The Hunter's Gambit

by Nicholas McIntire

  “We need to get on the road.” he said softly.

  The Knight sighed and nodded to his Magus. He folded his field map as Jonas turned his attention to Rysun.

  “Colonel, I have infused the walls of this fortress with a particular sort of magic. A surprise for Perron if he arrives to take the city. But one of the triggers is extremely time-sensitive. Therefore, I must ask that you and your men be gone from the garrison no later than noon tomorrow. After the sun reaches its apex, this garrison will become a very dangerous place.”

  “I understand, Highness.” Rysun said emphatically.

  “I hope that you do, Colonel. For all our sakes.”

  The Prince stepped back into the hall, leaving Rysun with a very unsettled feeling in the pit of his stomach. Gods, what sort of magic was Jonas referring to? He glanced at Aleksei, but if the Lord Captain had any clue as to what Jonas was talking about his face betrayed none of it.

  Aleksei finished packing his map into its hard leather case and smiled reassuringly at Rysun, “I have the utmost faith in you, Colonel. I look forward to hearing of your arrival in the wild.”

  “Where shall I send my reports, Sir?” Rysun asked as Aleksei reached the door.

  “Kalinor.” Aleksei said automatically.

  Rysun frowned, “But it will take you weeks to reach the capital.”

  Aleksei smiled secretively, “No, Colonel. Not if things go according to plan. I’ll look forward to hearing from you.”

  And then the door shut, leaving Rysun with his new orders in one hand and what seemed to be the weight of the world slowly collapsing onto his shoulders.

  CHAPTER 37

  Woman by the Water

  THE ROAD LEAVING Mornj was characteristically crowded with the carts of farmers and traders, sprinkled occasionally with a peddler’s wagon or a lone rider. Rysun had been all too happy to give Jonas a horse after both the Prince and Aleksei repeatedly refused Rysun’s initial offer of a carriage.

  Staring ahead at the slow-moving traffic on the road, Aleksei knew they had been right to take the horse. A carriage wasn’t nearly as maneuverable or adaptable as the roan mare Jonas was riding, and it would have made travel cross-country impossible.

  While Aleksei was determined to avoid taking to the hills and woods that ran parallel to the road, he nevertheless wanted it to remain an option.

  As the afternoon dragged on, the traffic began to break up. Soon they had the road to themselves, as the other occupants drifted away to nearby farms or to one of the small villages that dotted the countryside.

  “How long do you think it will take to reach the Wood?” Jonas asked when he was certain they were alone.

  Aleksei shrugged, “Depends on the weather. If it stays clear, we can be there in a week. If not, longer. Impossible to say at the moment, though.”

  Jonas nodded, settling back into the comfortable silence that saturated their journey.

  The farther east they traveled, the more uneven the land became. At first it was barely perceptible, but after another several leagues small hillocks began to pop up here and there. On the horizon Jonas could see the beginnings of the Relvyn foothills, gently announcing the approaching mountains. Conversely, the wooded spans became less and less frequent. By the time evening approached, there were no trees in sight.

  Jonas recognized the pattern well. It was very similar to the land surrounding the Seil Wood. He knew from personal experience that there were other, less tangible links between the Seil and Relvyn Woods.

  A few leagues more and they were met by a tributary of the Ylik Water that ran alongside the road.

  “We should probably stop for the night.” Aleksei said, jolting Jonas from his thoughts.

  Jonas looked up at the sky and saw the leaden cloak of darkness approaching. He nodded his agreement and followed Aleksei off the road.

  As they rode north into the hilly pastureland, Jonas scanned the earth before him for badger holes. Aleksei had long ago explained the danger of the various animals of the wood and field to horses, and Jonas had been an apt pupil. After all, as much as he might want to ride at a breakneck gallop towards his destination, nothing would serve to slow him down more than a lame horse.

  Aleksei brought them to a bend in the tributary, here little more than a creek, and dismounted. “I’m going to find us some food before it gets too dark. Can you start the fire?”

