by Sean Oswald
Even as the balance of power within the group seemed to shift, its beneficiary was oblivious. From what Emily could see, his entire focus was on finding ways to move the group along faster while still keeping a look out for monsters. She tried to talk to him after the battle was over, but all he did was thank her for healing the injured guard who would otherwise have not survived. As it was, they only lost one soldier, who having been hammered into the ground was dead before Emily could even reach him.
Emily was impressed by the pace they were keeping. From what Jaselm was telling her, Eisuke set a pace of almost four miles per hour, and that was through the forest. It was exhilarating. She found Jaselm was the only one of the humans who was capable of maintaining the pace and still being able to speak. The other humans were keeping up if only barely, but were out of breath. He was willing to answer all the questions that she had, but she was still leery of asking him anything that displayed her complete lack of knowledge about Eloria. Emily realized that she had already slipped up asking about the wisp based upon the looks of shock the other elves had when she demonstrated a lack of knowledge.
For that reason, Emily didn’t ask the paladin about why she hadn’t gained any XP after the shambling mound was defeated, but she had quietly confirmed with Mira that she hadn’t received any XP either. Instead, Emily focused mostly on questions about the church. She described to him how she had never even heard of Shanelle before she was chosen to be a Daughter in a moment of great need. Jaselm, didn’t bat an eye at that, explaining that it was not uncommon for Sons or Daughters of Shanelle to appear in times of need or stress. He told her that it was a teaching of the church that every chosen one is selected in a moment of individual need but also for a larger purpose which they are picked to fulfill for the church of Shanelle and the world at large. At least that much worked out for her since Emily didn’t know how she would get answers about the church if she couldn’t lie to Jaselm and so was glad when he didn’t seem very interested in her background.
Emily even asked him, “So you are saying that no one in the church will care that I’m a moon elf or ask me about where I’m from?”
“No, not exactly. I think you will find that the church for all the good that it does is not a simple institution, so the answer isn’t simple either.”
“What do you mean, not simple?”
“I mean that despite the overall good that people in the church wish to accomplish and the fact that no one, at least none of the people who have received a class through the church will actively work against the church or defy the will of our Goddess as they understand it, they are still people.”
Understanding dawned upon Emily, “Okay, just because we are all working for God doesn’t mean that we will all agree about what He wants us to accomplish.”
Jaselm’s eyebrow shot up at Emily’s pronoun slip up, but he didn’t mention it, “Yes there is that, but there is also that wherever the Goddess has not made Her will expressly known, there are gray areas which are open for debate and in the worst cases, exploitation for personal gain.”
“I guess I thought that hearing Her voice would make it easy to obey Her, simple for all of us to be united.”
Jaselm chuckled, “Well, I know I’m probably young compared to you, but if I’ve learned anything in my years it is that nothing is ever simple when people are involved.”
Emily started to ask what he meant about her age, but caught herself as she remembered that moon elves had an average lifespan of 300 years. She had no idea how elves aged or how old she would appear to be to the other elves. It occurred to her that the humans in Eris’ Rise, Max’s squad, and the duke’s people had treated Mira, a 15 year old, as an adult, but Lord Itsu was constantly calling her a brat or suggesting that she was a child. Instead she switched up her question, “So that still doesn’t answer the question about my race.”
“I can say that without a doubt the church is open to converts of any race or nation. But again, it is a two edged sword, if you will forgive the expression of a military man. Some in the church will see you as a way to spread into the moon elves. Something which the church has failed to do in any meaningful way for all of the history of the church that I know.”
“Hmm…” Emily wasn’t sure what to say to that. It had become apparent that being a moon elf was going to be something of a problem as soon as Duke Holstein had arrived in Eris’ Rise.
That thought brought her back to memories of a few days before.
She was standing in the ruins of the town square, surrounded by the people of this little village. People who were growing on her. People who she truthfully felt somewhat responsible for her. Maybe it was her own version of ‘white savior syndrome,’ but the reality was that these people were so backwards in terms of technology, and the battle had pushed them even further back. Emily knew that she could make a huge difference in the lives of these people, and she wasn’t just thinking of evangelistic efforts. She wasn’t even sure she fully understood her relationship with Shanelle. In more practical terms, she knew that she could teach them about nutrition, sanitation, basic education, and so many other things. Her passion for this was earnest, so much so that she didn’t even see the arrogance in her mindset.
Now though, she couldn’t fix their problems until the hole in her own heart was patched, but that didn’t mean that she was going to let some pompous nobleman scare her people. In her mind, a noble was like what she had seen in various movies, few of which cast them in a favorable light. She expected Duke Holstein to be a self-important blow hard, hiding behind his title and money to bully people that he should be taking care of. To Emily, leadership was the highest form of service, but only if the leader put his or her people before themselves. She was confident that if the duke tried anything hostile to the people of Eris’ Rise that she and Mira would be able to protect them, especially if Max’s people would help them out.
With those thoughts in mind, she heard Mira say, “They are forming a circle around the square, mom.”
