by Jason Kenyon
‘I’m glad that they…’ Neurion began.
‘They didn’t do much good in recent years,’ Archimegadon said.
‘Perhaps not,’ Ithalna said. ‘Maybe that is the problem Salestis intends to tackle with her plan. Stopping something from happening does not mean much to people – after all, we never see the supposed disaster, so why should we fear it so much? However, letting a disaster happen, and then rescuing the situation? People can understand that much better.’
‘I rescued the situation in Ferrina,’ Archimegadon said. ‘Those blasted paladins should have kept their noses out of it. Nothing but trouble.’
‘It was no accident that my father opened schools for both mages and paladins,’ Ithalna went on. ‘One thing he learned while studying the Shield was that mages and paladins used to be a lot closer – indeed, it was the twin orders of Light and the Elements that broke away from the old empire and followed Vortagenses to found Valanthas.’
‘My mother used to say the same thing,’ Anjilo said. ‘She’d spend hours reading books trying to find more information, but the records from that time were more focused on the founding of the kingdom than the individual orders.’
‘Did she ever learn anything about that?’ Ithalna asked.
‘Not so much,’ Anjilo replied. ‘Didn’t get much chance to ask anyway – she disappeared not long after that. I’ve always assumed that it was chasing those old stories that led her away from home.’
‘You should try asking Antagules, Sir Mage,’ Obdo said. ‘She’s from those times, right?’
‘I have not heard much from her of late,’ Archimegadon replied. ‘It has been somewhat harder for us to communicate since the loss of the staff.’
‘Antagules?’ Ithalna asked.
Archimegadon paused. Now that he thought about it, Antagules had always been fairly cagey about telling people about Constella, especially given what had happened with Sen Delarian. Perhaps it would be better not to go into that so much.
‘An old acquaintance, she… erm… knew her history,’ Archimegadon replied. He noticed Anjilo, Obdo and Neurion all looking slightly puzzled, but Ithalna just nodded.
‘I see,’ she said. ‘If we should run into her, I would surely be interested in inquiring further about this period of history.’
‘Of course, madam,’ Archimegadon said. ‘None of that interests me, though – all I care about is booting that ass Salestis off the throne and sending her pets Malthanes and the Syrakh with her, along with the rest of those bastard paladins.’
‘Glad to hear it,’ Ithalna said.
*
They did not make it near to any landmarks later in the day, and so they picked a secluded spot under a rock face deep within some woodland to rest for the night. While most of the group complained about the possibility of providing Zillon with good cover, Mellara argued that they all needed hot food and a campfire after such a miserable and wet day, and doing that out in the open would attract more attention than just Zillon’s.
Tharanor found himself a shadowy spot to sit under the rock face, while the others dragged a few loose logs together and sat around the campfire, which was lit in grandiose style by Archimegadon. Ithalna, sitting a short distance from the main gathering, watched his use of magic with jealous eyes. Neurion, meanwhile, was set the task of preparing the evening’s meal, since few of them trusted Ithalna not to poison everyone.
Archimegadon swiftly felt that he’d rather have had the poison.
‘Good grief, Neurion, your cooking is normally exceptional,’ Archimegadon said, swallowing his mouthful despite his body’s innumerable protests. ‘This is dreadful – I have never tasted such vileness in all my days. Are we running out of real food supplies?’
‘Archie!’ Anjilo said. She reddened. ‘It is kinda nasty, though.’
Neurion was staring at his share, his eyes shadowed. ‘I mixed the wrong ingredients, I think.’
‘The wrong ingredients?’ Archimegadon repeated. ‘My heavens, you must have mixed animal droppings with the very essence of death itself to produce this unique taste.’
‘I guess,’ Neurion said, tapping his spoon on the hideous slop in his bowl.
Archimegadon blinked. ‘Neurion, are you even listening? Pay attention! What’s wrong with you tonight?’
Neurion tossed his bowl and cutlery to the ground, looking up with a most unusual expression of anger, which made even Mellara blink. ‘What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with all of us?’
‘Something the matter?’ Archimegadon asked, his tone dangerous.
‘Yes, something’s the matter!’ Neurion replied. ‘All I’ve heard for the last few months is how terrible the Paladin Order is, and constant hatred towards us. I… I’m fed up with it!’