  Jonas nodded and climbed off his mare. He removed a spike from his saddlebags so he could tie the mare’s reins, but Aleksei shook his head, “Let her graze for a while. Agriphon knows not to wander too far, and she’ll follow his lead.”

  The Prince shrugged and returned the spike, withdrawing instead flint and steel from another bag and setting about for some kindling. It would be easy enough to light a fire with magic, but this close to the Relvyn Mountains he wanted to be very careful about touching the Archanium. He couldn’t be sure who was watching.

  Aleksei waited around just long enough to make sure everything was in order before he slung his bow over one shoulder with his quiver and headed into the hills. He knew what he was looking for, though not how far it was. The earth seemed to speak to him, guiding his feet over the hills, pulling him north.

  As he walked, thoughts raced through his head. He ran through the plans he and Jonas had already discussed, searching for any cracks in their reasoning. No matter how many times he convinced himself of their soundness, it seemed unlikely that he would ever be truly satisfied with his tactics until they were executed.

  That was the only true measure of a strategy. All the double-checking and logic in the world wouldn’t make a lick of difference if the enemy decided to move irrationally. It was that imperfect human element that was so often the downfall of even the most carefully crafted strategy, the most seasoned commander.

  He crested another hill and stopped. Below lay his destination, a small watering hole where the local wildlife came to drink.

  A woman stood by the water’s edge.

  At first Aleksei took her to be a local farmer’s wife or daughter, come to collect the next day’s water supply. But as he drew closer he realized that her gauzy gown was much too fine for an ordinary farm girl. No, he now recognized the gaze that was leveled at him for what it was.

  She was waiting for him.

  “Evening,” he said briskly, pulling his bow from his shoulder and gripping it in a relaxed, but vaguely threatening manner. He had seen too many things in his life to be lulled by the woman’s slight stature. Physical size was no measure of one’s strength, or lethality.

  She smiled coolly, “Lord Captain Drago.”

  Aleksei set about waxing his bowstring, pretending to ignore the woman as he prepared to hunt. Gods, who was she; how did she know him?

  “My presence doesn’t perplex you?” she said after a moment of silence.

  “Should it?” Aleksei grunted, still directing his attention to his bow.

  She shrugged, “Perhaps not. We are both children of time, if not quite the same.”

  Aleksei offered no response. Instead he drew an arrow and began to check its fletching. He could sense the woman’s growing impatience. This was obviously not what she had expected from this encounter, and that suited him just fine.

  Finally she spoke, “Perhaps I have overestimated you, Lord Captain Drago. I took you to be determined, driven to survive. Your display of apathy towards my presence is most unexpected.”

  He spared her a brief glance.

  “Tell me something, Lord Captain. You are in possession of a very dangerous skill. You have been gifted with the power to drain life on a whim, and in the process restore yourself. Why then do you still put your trust in the crude weapon you now hold?”

  Aleksei didn’t even pause to consider his response, “The Mantle on my shoulders is no less a tool than the bow in my hands. I do, however, find the bow a more merciful means of taking life. I have no desire to inflict suffering upon innocent
creatures.”

  Her smile faded, “Compassion. It will aid and hinder you in the days to come.”

  For some inexplicable reason, Aleksei felt his skin prickle at her words. Aleksei was suddenly aware that the woman’s words rang of absolute truth.

  He realized where he’d heard such a tone before.

  “You’re a prophet.” he said flatly.

  “I’ve been called such before.”

  Aleksei scanned the horizon for signs of animals coming towards the spring. He sensed none, but that might well change once the woman was gone. Her presence grated on him.

  “I have no interest in your penny prophecies.” he grunted.

  “You might, if you knew what awaited you. And the truth they contain.” she said seductively.

  “I don’t doubt their truth. But I have no desire to have my future dictated to me. I’ll make my own decisions, and if they coincide with your visions, so be it. If they don’t, I’ll be no worse off for it.” Aleksei said resolutely.