That shook her out of her musings, “What? I don’t see anyone?”
“You can’t see them yet, but trust me, I can sense them out there. They are just hiding behind the houses and the remains of the other houses.”
Emily wondered how Mira could see something that she couldn’t, but then remembered that weird magical sense that Mira had which let her ‘feel’ things around her. Then it was moot. After being alerted to their presence, she now saw small indications of movement around their perimeter. She looked around for Leyna to see if she could count on Max’s squad for support and saw the young blond woman sauntering over towards them. Emily felt her face start to burn with anger at the way the young woman walked. It was like she was sex poured into a tight little dress and worse that she knew it and flaunted it.
“Duke Holstein has men all around the town. Our squad is forming up to keep tabs on them, and while they outnumber us, we might be able to take them on because we are stronger man for man.”
“Yes we already knew about the men forming up. Not all of us are dependent upon scouts.” Emily smirked as Leyna seemed surprised that they would know. She realized that she was totally taking credit from her daughter but just wanted to rub something, anything into the woman’s face.
Ignoring the muffled sound of discontent which Mira made, Emily continued on, “Well it's good to know that we can count on all of you. Mira and I can contribute too, so that if it comes to a fight we don’t have to worry.”
“Well that wasn’t exactly what I said. The duke’s regular troops present very little concern even outnumbering us. But I don’t know how powerful any of his personal guard may be, although I highly doubt that any of them are above tier 2, and probably low tier 2 at that.”
“Okay, well that still doesn’t sound so bad.”
“The real problem is the Duke himself.”
“What is one pompous self-important nobleman going to do?”
Mira interrupted at that point, “
Mom you are thinking like back home. Things don’t work that way here. Remember what dad was talking about. You know how personal power is the real form of wealth here.”
Leyna looked confused, but given that the squire was back announcing the duke’s presence, she let it go. “Just promise me that you will follow my lead, and I will keep us all safe.”
Emily nodded noncommittally and turned her eyes at the appearance of the duke. The man was huge, clearly several inches over six feet tall and equally wide of shoulders. His square jaw and somewhat ugly features were splotchy and red like someone who drinks too much and matched the thick red hair that he sported upon the top of his head. His clothing was clearly overdone and fancier than it needed to be, with jewels everywhere and what seemed like a velvet vest in a bright crimson that didn’t go well with his coloration. Worst of all though was the smarmy smile that Emily associated with politicians the world over or now on two worlds.
Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard the squire announcing in a loud voice which he had obviously worked on learning how to project, “I present, His Grace by the will of all true gods, Duke Edwin Henri Francis Holstein, Protector of the North, Pillar of the Kingdom, and Lord of all these lands. All faithful servants bow in the presence of your Lord.”
With that, Talvenicus and all the rest of the townsfolk dropped to one knee with their heads lowered. Emily looked side to side, firmly intent on not bowing before this man. She almost simultaneously felt tugs on both of her arms, one from Leyna and the other from Mira. The former while not dropping to her knees had lowered her head, and given a graceful curtsy. Mira followed suit while whispering, “Mommmm” with great urgency.
Reluctantly, Emily bowed her head and shoulders slightly in what would pass for a sign of respect between two equals in some of the Asian cultures back home. For his part, Duke Holstein stepped forward and scanned his gaze over the assembled former serfs as well as the three women standing in front. Time passed slowly as his gaze seemed to linger upon Leyna, Emily, and then Mira each in turn. That leering turn of the eyes completely devoid of any subtly left Emily feeling like she needed a bath. Still though, she bit her tongue.
“So what do we have here?” his voice deep and gravelly yet full of conceit as the Duke continued to leer at the three women.
Stand from her curtsy, Leyna stood rigidly, her bearing changed from southern bell to military officer in an instant, which was no small feat considering the dress she was wearing. “Lt Leyna Odegeiss of the King’s Purple and Gold, your Grace.”
“Ah, so you did make it here.”
“Not sure what you mean your Grace.” Leyna spook through a grimace, which appeared and then faded from her face so quickly as if to make you wonder if it had ever really been there. “I am able to render a report to your Grace on the status of Eris’ Rise.”
“Oh is that so? Well the rumors were that my holdings had been attacked by moon elves working in conjunction with goblins. I was out on a hunting trip and hurried here as quickly as possible. From what I can see of the state of this town, the rumors were true.” Edwin spoke to everyone and no one in particular, walking back and forth and raising his voice so that he could be heard in the back of the gathering.
After pausing and looking to see if his words had any effect upon the gathered townsfolk, he continued, once again peering directly at Leyna and the Nelsons standing next to her. “Yet when I arrive, I find a supposed servant of the king standing next to the enemy as if you were maids gossiping the day away.”
Leyna took a small step towards the duke, “Your grace, you have been misinformed. Perhaps we could find a comfortable place and together we could discuss the situation here.” Emily didn’t know exactly what Leyna was doing, but she positively exuded a range of emotions from passion to a sense of helplessness. It was almost tangible and didn’t seem as if it could be natural.
