten badly, Anouk stepped to the bedroom door and out of it as the three Yellow Dreggs began to lap at her arm frantically as if she’d burnt herself. As she patted their heads and reassured them it had just been some weird moment of weakness, Anouk padded down the hall towards her bedroom and spotted Jarl’s wife Kirlia clambering up the top of the stairs with a look of horror upon her face. She beckoned Anouk over, lifting her arm and speaking her name with gasps of exhaustion and behind her Talon scrambled up to waddle past the Dreggs and grasp Anouk’s feet.

  “Anouk... Anouk... Anouk!” He whimpered in exasperation as she bent down and stroked his forehead. He was caked in sweat and his eyes seemed bloodied as if he’d barely dared to breathe on his way to her. As Anouk looked about she realised that Damara and Karani were not present and she grit her teeth in preparation to roar if Kirlia was here to say Jarl had upset her sister. But Talon grasped at her neat black trousers with a whimper and she stared down at his pathetic form in upset. “Damara’s g
one to the surface... she went to Lutas and somehow, he helped her go up there... Jarl’s gone after her to try and stop them... she’s convinced the Karayan saw the stone too!”

  “What? Are you serious?” Anouk’s eyes widened with rage and her horrendous green fire exploded about her, making the Dreggs shrink back giving little squeaks of upset and Talon roll out of the way of her rage. It had been a while since the Lord of the Benaga Household had been this angry and for some reason the Karayan was involved with it again! She wanted to rip his head off and without thought began marching straight past the woman collapsed on her stairs with a clear thought in her mind that she was going to fight the monster. Talon called out after her and it did nothing but encourage Anouk to assume that he thought she would not be able to fight the maniac, but Anouk would! All she needed was to know exactly where Damara had gone and then she could track down her sister and get her back home where it was guaranteed to be safe. Already Anouk could hear herself grounding the young woman for the rest of her life and finding some sweet husband for the girl that was guaranteed never to let her leave the house! Anouk was so angry she could not even see in front of her beyond the green fire as she stepped down the last steps out to the pathway and bounced straight into the body of the aforementioned Karayan.

  The moment their bodies made contact the pair of them jumped in surprise, but the Karayan shot out a hand and grasped Anouk gently by the shoulder to stop her falling over. When she shook the fire from her body and realised what had just happened, Anouk lifted her hand and swatted him away from her, swearing at him loudly for what had happened with her sister. The Karayan’s citron eyes narrowed with irritation and a dark aura seemed to form around him that made Anouk’s body quiver with fear as the being gave a growl beneath his mask of mangled teeth and black cloth. The figure turned on his heel and without even thinking about it he grasped Anouk by the wrist again and started to drag her away; she could hardly protest as he swiftly explained he was going to take her to find Damara and the stone! Anouk could only call out to Talon to find Yeruell and warn them of what was going on; she had not even considered the fact she was going to be dragged out through the square without a scarf over her hair!

  “The swamp extends up to the tree line; if your thoughts are right then we’ve still got a good long march ahead before we reach it. So far, we haven’t had any trouble but none of you are to think of anything unpleasant or to doubt Damara’s thoughts in case we lure in something wretched. Keep your mouths covered and your eyes on the ground for any Boodoo. It’s nearing midday so they aren’t usually too active in the brightest hours.” General Ynvirius snarled as he led the group onward through the thick water ways of mud and poisonous wretches. With the spare clothes they’d been dressed into the girls were completely sealed from leeches and Boodoo beasts, but there was always the risk of a general attack and they were very afraid. Their delight for being on the surface and then to ride on the Viren River, paddling hard against the mighty torrent, had been cooled the moment they’d come within smelling distance of the swamp. It had begun to rain as well, dark clouds smothering up Nabuto’s light, so they had been more comfortable to look about them at the dank misery of the wretched marsh lands. The smell of the decaying flesh and the dark aura of the land had been enough to make Karani vomit straight into the water, but the moment she had some tentacle bearing creature had stretched probing feelers out in search of her, only to have them cut off by a sharp dagger. It had been their first encounter with something malevolent aside from the Tunnel Attack and neither wanted to repeat the encounter again. So, they’d remained quiet and dutiful as they’d waded through the sticky black mixture, onward toward the trees and the terrifying peaks of the central Giroff Mountains.

  These mountains were nothing either of the girls could ever have imagined seeing before and they were humbled each time their eyes spotted the spiralling columns of mist forming halfway up the slopes to smother their true peaks from view. The rocks appeared black and grey, not natural soft shades of brown and grey like there was beneath the earth... the air they brought to the group was exciting, cooling, fresh but laced with a strange tinge of pine that made their tongues taste bitter and their faces screw up in displeasure. The scent of the world above was overwhelmingly unpleasant, and the swamp water was the greatest source of this foul stench.

