Crinnan felt like he was missing something like he was incomplete. It was not anything so easily identifiable or typical as love or companionship. It was more like he did not fully know himself. It was like he was living in his body with his mind and memories, but he saw himself as a stranger. He did not know who he was looking at when he looked in the mirror. When he found himself in times of deep thought, he did not know who was talking to him in his head. He had never felt that way before that day.
Everyone thinks like that sometimes, or at least that's what Crinnan told himself. We all have the capacity to get lost in our own minds to the point that everything normal seems foreign. It is funny when you finally snap back into reality, how it is all pushed aside so quickly, how everything that was dominating the moment can so simply be thrown in the back seat and left for another time.
As quickly as Crinnan threw his shirt over his head, he found that he was back in reality and that all the thoughts had left him. He pulled back the curtain that led into the main room and stepped forward.
Sage looked up and a warm smile formed on his face. He had a mouth full of rice and hurried to swallow it before speaking.
"Feel better?" he dabbed the corner of his lips with a napkin and folded his hands on his lap.
"I guess," Crinnan rubbed some more of the moisture out of his hair with the towel, "My neck is still sore. Did you find Cade?"
"You will get over it I am sure," Sage's grin did not fade, "I did not find him. Unfortunately, it appears that he disappeared into the woods." He shifted gears and squinted his eyes at the boy, "So, you have been having quite a day have you not?"
Crinnan nodded and threw the towel on a bed in front of him, "It has been a long day." Sage handed a bowl of rice to him, and Crinnan took a seat and eagerly began to eat.
"I should say it is a bit funny," Sage leaned back on his arms and turned his head back toward Crinnan, "How quickly and absurdly a person's variables can change."
"What do you mean?" Crinnan mumbled with a mouth full of food.
"Why, this time yesterday you were with your friends, your squad mates," he explained, gesturing with his hands as he did so, "You were probably smiling and enjoying yourself because you were comfortable. You were with people you were familiar with and who you probably care for deeply. Now here, a mere day and some later, you are with a half-crazed forest dweller, a 1000-year-old disfigured mutant Elf, and a parade of mentally broken children. Not to mention you were almost sodomized by one of the three Presidents of the Agra Triangle Corporation…"
"I… don’t think he had any intention of…"
"I am merely and simply commenting on how one can never know how quickly their conditions can change," Sage cut him off, "I find it fascinating."
Crinnan shoveled more rice into his mouth and nodded his head in agreement, "Well, you got some of that right at least," Crinnan quipped, cracking a half smile.
"Oh yeah?" Sage curiously asked, "And that was?"
"You are half-crazed… at least."
Sage chuckled at Crinnan's uncharacteristic jab and stretched his arms out, "Do my ears deceive me?" Sage grinned widely and raised his eyebrows, "Is the hardened soldier, in fact, capable of humor? But yes, you are right. All this time alone takes a toll on a person." He maintained his little laugh and looked away, "Do you plan on getting any sleep?"
"I want to get going," Crinnan replied, "We have stayed here way too long already."
"Resilient boy," Sage stood and dusted the extra rice off his lap, "Stubborn even. Our guides should be here soon. We will leave when they arrive… The children are downstairs being entertained by Garb."
"The children…" Crinnan groaned, "How many will be going with us?
"Just one," Sage replied, "That Lycaani boy, Freyja."
"Splendid," Crinnan rolled his eyes and sighed, "What are you going to do with him when I'm gone?"
"We will just have to see how our variables unfold. I should say that at this moment I do not have any idea what will become of him."
Crinnan stood up to join Sage. As he walked back into the bathroom to put on his armor, Sage trailed behind and watched him closely.
"Are you feeling alright?" he asked with a different tone, "Do you feel any changes? Anything different at all?"
"I feel fine," Crinnan assured him as he tied the string on his bracers, "Why do you ask?"
"You just underwent a NaNe purge…" he pointed to the bruise that Cade left on Crinnan's neck, "This means you are now vulnerable to sickness, and your wounds will not heal with NaNe support. I have no idea what sort of toxic air you could be breathing around here."