‘Uhm, there is a reason for that,’ Obdo said.
‘No, it’s wrong!’ Neurion said, rising to his feet. ‘I – I feel like… like Master Archimegadon or… or any of you others… you’d just kill me off without caring, if I was still in the Order.’
‘Well now, that’s just ridiculous,’ Archimegadon said.
‘Is it?’ Neurion asked. ‘You all treat the paladins like they’re… uh, like they’re worse than Valia’s demons. Look at what Valia did in Ferrina, yet you have more understanding for her! You’d kill any member of the Order, but you let her live.’
‘You supported sparing her, if I remember right,’ Archimegadon said.
‘Perhaps I was wrong,’ Neurion said. He looked flushed and breathless from his unusual stand, but swallowed and continued. ‘Wrong to spare Valia. And maybe wrong to support you in general.’
‘Uh oh,’ Mellara said, finishing her share in spite of the taste.
‘What on earth are you babbling about?’ Archimegadon asked.
‘We… all of us… we’ve changed,’ Neurion replied. ‘When we started out, we were fighting thieves, bandits, evil… but now here we are supporting murderers, mercenaries and cultists. I feel like we’re stuck in… in a downward moral trend.’
Mellara crossed her legs and leaned forwards, grinning. ‘In a what?’
‘I’m sorry, Miss Nightshot, but I just don’t feel comfortable with all this business siding with, uh, cutthroat organisations like Diojin’s,’ Neurion replied. ‘And now we’re taking the word of a Cleric who claims that the Paladin Order is planning evil, and has even murdered the King… I don’t believe it.’
‘Ah, alright then, Neurion,’ Archimegadon said. ‘If you don’t believe in our cause, then by all means, pack your bag and go to Arenfel yourself. You can help your beloved Salestis murder the citizens and feel proud about how you’ve served the Light.’
‘Cut it out,’ Anjilo said, getting to her feet.
‘Not you too,’ Archimegadon said.
‘I said enough,’ Anjilo said, and she stepped across to Neurion, laying a hand on his shoulder. ‘Look, Neurion, I know how you feel. It’s not been easy since things went this way, and I hate having to feel ashamed that I’m a paladin all the time. Why d’ya think I left the Order?’
Neurion looked down.
‘Listen, the old man’s not, uh, so good at expressing himself,’ Anjilo went on. ‘You have to understand that he’s doing his best to help the people of Valanthas, though. I don’t believe it’s his intention to be unfair to all paladins. He could perhaps do with listening more to his friends, now and then. Especially when he’s happy to listen to a Cleric.’
‘I don’t give a toss about Ithalna or her opinions!’ Archimegadon said. ‘What I do know is that Salestis and her bloody paladins took Ferrina from us after all we did to save it from Marr, and I’m damned if I’m letting her get away with that!’
Nobody spoke for a moment, so Archimegadon rounded on Tharanor, who had stepped closer to the campfire when the argument had broken out.
‘Come on then, Tharanor,’ Archimegadon said. ‘You’re always so eager to disagree with me – why not get your dissension in now, since everyone else seems to feel that way?�
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Tharanor laughed at this. ‘Actually, no, I agree with you. I have no love for the Order after my time in Stornis Hold, and I don’t want to see Salestis go unpunished for running Valanthas in this way.’
Archimegadon blinked. ‘Oh. Well…’
Mellara snorted. ‘I don’t disagree with you either, Archie. I’m gonna help you stop Salestis, since whatever Neurion thinks, his paladin buddies are up to no good.’
‘You are a member of the Fallen Blade,’ Neurion said, folding his arms.
‘I am,’ Mellara said. ‘Not gonna pretend like I’m not. But I’m not the one who cares about that sort of thing.’
Neurion and Mellara glared at each other for an extended period before Anjilo stepped between them.
‘Uh, maybe we should not talk about this right now,’ Anjilo said. ‘It’s been a rough day, and I think we could all do with just relaxing, yeah?’
Archimegadon felt like he was just getting started with this conversation, but threw his hands up in the air instead and sat down again. Even the paladins on his side were pests, now! At this rate, perhaps he should just let the paladins do what they wanted, and instead take a ship with Ithalna’s money and go somewhere less frustrating.
