Talon of the Unnamed Goddess, a Fantasy Adventure

by C. R. Daems

  "What happened to hi'Radulf and his forces?" Rhiannon asked the question on everyone's mind. I had hoped we finally had Tadzio and the hi'Lord caged. Master Jiang was right. Plans seldom survived contact with the enemy, under no obligation to cooperate.

  "Hi'Radulf arrived here six days ago, stayed four nights, and left with all of the Valdan guards, less than two hundred."

  "We didn't pass him on the way here, so he headed east." I thought out loud as panic swiped at me. "He probably kept two hundred at the eastern Valdan towns of Borkum and Adorf. Added to the force with him, he has a substantial army and will challenge hi'Tafadzwa, especially since he hasn't had a chance to win the support of the Dassel citizens."

  "Yes, a logical conclusion," Dragos said. "He has a three-day head start. However, following the East Mystic River is slower by a good twenty-five days. We should be able to make the same trip along the West Mystic River in fourteen days. The roads are better and the distance shorter to Dassel. We have time to take Savona and arrive at Dassel before him."

  Dragos turned to Lucjan and Anton. "Anton, take ten Talons and make sure that the gates stay open when we advance on the city. I'll give you two hours to get into position. The Talons and the Granyan guards will move in two hours. Fir'Warrior Awotwi, you will follow in four hours. By then the city will be secured. We don't want to alarm the city with Jaddahans, especially since sec'Tadzio accused the Jaddah raiders of killing hi'Varius."

  "What about me?" Rhiannon asked.

  "I would like you to ride in with the Talons and the Granyans. We need to parade you through the streets to make sure the citizens of Savona know the rumors of your death are false. They must see you and that you have returned to claim your rightful place as hi'Lady."

  I felt a little let down with Master Dragos directing everything, yet relieved. My duty was simple: protect Rhiannon. There shouldn't be any problem in Savona, but one never knew. It would take just one young mixed-up noble who thought he knew what was right to cause a disaster.

  Two hours later, Dragos signaled for the Talons and Granyans to mount up. Minutes later, we moved toward the city walls, which could stop an army larger than ours. But Lord Tadzio didn't have enough troops to man them, so the Talons would easily hold the gates open. Dragos let the Granyans lead the march, Rhiannon safely toward the back with Talons surrounding her. I approved.

  We reached the gate in fifteen minutes with no sign of fighting at the gate. As we entered the city at a leisurely pace, the people expecting us crowded the sides of the street, although they were neither hostile nor exuberant as we walked our horses through the town's main streets. Rhiannon waved as we proceeded toward the castle. As she was recognized, the people began chanting her name.

  "It's the hi'Lord Varius's daughter. She's alive. The goddess bless you, hi'Lady Rhiannon. Long live hi'Lady Rhiannon…" I continuously scanned the crowds but saw no hostile moves. They seemed surprised and pleased that Rhiannon had survived. I doubted that Tadzio would feel the same.

  When we arrived at the castle wall, the gates were closed, probably had been closed all along. We kept Rhiannon well back out of archer range but in plain sight as I rode forward.

  "Guards of Granya, I am Aisha, pri'Rhiannon's chaperone who accompanied her and her father, hi'Lord Varius, on the trip to Valda with the expectation of forming an alliance with hi'Lord Radulf." I paused and took a sip of water. "As you know by now, hi'Radulf with sec'Tadzio attacked and killed hi'Varius, his guards, the cooks and servants, and the Talons. His daughter, now hi'Lady Rhiannon, survived. She has returned to claim her throne with the support of the Granyans, Jaddahans, and Talons. You have twelve hours to decide who you will support. Hi'Lady Rhiannon has two hundred Talons, in addition to hundreds of Granyan and Jaddah warriors supporting her claim. You will not survive one day. Twelve hours, no more." I turned and rode back to Rhiannon.

  "Do you think that will help, Aisha?" Rhiannon asked.

  "Yes, those guards are mostly commoners who have nothing to gain by fighting. And they will lose their lives if we storm the castle. The nobles have land and property to lose, but not the common soldier. Besides, I doubt sec'Tadzio solicits the same loyalty as you or your late father. If only ten or twenty defect, it will be chaos." As I said this, I realized it was true. The common guards were not Talons who cherished duty above all else.