"Everything feels normal," Crinnan observed as he dismissed Sage's concern.
"Either way, do show a bit more care in the next half of our journey," Sage advised, "I do not want you getting an injury that could become infected. That would slow us down more than Freyja."
"I'm not slow," Freyja argued from his bed. He sat and chewed on his rice and the others briefly turned to look at him.
"I’ll be fine," Crinnan dismissed the boy as he secured his rig, "I’ve not been killed yet."
Sage grumbled and turned away, "I do not suppose we will be warmly welcomed back to this place. The innkeeper gave us a free room, and we blew out the window and broke his furniture. I hope we are out of here before he finds out."
The thought of that left Crinnan feeling uneasy. He thought back to the conversation he had with Jethro and the free Dravink he had been given. He felt bad but knew that Sage was right. They could not afford any more setbacks.
"Either way," Sage continued, "I am going down to the village minister's lodge. I want to check and see whether our guides have arrived yet."
"I’ll join you." Crinnan slid his father's Govian saber into its scabbard, "I’m ready to leave." Sage nodded and cracked a smile.
"‘Tis probably best that you not be left alone anymore I should say. We do not want any more incidents." Crinnan shrugged, and the three of them walked out the door.
***
The village was illuminated only by the soft flickering of torches. The Brothers had set, and their cousins the stars had come out for the night. Crinnan and Sage walked down the dirt street in the torchlight, heading toward the tent with the tree and stream of smoke coming out the top.
Under the blanket of night, the Belhaasi Weald felt even more eerie than before. You could hear the howls of unknown beasts coming from the woods, and from time to time you would notice a rustling nearby.
"Not scared of the dark are you?" Sage asked as he looked over at Crinnan, "I should say you seem a bit skittish."
"I’m fine," Crinnan's words felt only half true.
"Well, you had best be on your guard," Sage advised, "These woods are very dangerous at night. I would not want you haphazardly stumbling down a sewer entrance, or to be plucked up by some ravenous Toraan or ambushed by the undead, or even molested by an Agra President…"
"I get it. I will stay vigilant. " Crinnan reassured him.
"You will stay vigilant?" Sage repeated with a laugh. "My dear boy, we do not live in the Age of Blood… You are no knight in shining armor, quite the opposite in fact… anyway, here we are."
The trio walked up to the building, and Sage pulled the door flap back, "You first," he smiled, "The minister awaits." Crinnan shrugged and ducked inside.
The lodge was dimly lit by a small fire pit that sat in the middle of the main room. The smoke floated out a hole in the top of the roof. Crinnan looked around briefly but stopped when he saw the hooded being seated on what looked like a pile of animal furs. A person sat on either side of him smoking something from a pipe. One was a muscular male Elf, shirtless and hairless, the other a rainbow haired female Faire. The hooded person, with his head lowered, raised his hand and motioned for Crinnan to come to him.
"You are the Black Knight," he said in a voice so soft it was almost a whisper, "the one from the vision… Demon…"
Crinnan nodded his h
ead and tried to get a look at the face behind the hood. He could see his pale skin and dark red lips, but the rest was covered in shadow. The smoothness of the skin that was visible surprised him, as he expected to see a wrinkled elder Elf.
Crinnan looked at the people sitting next to the hooded one. The Elf was rough-skinned and heavily built with a squared jaw and no shirt. He looked as if he were a statue of an ancient warrior, as there was a sword on each of his hips and an axe on the floor next to him.
The other person was a Faire with a petite build. The Faire were a type of Elf known for their bright hair and long ears. They were generally petite in build and were usually healers when it came to NaNe abilities.
The Elf had his eyes closed, and the Faire stared at Crinnan with an intoxicated looking grin.
"I do hope we are not late," Sage closed the tent flap behind him, "We were hoping to find that our guides had arrived."
The hooded village Minister lifted what looked like a cigarette to his lips and took a deep drag. After holding it in for a few moments, he exhaled a plume of purple smoke and handed it to the statuesque Elf to his left.