Whatever she was doing, the large duke seemed to eat it up with a spoon. Stepping towards the petite blond woman as if to comfort her. Then, from behind him, she heard the sound of someone loudly clearing their throat. As Emily looked, she saw a cluster of five horses, four with riders in heavy armor with the same symbol of the boar as the squire who announced the duke. What she hadn’t noticed before, and for the life of her she couldn’t understand how she hadn’t seen this man before, was a figure sitting astride a white and brown horse patterned in much the same way as the paint horses back home. The man, if in fact it was a man, was cloaked in a dark gray robe with the cowl up completely covering his head despite the fact that it was a pleasant sunny day.
In any event, the sound the man made must have interfered with whatever Leyna had been doing, because Duke Holstein’s demeanor immediately changed from his previous blend of lust and protectiveness to outright anger. The splotchy complexion of his face turned entirely red, and his hand came up in a vicious back fist to the side of the spy’s face. Leyna was apparently caught off guard as she didn’t even attempt to defend herself and instead crumpled to the ground under the onslaught of the heavy blow.
Drawing in his breath deliberately, Edwin said while standing over the blond woman as she held her hands to her face, “You didn’t think that I would know who you are? Or what you are capable of? Harold isn’t the only one with sources you know. And I will thank you witch to keep your tongue silent if you wish to keep it in your mouth.” As he spoke, all of the pretense of civility was stripped from his voice and raw domineering anger came through. With a raised hand, he gestured and the four knights on horseback all moved to form a circle around the Nelsons and the duke towering over the fallen woman.
Emily noticed a venomous look upon Leyna’s face as she looked up at Edwin. It was such a different expression than any she had ever seen grace the woman’s all too beautiful face, so much so that it was almost shocking. Still, Leyna was hurt, and the healer in Emily, whether it be nurse or priestess, couldn’t stand by and watch that. As Emily moved to help Leyna, the duke spoke again, “Hold right where you are unless you want to be run through.” The words must have been a signal for as one all four of the knights pulled swords from scabbards.
Pausing for just a second, Emily looked to the duke, “I am only going to heal her. I don’t know what is going on between the two of you, but anyone who is hurt here in Eris’ Rise is my responsibility.”
Further infuriated by Emily’s lack of use of a title or honorific, Duke Holstein, kicked Leyna as she lay upon the ground. “I don’t know what sort of forest witchcraft you think to work here, but I will have none of it. If you make any attempt to use magic or touch this whore upon the ground, then you will feel steel.”
Being Dave’s son, Jackson couldn’t bear to hear his mother spoken to like that and stepped forward between his mother and the duke before Emily could prevent him. He removed the mace from where it hung across his back and gripped it with two hands.
This elicited a chuckle from the duke. “What have we here? From the looks of it, a half-breed mongrel. Hmmm. But I see the resemblance. It appears the elven witch brought her children with her.” At that, not only the duke laughed but all four of the knights on horseback also joined in.
With a leer at Mira, he continued, “Although, perhaps not all of the children are children anymore. Even an elven witch can apparently bring a tasty treat to play.” This brought an even more raucous laughter from the knights.
A number of things all happened at the same time. Talvenicus crossed the distance towards the duke while Emily pulled Jackson back with her to stand by Mira protectively. The mayor said, “Your Grace, I believe there is a misunderstanding, Emily Nelson is a holy Daughter of Redemption, and she along with her husband saved our town from an attack by goblins and undead.”
That interruption by Talvenicus stopped whatever the Duke had intended as he had been taking a step towards Emily and family. Instead now, he spun towards the mayor, “Who asked you to say anything. Just because you were made the mayor here doesn’t make you any better than an u
ppity serf with delusions of grandeur,” contempt oozed out with every word the Duke spoke. “But out of curiosity, what under the light of Mishpat’s justice would make you think that a moon elf heathen could ever be a servant of one of the true gods, even one as pathetic as Shanelle?”
Talvenicus paled slightly as the duke’s anger was directed towards him. A lifetime of cultural training about rank and status doesn’t disappear in an instant, but no one who had faced combat could completely go weak before harsh words. “Your Grace, she bears the mark of the Goddess, and she wields healing magic beyond anything that I witnessed during my years in the king’s army.”
Duke Holstein stared at Talvenicus for a moment, causing the man to take a half step back. “I’m not sure what is more annoying, your whiny ‘your graces’, this whore’s honeyed lies, or the elven witch’s impertinence. Marks can be faked. Even a country bumpkin should have known better than to believe the lies she has sold you.”
Emily’s hand had gone to the dagger she wore at her waist, and she was preparing to tell the kids to run while she bought them some time, but Mira cut her off, “Here-tai re-ai ore-mai en-mai oving-mai owards-tai s-uai.” At first, Emily didn’t understand the gibberish Mira was speaking, but then those extra six points of INT kicked in, and she processed what her daughter had said, recognizing the pig-latin that Dave used to use in an attempt to keep the kids from understanding when they were younger.