  We turned back from the castle into the city to an elegant inn where the Talons had secured the entire upper floor, so the hi'Lady and her war council could rest and eat in safety. One of the largest rooms had been cleared of the bed and set with a table so we could eat in comfort. Plush padded carpets decorated the floor and elegant silk curtains offset the whitewashed walls. I felt uneasy when Rhiannon frequented the window and pulled the curtains back to look out. I knew an archer wasn't likely, but I was nervous and worried.

  Rhiannon watched as sunset stained the western sky. "Aisha, Talons are leaving toward the castle."

  "They have been slowly filtering into the city and around the castle for hours, hi'Rhiannon."

  "But Master Dragos…. You gave them twelve hours to decide." Rhiannon frowned.

  "Hi' Lady, as your advisor, I tell you there are no rules in war. The object is to win. The winners are the ones who survive. Sec'Tadzio tried to poison you, and hi'Radulf attacked you without warning or provocation." I paused until she nodded. "If there are men in the castle who would act for any reason, loyalty or to save their own lives, they will act under cover of night. We must have people in place to support them. Our best chance to slip into the palace is while they believe they have twelve hours to plan."

  "I need you, Aisha Talon. I'm not ready to rule a castle, much less a kingdom. I need someone who will tell me the truth even when I don't want to hear it. Someone who will tell me when I'm wrong." Rhiannon kissed me on the cheek. "I know I'm asking a lot."

  "You have come a long way in a short time, hi'Rhiannon. You don't have to take anyone's advice now that you are hi'Lady, but don't ever forget to listen and you will be a good ruler." I wondered when I had become so wise.

  "Leszek, get everyone up and ready." I felt something would happen soon, and I wanted to be prepared.

  "We're ready, Sister Aisha," Leszek said. We went downstairs. Rhiannon's guards surrounded us so we could proceed to the castle. Fighting broke out around the gate within half an hour. I knew that grappling hooks had hit the walls. One Talon would scale the rope while two stood below with arrows nocked and ready to fire if anyone appeared above. Normally the tactic would be suicide, but the distraction at the gate and the few guards in the castle made it work. Several would reach the parapets. When that happened, it was all over. In the meantime, the Granyans moved to just out of bowshot to go through the gate as soon as it was opened from inside.

  In the night, a quarter moon lighting the sky, we stood in the dark well out of bow range of the walls but within sight of the huge gates. I couldn't see the Talons climbing, but I knew they must be doing as planned from the lack of shouts or fighting.

  The attack came from behind us. In the moonlight, I saw a party of nobles running straight at us.

  Leszek moved to the opposite side of Rhiannon, so that we sheltered her between us. I drew my sword and held a knife in my off-hand as he did the same. Between the attackers and us, the eight Talon guards silently waited. Everyone was on foot, which had allowed the attackers to close in without being seen. The Talons charged into the guards. Because the Talon were outnumbered, eventually one would get through.

  A young noble jumped over the body of one of his fallen guards, his five men following behind. "Kill the girl!" He charged straight for her. I was about to throw my knife at him when the Sergeant, running beside him, spun around to slice through the noble's neck. The Sergeant stopped along with the four others beside him and dropped to his knees. Two others dropped their weapons. "Hi'Lady Rhiannon, we served this worthless traitor because we thought you were dead. We pledge our lives to you." The sergeant bowed his head.
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  When I looked around, a second noble was lying dead, his arm severed at the elbow, and only a couple of other attackers injured. They hadn't fought very hard—in fact, they'd held back.

  "Your name, Sergeant?" Rhiannon asked to my amazement.

  "Sergeant Indar, hi'Lady."

  "Well, Sergeant, will you join the fight to free the castle?"

  "Yes, hi'Lady Rhiannon." He rose and waved to his men to follow him toward the castle.

  "Now I've seen it all, Sister Aisha," Leszek said as he shook his head. "This is the strangest fight I've ever participated in. Nobody is going to believe me when I tell them."

  "Well, hi'Rhiannon, it's obvious that the people support your claim. I'll bet most of the guards in the castle surrender." Leszek was right. It was a strange night.

  The castle was secured within just minutes after a group of twenty guards opened the gates, and they dropped their weapons immediately. Another forty surrendered within minutes and the remaining forty were dispatched within an hour. Tadzio was captured alive by two Talons, who disarmed him with ease.