"They are here," he replied softly, "Guntz and Nora they are called, and they will guide you along the quickest path to the caverns."
"Very good," Sage cracked his knuckles, "Then I should say we are prepared to leave."
The minister nodded at Sage and then looked over at Crinnan. "What ails you, Demon?" he abruptly asked.
Crinnan could not see them, but he knew the Minister's eyes were locked onto him. "What?" he asked, a bit blindsided by the sudden inquiry. "There is nothing wrong with me."
"You are not normal," the minister stood and walked toward him, "Where is your NaNe? I sense you are... empty…"
Sage sighed. "The boy has been purged. It happened less than an hour ago."
"Quite unfortunate and very curious," the minister replied, "But rectifiable." He stood up, and slowly walked over to a cabinet that stood against one of the log walls. He promptly opened it and reached inside. He closed the cabinet and returned to the others.
"We can remedy your situation," The minister presented a shining cylinder similar to the one that Cade had. Crinnan looked at it and took a deep, anxious breath.
"Will it take long?" he asked.
"Time should be the least of your worries, child," The minister replied, "For you are young and have yet to experience the true effects of life. Without your NaNe... your time in this world will be very short and most likely insignificant."
"Everybody's time is short here." Crinnan rebutted.
"Are you declining my offer?" the minister asked. Crinnan did not know what to say. He stood silently for a moment. But soon enough their silence was interrupted.
A villager suddenly burst through the flap of the lodge panting heavily. A look of fear was smeared across his face, and he took no time to try and catch his breath. Crinnan smirked at his splinted finger.
"Govians are here!" the villager shouted with a panicked tone, "They say they are after the Demon."
"Indeed?" the minister softly acknowledged. He looked to Crinnan and Sage and his shoulders raised and lowered from a sigh, "We will have to postpone your flood until you solve this problem you have created." He walked over to the mess of furs and sat down again, looking to the Elf at his left. "Go and help them Guntz."
The Elf silently stood and retrieved the heavy looking axe from the ground next to him. He did not say a word as he walked over and stood by Sage. He instead closed his eyes and waited for further instruction.
"Do not let any harm befall you Crinnan," the minister said as he took a thoughtful drag of his cigarette, "Go now."
Crinnan looked over at Sage, and the Elf nodded. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, then turned and walked out of the lodge.
They stepped outside into the torch lit village to find a group of about thirteen Govian soldiers staring directly at them. As Crinnan neared them, he began to hear a bit of their mumbling and whispering. Sage and Guntz walked next to Crinnan and silently observed their upcoming opponents. Crinnan was also working on a strategy, trying to figure out how to make it out of there alive.
"Here is the Demon!" one of the soldiers shouted with a thick Govian accent. "Here he is to save the day!" The Govian bowed before him, and the others laughed. Crinnan continued to walk in silence.
As he got closer to the squad, Crinnan was able to survey their armaments a bit better. He was relieved to find that they were a lightly armored team of mostly scouts and swordsmen. He also noticed they had rifles and had no idea how he was going to get around that.
The tallest of the Govians stood as Crinnan approached.
"Ah!" he hissed as he looked the Demon up and down, "Hail Crinnan Jamiso, son of the mighty warlord!" His accent was strong, and Crinnan despised it.
"We have been looking for you; my most elusive lovely," the Govian continued with a thin-lipped smile, "It would be my pleasure to introduce myself to you. I am Captain Revaan Lyander Daarluck. You stand before my most handsome and quite capable squad." He bowed slightly, locking his darkly lined eyes onto Crinnan's.
"What do you want?" Crinnan asked, reserving any sign of interest or emotion but exerting confidence.
Revaan stroked his curved, thin beard with two long-nailed fingers and raised an elegantly jeweled hand. "You see, my most lovely, my squad and I have traveled quite a long way to find you today. We are under direct order of Bishop General Klaus, who was commanded by His Grace the Grand Emperor Cidro himself, to find and present you to the Almighty. I know you are both flattered and honored to be the recipient of such high attention and am confident that you will find it quite difficult to decline such an offer."