  “I wouldn’t be quite so confident about that if I were you.” she said, now sounding infuriatingly amused. When Aleksei refused to press her onwards, she continued, “I did not come here to offer specters of your impending death, or dire warnings of battles yet to fight, Aleksei Drago. The gods know there will be plenty of those in the time to come.

  “But for now, I merely require you to understand your own part in this great game as it unfolds. And that you appreciate our present…limitations.”

  Aleksei groaned. Perhaps if he heard her out she would leave him to hunt in peace. “Very well, ma’am. What do you have to say?”

  Jonas was heading back to camp, arms loaded with small sticks and a few actual pieces of wood. He was proud of his collection, considering how far they were from the Relvyn Wood. He was in the midst of wondering whether some of the less natural looking pieces could have come from old wagons, or perhaps furniture abandoned by the roadside, when he felt it.

  The wood fell to the grass with a chaotic clatter as Jonas took off running, moving as fast as his legs would carry him. Panic rose in his heart as he sent his thoughts ahead of him, searching for the source of the bizarre disturbance.

  It was as though someone was touching the Archanium, but instead of merely immersing itself in it, as Magi did, this being was somehow twisting it.

  Danger was very near.

  Worse still, the strange vibrations were radiating from a place in immediate proximity to Aleksei. Jonas knew that when he found his Knight, he would find the source of the disturbance.

  At the moment he wasn’t sure if that was better or worse.

  The closer he came to Aleksei, the stronger the bond became. He now knew that Aleksei was less than a league away. Unfortunately, that could end up being very far indeed, especially on foot.

  Jonas wished to the gods he could turn into a bird and fly to his Knight, but he knew better than to risk that. Touching the Archanium from this distance could spell disaster. No, he needed to remain unannounced for as long as possible.

  His lungs burned from lack of oxygen. Jonas gulped air, pressing himself even harder than before until his bond alerted him that he was mere paces from Aleksei.

  Jonas caught sight of a small hill and realized that Aleksei had to be on the other side of it, or else he would be visible.

  The Magus rushed up to the top of the hill, unleashing his restraint on the Archanium as he reached his destination.

  An enormous sheet of flame burst into the air behind him, poised to flow down onto whomever might be threatening his Knight.

  What greeted his eyes was nothing near what Jonas had anticipated.

  Aleksei stood at the edge of a small pond. A few paces in front of him stood a woman wearing a gauzy dress. She was saying something to Aleksei, but the Knight did not appear threatened, or even anxious.

  Jonas let the flames fitfully die.

  “Welcome, Jonas Belgi.” the woman called calmly.

  “Who are you?” he demanded, walking slowly down the hill, the Archanium blazing around him.

  Aleksei may or may not know what she was, but now that Jonas was close enough, he had no doubts.

  “You may call me Darielle.” she said softly.

  The woman was a prophet, and not in the way that Aya might catch a glimpse of things to come. Rather, this woman was tied intricately to one of the most confusing and dangerous regions of the Great Sphere.

  To one of the Forbidden Realms.

  She existed around the Archanium rather than within it. Her magic was a total enigma to Jonas, an absolute magical anomaly, yet he knew enough to both fear and respect her power.

  “What do you want?”

  She smiled sweetly, “I have completed my business with the Lord Captain. And I have none with you.” The prophet looked back to Aleksei, “We will undoubtedly see one another soon, Lord Captain. Good day.”

  And then she was gone.

  Jonas relaxed as he felt the peculiar twisting of the Archanium ease. He dropped down to the ground, gasping for breath as the adrenaline faded from him.

  Aleksei was by his side a moment later, “Are you okay?”

  Jonas took a few more gulps of air before responding, “That woman. What did she want with you?”

  Aleksei looked away, “She said she was a prophet. She said she’d come to tell me about my part in ‘the great game’.”

  Jonas stared at Aleksei for a long moment before nodding.

  Aleksei frowned, “Does that make sense to you?”