  Surrounded by her Talon guard, for the first time in months, Rhiannon entered her home. Walking through the corridors usually so full of bustling functionaries and nobles seemed strange. I told Rhiannon to wait while we sent guards ahead to be sure that no supporters of sec'Tadzio lurked anywhere inside.

  Rhiannon stood quietly talking to Awotwi as we waited for a report that the castle was clear when a captain rushed in. "Hi'Lady, we found a young woman in one of the upper dungeons. She claims to be Master Healer Luminita, and she has a small boy with her. She's asking to see you."

  Rhiannon jumped up and laughed. "Captain, escort the lady and her child here, and find Leszek Talon. Tell him I want to see him."

  Five minutes later, Leszek arrived. "You wanted to see me, hi'Lady?" he asked. Confusion painted his face. Rhiannon merely raised her hand and indicated he should wait. Another five minutes later, the captain arrived with Master Healer Luminita and her son.

  Leszek froze as his son darted to him, grabbing him around the leg. "Daddy, Daddy," the adorable dark-eyed boy cried. Leszek grabbed Luminita's shoulders, looking her up and down. She was thin, her healer robes rumpled and dirty. Luminita reached up to cup his face and said nothing for a few minutes, but kissed him soundly on the lips.

  "Pardon me, hi'Lady Rhiannon." Luminita released Leszek from her embrace. "I had to convince myself he was alive and well. When they said the caravan had been attacked and you were killed, I knew my Talon husband would have died to protect you." Her eyes welled, but a smile brightened her face.

  Leszek picked his son up, running a hand over the boy's back, and then he put his arm around Luminita's shoulder, leaning his cheek against her head.

  "I am glad to see my healer is safe and back where she belongs," Rhiannon said, "with me. Leszek, perhaps my Master Healer should examine you to make sure you are fit to accompany us to Dassel. You are free until we leave."

  Leszek had said nothing and remained speechless as Luminita led him and their son, clinging to his father's neck, out the door.

  Rhiannon and I exchanged a look as they left, her eyes sparkling with joy.

  * * * *

  The next morning, Rhiannon sat on the throne that had been her father's. Talons lined both sides of the room, swords and knives drawn. Awotwi stood to her left and I on her right, surveying the audience. The room was crowded. The Granyan guards had admitted a hundred merchants and business owners, from a tax list found in Minister Lucas's office, and the first fifty commoners waiting at the castle gate.

  Granyan guards ringed the walls. Ex-lord Tadzio stood in shackles at the bottom of the platform. His face was pinched, his clothes wrinkled, soiled, and torn in a few places. He had spent the night in the dungeon, guarded by Talons. Master Dragos hadn't been sure whether a Granyan would try to save him or kill him, so he set Talons to guard him. Two other nobles had survived the fighting along with Minister Lucas, who was determined to have supported ex-Lord Tadzio's attempt to seize the throne.

  Rhiannon stood. The noise in the room died.

  "Citizens of Granya, sec'Tadzio, in consort with other nobles, plotted the overthrow of my father, hi'Lord Varius. They began with the assassination of my mother, hi'Lady Varius, my older sister, and my younger brother. They subsequently tried to poison me. And in desperation, they formed an alliance with hi'Radulf, who crossed into Granya with five hundred troops and murdered hi'Varius and over a hundred guards and civilians. I escaped. I have formed an alliance with Jaddah and together we have freed Savona, Terni, and Livorno. We have taken the city of Dassel. Know that the Jaddah are not only our allies but also our friends. Fir'Warrior Awotwi, son of hi'Baqir, stands at my left hand in witness and as my betrothed. Without his help and his father's, Granya would be in the hands of killers who would hand Granya over to the Valdans. And, if it were not for the Talons, I would be dead."

  She paused to let all of that sink in, looking into the faces one by one around her before she continued. "Tomorrow at dawn, sec'Tadzio will be hanged in the public square for his crimes against Granya."

  * * * *

  The war council convened around the dinner table after the servants had cleared away the dishes.

  "Hi'Radulf must be pursued immediately," I said. "If we don't, he will be free to build an army and will challenge either Granya or Valda again."

  "Do you have a special interest in protecting Valda?" Lucjan, who had led the Granyans against the castle, asked. "I hear that you and hi'Lord Tafadzwa are betrothed."