Chapter Twenty-Two: Life in Shadows
Even by his current standards, Archimegadon deemed the following night to be dreadful. Anjilo and Neurion took a spot a distance from the rest of the group, where they talked quietly to one another, while Mellara seemed more annoyed than she’d let on, and left to keep silent watch on the other side of the camp, pointedly leaving the paladins out of her range. Tharanor resumed his shadowy spot under the rock face, while Obdo sat awkwardly by the fire, looking like a child stuck between arguing parents.
As Archimegadon watched what everyone was doing, his eyes met Ithalna’s, and she smirked back at him. Unsure exactly what she meant by it, Archimegadon simply glared back at her, but it only seemed to amuse her more. With her hair back to its real dark shade, Ithalna looked much more sinister as the flickering firelight played over her face. For the first time, he could really see her as the Cleric she claimed to be.
Left with no real direction, since he didn’t particularly want to talk with anyone at that moment, Archimegadon sat back down with his satchel and checked through it for anything interesting that he could look at. Unfortunately, he’d only got a couple of changes of clothes, and a few travelling essentials such as his drinking flask, so he decided to brood on his mission instead. It didn’t go particularly well, though, as irritation over Neurion’s claims kept interrupting his thoughts.
Mellara and Tharanor kept watch for the night, but that made little difference to Archimegadon, as he was too angry to sleep comfortably, and the bitter taste of Neurion’s ill-made dinner was still fresh in his mouth. Obdo’s snoring was also intolerable, but since he was one of the few party members who Archimegadon had not apparently offended, Archimegadon was not eager to rage at him as well.
And so the next morning rolled around, with a silky mist enveloping the campsite. Most of the party ate in silence, and the two paladins in particular sat by themselves and whispered. Archimegadon decided that he was right, and furthermore that he would not apologise for his attitude towards those imbecilic paladins of Salestis. If Neurion and Anjilo were unable to understand that his dislike did not extend to them (until last night, at least), then that was their own fault.
Once out of the forest and back on the plains, the group seemed to lighten up a little bit, and Obdo wandered over to Archimegadon, scratching his hair with the two remaining fingers on his right hand.
‘Alright, Sir Mage?’
‘What do you think?’ Archimegadon returned.
‘Guess you aren’t so jolly today,’ Obdo replied. ‘First time I’ve seen Neurion properly angry… with us, at least. I think he got mad at Valia back in the Tomb of Vortagenses.’
‘If he wishes to seek attention for his stupidity, then so be it,’ Archimegadon said. ‘I shall not reward him for it.’
‘Guess so,’ Obdo said. ‘You’ve gotta admit, it’s kinda rough on him, though, yeah? Remember how he idolised you all the time, just like he did the paladins in general. Now all he ever hears is how evil the paladins are, and you and the others went out every day and killed paladins for Diojin.’
‘I did not kill them for Diojin,’ Archimegadon said. ‘I fought back if they attacked me and gave no quarter. We were collecting supplies so Neurion could live safe and happy hiding in the mansion.’
‘Not one for sympathy, huh?’
‘I’m not one for being accused of… of… moral depravity!’ Archimegadon replied. ‘I could have continued in my original vein, and said bollocks to risking my life for Valanthas at large, but instead I have thrown away my personal peace simply to be accused of villainy!’
‘You’re in it for the fame, you old conman,’ Obdo said, elbowing Archimegadon.
‘What fame have I ever got?’ Archimegadon asked. ‘At best, a bunch of brutes and murderers thinks highly of me.’
‘It’s not all bad,’ Obdo said. ‘There were lots of rescued citizens and mages who thought we were all pretty fancy for what we did.’
‘Do you really think that things in Arenfel will end in our glory?’ Archimegadon asked.
‘Whatever we do, the Supreme Arse will twist it to make us look like the bad guys,’ Obdo replied. ‘Way I see it, what we need to worry about is stopping her murdering everyone. Then we can grab a ship and do a runner.’
‘If Ithalna doesn’t simply murder us first,’ Archimegadon said, glaring over at her, walking alongside Anjilo a short distance away, chatting about something.