  “A little.” Jonas admitted. “Aya has referred to the future as ‘the great game’ before. This woman, this…Darielle obviously thinks you’re rather special. Prophets usually don’t seek people out to tell them their parts. It’s considered taboo unless the person in question is particularly important. Knowing your role can change your reactions.”

  Aleksei nodded his understanding, though Jonas could tell his thoughts were elsewhere.

  “Why don’t we head back to camp.” the Prince said after a long period of silence.

  Aleksei looked up as though he hadn’t heard a word of what Jonas had said, but then he smiled, “Camp. Alright.” It was the most forced smile Jonas had ever seen on the man.

  They walked back in silence, Jonas pausing only to collect his scattered bundle of sticks.

  The horses were waiting patiently for their return, Agriphon pawing the ground in greeting as Aleksei approached.

  The Knight walked over to his horse and stayed there for a better part of an hour, grooming, checking tackle and generally doing anything else he could to occupy himself.

  Jonas left Aleksei to his thoughts. It was apparent enough that his Knight was processing something profoundly unsettling.

  As Jonas laid out the fire, he recalled that there were rules for not sharing prophecy with those it mentioned. After all, you might hear something you didn’t understand, or couldn’t accept. What if Aleksei had been told that Jonas would die but that he would somehow survive?

  He was confidant such a thing was impossible, but he had also studied a great deal of prophecy in the Voralla. If time had taught him anything, it was that people regarded something as impossible only because no one had managed it before. That did not mean that it couldn’t be done, only that it hadn’t.

  He sat down before his pile of sticks and began set them alight, trying to push his natural paranoia away. Now that he had used the Archanium in an impressive but completely useless display on the hilltop, any Magus within a hundred leagues would know exactly where they were, so there wasn’t really any point in trying to maintain their stealthy approach.

  Still, Jonas decided he needed to learn to survive outdoors without relying so strongly on the Archanium. Who knew when he’d have to do just that in the future? If there was one thing Jonas hated, it was being unprepared.

  They were in afterglow by the time he actually managed to get the grass to catch light, and even t
hen a gust of wind struck and blew it out. Jonas growled in irritation and tossed his flint and steel aside, and willing the sticks to burst into a merry flame.

  He sat back with a contented smile on his face as a wicked yellow inferno ravaged his tiny sticks.

  The sun sank lower and Jonas looked up to search for Aleksei. It had been well over two hours since they’d returned from the pond and now he found the Knight missing entirely.

  There was a thump behind him and Jonas nearly jumped out of his skin. He turned to find Aleksei standing there. Two thin, measly rabbits lay dead at his feet.

  “I’m afraid this is the best we’re going to do this late into Harvest.” Aleksei said softly.

  Jonas looked helplessly at the rabbits, then back to his Knight. Aleksei actually gave him a genuine smile for the first time since the pond and crouched down to fetch the rabbits.

  He sat next to Jonas and began the repulsive task of skinning and gutting the animals. Jonas watched in horrified fascination, disgusted but simultaneously intrigued by the way the lagomorphic anatomy was constructed. He had never taken on the shape of a rabbit, but suddenly he found it an interesting challenge.

  Aleksei picked up the two longest sticks he could find from Jonas' makeshift woodpile and spitted the rabbits, laying them side by side over the fire.

  Jonas hoped that Aleksei would open up to him, perhaps give him some idea of what Darielle had said, but the Knight seemed content to sit in silence and stare into the fire as the rabbits sizzled on their spits. Jonas sighed in irritation and closed his eyes, casting himself into the Archanium.

  In his opinion, the Magi in the Voralla often mistook the Archanium for a mere tool, rather than the constantly changing, infinitely powerful force that Jonas understood it to be. He had never learned more about its workings from using its more functional aspects than he had from simply drifting on the rainbow chaos of its waves, sensing the different regions that divided it and receiving a deeper appreciation for the way everything was woven together.

  Jonas lost track of time just drifting and suddenly realized that he was getting very hungry. He pulled himself out of his trance and opened his eyes.