  "The rumor is true but meaningless. Everyone here has a reason to pursue hi'Radulf. The Granyans, because he killed hi'Rhiannon's father. The Jaddahans, because hi'Baqir's son is now hi'Lord. The Raptor Clan, because he broke his contract with us and killed Talons. If that were not enough, the Jaddahans were the first to provide armed support to free Granya and hi'Rhiannon is betrothed to the son of hi'Baqir. The longer we wait, the more costly the bill." I looked around the room, daring anyone to dispute my reasoning.

  "Aisha," Master Dragos said, "I leave you and Master Anton in charge of pursuing and killing hi'Lord Radulf. The older masters and I are returning to the Aerie. War is for the young. We would slow you down. Besides, you have done well without us."

  "I want Aisha Talon to stay with me," Rhiannon said, frowning with determination.

  "She is under contract to you, so it is your decision." Dragos looked at me. I said nothing, although I felt a knot in my stomach.

  "Master Dragos, I would like to negotiate a contract with you," Rhiannon said, "today."

  "For Aisha? You already have a contract for her. Do you want to lengthen it?"

  "I want to negotiate Talons for Granya, Valda, and Jaddah." Rhiannon cracked a slight smile as her eyes twinkled. "And include Aisha."

  Everyone took the hint and departed except for Master Dragos, Anton, two other masters, Rhiannon, and me. I started to leave, but Rhiannon held up her hand to stop me. "Master Dragos, I would like Aisha, my advisor, to stay. I understand she can't negotiate with you or advise me on negotiating with you, but she can help me determine my needs."

  "That is acceptable, hi'Lady," Dragos replied as a small laugh emerged. "Master Jiang and hi'Blessed Tasilaba were right about you, hi'Blessed Aisha. You were the right choice."

  "Hi'Blessed Aisha? But she has no sigil tattoos." Rhiannon's eyes grew wide as she shook her head before my face.

  "I know, but hi'Blessed Tasilaba called her hi'Blessed. Neither would explain. Another mystery about our sister Aisha."

  "She obviously isn't going to explain it to either of us. Never mind. I want sixty Talons and Aisha Talon." No one in the room, including me, could believe the number.

  Eventually Master Dragos asked, "For how long, hi'Lady?"

  "A hundred years." The room went silent as the Talon masters looked at each other in disbelief. "And I want the number of women Talons increased."

  "And who is going to pay for this?"
one of the masters asked.

  "The contract will be with me. I believe the hi'Lords of Jaddah and Valda will share the cost, but I will be responsible for payment even if they don't. You may rotate Talons at your discretion, except for Aisha."

  "That would not be fair to Aisha. Rotations are to give the Talons time to rest and recuperate," Dragos replied.

  "Aisha is my bodyguard, advisor, and…sister. I will take care of her needs… and my future brother." Rhiannon bit her lip as she tried to hide a grin.

  "How are we to ensure that we can provide you with more women Talons? Few women apply and fewer survive the Ordeals." Master Dragos asked. Rhiannon looked to me. I sat there in silence for what seemed hours, in reality, minutes, with everyone staring at me.

  "Well, hi'Blessed Aisha?" Rhiannon asked.

  "I think few apply because they know they aren't wanted and aren't expected to survive. I know because I have heard the stories about how Bakaar struggled to be accepted. I would have never applied if I hadn't been desperate. If you try to recruit more women and accept them once they are recruited, more will apply and that will mean that more will survive the Ordeals."

  The negotiations went on for five hours. Rhiannon had drinks served but would not stop until the contract was completed.

  "You are a hard bargainer, hi'Lady. Did you learn from your father?"

  "No, from my advisor. She usually proposes first death as a negotiating position. I thought I'd try first exhaustion."

  "It worked," said Dragos.

  After everyone had left, Rhiannon looked at me long and hard. "You need to make arrangements for us to leave tomorrow. We are going to Dassel."

  "Why?" I was so confused.

  "You were a terrible chaperone. You refused me the respect I thought I deserved, but you protected me with your life. You are a terrible advisor, telling me the truth and forcing me to make difficult decisions. And you are a terrible tutor, teaching me duty." Rhiannon paused to smile. "I owe hi'Lord Baqir and his sons my kingdom. How can I sit in this warm, comfortable castle in luxury when my brother is in need? I can't fight, but I can show my support by being there. And I can take my army to support him."