The mists began to clear by the middle of the day, and Mellara spied a lake where she suggested they could have lunch. Neurion prepared the food, which was taste-tested first by a suspicious Mellara. She gave it her approval, and everyone tucked in, grateful to have something edible, or at least tastier than the morning’s bland, grainy cereal.
Ithalna was sitting near to Archimegadon, so he noticed fast when she began to act oddly. She set her meal to one side and began to look around at the lake and behind them, where the plains rose and fell, as though they had once been a turbulent sea before being transformed into earth and grass. Archimegadon initially assumed she was just enjoying the scenery, but Ithalna then stood up and began to stare across the plains, visibly trembling.
‘What is it?’ Mellara asked.
‘We should leave,’ Ithalna replied. ‘I do not feel good.’
‘Sure you didn’t just eat too fast?’ Obdo asked.
‘No, it is him,’ Ithalna replied. ‘He is there. I can feel it. Pack up and let us go.’
‘I’ve barely even started,’ Archimegadon said.
‘You can eat while walking,’ Ithalna said.
‘No need for that,’ Mellara said, setting down her bowl and taking up her longbow. ‘Keep an eye out for me. I’ll find him.’
‘No, we should run,’ Ithalna said. ‘I cannot see him, we must not stay still. We have to go.’
‘Keep it down, princess,’ Mellara said, nocking an arrow. ‘He’s probably already given up now you’ve made such a fuss.’
‘He’s a bit of a coward, that one,’ Obdo said. ‘Runs away just like that.’
‘It’s one versus seven,’ Mellara said. ‘You really think he’s stupid enough to chance attacking us wildly? And besides, we have two mages.’
Archimegadon was about to correct her when he realised that she’d probably omitted mentioning Ithalna’s anti-magic binding on purpose. He instead watched Ithalna as she stepped nervously back towards him, all her stately composure gone. He didn’t know how he felt about that. Not while her true motives were still a mystery to him, at least.
Then Ithalna stumbled and let out a cry.
Mellara turned in Ithalna’s direction and aimed an arrow at the nearby slope, but there was no sign of anything there. All the same, she pulled back the string, her entire body motionl
ess, but after a few seconds she let out a frustrated shout and lowered her bow, before dropping the arrow and bow and grabbing her injury again. As Archimegadon was distracted, a black arrow shot from somewhere behind the slope, arcing through the air until it hit the patch of ground just ahead of Mellara.
‘Ugh, balls to this,’ Archimegadon said, realising that he’d have to step to the fore.
While Mellara stared in apparent shock at Zillon’s arrow, Archimegadon charged towards the slope, readying magical flames about his right fist. Despite feeling some hesitation at facing Zillon, Archimegadon summoned his irritation from the previous night’s accusations and used them as a shield against fear. When he reached the top of the slope, though, there was no sign of Zillon. Given the number of rocky outcrops and slopes across the plains, the shadow hunter could easily have slipped away before Archimegadon had reached the crest of the hill.
He kept watch there for a while, but it seemed that Zillon had left for now, and Archimegadon eventually gave up and returned to the rest of the group by the lake. Anjilo was checking over Mellara’s old injury, while Tharanor and Obdo seemed to be trying to cheer up Ithalna. Neurion was hovering near Anjilo, leaving nobody to acknowledge Archimegadon’s return. Affronted, he returned to his lunch, which now tasted almost as sour as the prior night’s dinner.
Obdo joined him a couple of minutes later.
‘Poor shot, that Zillon fellow,’ he said.
‘I don’t think he was aiming to hit me,’ Mellara said, as Anjilo bathed her arm in light. ‘He was making fun of us… of me.’
Archimegadon was still annoyed that nobody had acknowledged his heroic and selfless chase after Zillon, and left Mellara’s words hanging in the air.
‘Don’t let it bother you,’ Anjilo said. ‘If that’s why he did it, then the best we can do is ignore him.’
‘We’re going to have to take extra care,’ Mellara said.
‘He used his shadow magic on me again,’ Ithalna said, looking quite shaken. ‘If he had been close enough, I have little doubt that he could have easily shot me down while it made me stumble.’