  The general ushered the girls to the head of the group, much to the grimace and dismay of his five men as he encouraged them that it was time to be on guard. There were several sideways glances and uncomfortable expressions upon the faces of the figures, if only because they were expecting trouble, expecting death and perhaps up to something. Even Karani could sense that something was due as she trudged through the knee-high water, ignoring the sensation of catfish and barbarous swamp wretches shuffling about her legs. Damara seemed to be ignored by the creatures, they seemed intent on ignoring her and perhaps it was because she was looking for the stone or perhaps….

  Karani spotted a proboscis lifting out of the water ahead of Damara; it was a thin pale, reed-like form but with a little row of spikes above the edge of the tube. It was snuffing at the air visibly and though she did not really understand what it was at first, Karani knew it was aiming toward Damara. She trudged with added speed, ignoring the sensations of the creatures within the muck as she aimed to get beside her companion and defend her. When Damara froze, spotting the proboscis herself there was a sudden sound like a baby crying and Damara tilted her head to the side in confusion. The moment she dared to do such a thing the men screamed for them to bolt but the creature lunged out with a strange whistling sound – straight toward Damara!

  She gave a shriek and fell backwards into the water with her legs up in the air, the way the Boodoo intended but Karani reacted. With a sudden slap of her hands she was able to pull a white ball out of the air and slap it into the beast. There was a screaming sound again as the ball slammed into the creature and seemed to burn it with a burst of heat and power. Then Karani was able to slump into the mud in front of Damara as the beast fell into it and stab her sword down. Once the water was given a blue stain and the soupy mix given a few chunks, Karani pulled her blade up and straightened herself before lifting Damara up. The two women burst into tears with sorrow and then, quite suddenly, they were hoisted up and held within the general and another strong man’s arms as if they were babies.

  “Quiet… no more crying or fuss otherwise you’ll lure more of those monsters in.” The general snarled as he gripped Damara with a grimace upon his face. She trembled nervously in his arms, her eyes still wide and filled with tears from what could have been the most devastating attack in her life! Nervously she stretched out her hand toward a break in the swamp where a clear flat stone formed a natural platform and the general shuffled over towards it. His companion carrying Karani did the same although he made a point of how his charge was heavier and Karani called him a few unpleasant things. They seemed content on their way to the large bit of rock before the gentleman carrying the bow stumbled slightly. He swore allowed as he kicked some fish in the mud and then his bow clipped something that made him fall into the water. As he did so something pulled itself up out of the water with a golden tuft of grass upon its head as it leant down towards him.

  Damara and Karani had never seen a Mud Lurch before but there was no doubt in their minds what this creature was! Before the fellow could try and fight the beast, the lurch simply fell onto him and his body was smothered by the gelatinous mess. Most of the bowman’s companions scrabbled onto the rock, ignoring the screams of the figure and begging to move on. Only one of them decided to try and fight, although it only served to pull his arm into the quivering mass of the beast. His screams were more frantic and worrying, irking the general to start running towards the grasses. He knew the cries would lure out even worse and he was in no way capable of defending them all from any of the Loskad that might investigate.

  “Can’t you help him?” Damara begged, tears streaming down her
face, but they did not seem to want to listen to her sorrow. Their concerns were for their own safety, so no one dared to answer her questions as they followed the path of flat stones across the swamp. The screams still rang out behind them, but Damara tried instead to shut them out and focus on the task at hand. “Keep following the stepping stones until we reach what looks like an old signpost with bits of bone hanging from it.”

  Damara’s words caused growls of irritation and she was surprised when the general informed her that such a marker was left by goblins as a warning. But Damara recalled Anouk’s old teachings on the Marsh Goblins and knew that if just one of them crossed the boundary line then they would not register it as an attack but as a scouting mission, encouraging the beasts to stay hidden! She stated it to the general as she was jogged about in his arms until the screaming was well out of earshot. He was not pleased by the idea of course, but he had lost two men in one foolish moment already and he was not really keen to lose anymore. Damara did not know it of course, but for the general the fact he had to take care of her was sickening after his relationship with her father. He had no care for the Benaga household and especially not for a spoilt brat like her – his only reasoning to be here was for a chance of glory for his bloodline!

  “Let’s exercise more caution this time gentlemen. No one is to step into the water without sending in an energy ball to clear away whatever is lurking there. We’re all to be quiet and to keep our eyes peeled. When we hit the grassy walk between here and the woodland, speak only if you see a Loskad stallion becoming defensive.” Ynvirius growled roughly at them all, fearing the sudden arrival of the carnivorous horse-like beasts the more human of the demons liked to ride. Karani and Damara were put down onto their feet and nodded their heads in understanding as they stood behind the general and marched in a straight line across the variety of smooth and slippery greyed stones that had once been part of the original road to the ‘main gate’ of Virenheim in ancient times. They were careful to step with confidence and not to think of what had just happened but rather what could be about to happen. Damara knew they were not too far away from the stone as a thick bank of fog loomed over their sprite-like bodies with an almost moaning wind.