One of Revaan's soldiers spit in the dirt and grinned at Crinnan. His eyes were darkened with thick eyeliner, and his teeth glistened brown from the tobacco he chewed on.
"Impossible," Crinnan shook his head, "I have important business to be taking care of. Anything else is going to have to wait for another day."
Revaan stepped forward and laughed patronizingly, "Dear, lovely Demon, I do not believe you fully understand the magnitude of a personal summons by his benevolence," he jabbed one of his gold-dressed fingers into Crinnan's chest, "You have no choice."
Crinnan looked up towards the canopy of the forest and sighed. He hated talking; he did not know what to say anymore. His mind raced to find the right words. Finally, he shrugged his shoulders and returned his gaze to eye level. The two stared at each other, and Crinnan smiled.
"My choice is my own," he said slowly. He knew this was going to anger the Govian, for they saw their Emperor as a demigod of sorts. The Emperor's will came before all personal wishes of every citizen of the Govian empire.
"Unlike many others, I have not allowed the leash of the emperor to choke my freedom. I go where I desire. His benevolence will have to wait."
The Govian was offended. He stepped backward and stroked his beard again as he paced for a moment. "Young sinner, you forget your place," Revaan spat as he began to walk a circle around Crinnan.
Crinnan's eyes scanned the soldiers in front of him, and he could feel his trigger finger begin to itch. He wanted to raise his rifle and blow them away, to be done with it. He wished it were that easy.
"You clearly neither understand nor recognize the disgusting blasphemies you allow to proceed from your beautiful mouth," Revaan snapped as he jammed his finger into Crinnan's chest again. His eyes looked over Crinnan, and he smiled as he dragged a finger across Crinnan's mouth, "I believe somebody forgot to teach you how to correctly use these lovely lips of yours when addressing your superiors."
The jeweled hand rose up and came to a rest on Crinnan's left shoulder. Revaan walked to his side and pressed his face into the side of Crinnan's head.
For a moment Crinnan stood motionless as Revaan breathed on him, inhaling his scent. The feeling of his greasy skin and the prick of his mustache was enough to make Crinnan gag.
Crinnan's head turned, and their eyes met once again. He projected a look that suggested he was thinking. He wasn't. In truth, he had already resolved to kill Revaan.
"At what cost?"
Revaan chuckled and brought his free hand up to stroke Crinnan's cheek, "No cost my most lovely young Demon. Though I am open to any act of… charity?" Crinnan's mind vomited, and he knew it was time to carry out his plan.
"We’ll see what we can work out," Crinnan snickered, "As long as you hold your end of the bargain."
The Govian laughed and pulled away. He stood squarely in front of Crinnan and reached out his arm. As quickly as possibility would allow, Crinnan swatted the arm away with one hand and pulled his sword from its scabbard with the other. In the same movement, with his free hand, he grabbed his rifle and pressed his finger onto the trigger. As Crinnan spun to kill the Govian before him, he began firing at the soldiers that he had counted earlier. He had no idea how accurate he was. But by the time that Revaan's greasy head hit the dust the swordsmen behind him had raised their weapons.
Sage's hand shot into the air, and he blasted a stream of anti-machines toward the soldiers. They squeezed their triggers, but their weapons refused to fire. Angrily, they tossed their guns down and drew their swords.
Three sword-bearing Govians charged Crinnan. He shot one and slowed him, but the other two quickly closed the gap between them. They swung their swords, and Crinnan darted out of the way of one attack and deflected the other.
The Govian pulled his blade away, and Crinnan stepped to his left and sliced through his foe where his skull and spine met. The soldier fell to the ground, and as the other soldier turned, Crinnan fired a round into the side of his head, and he too fell.
"Surrender!" the third Govian shouted as he finally approached, "You can't possibly…" Crinnan raised his rifle and sent a burst into the soldier's chest and throat. He gargled something and found himself on the ground flailing about wildly, trying desperately to breathe. Crinnan shot him again, this time, through his facemask.
The Black Knight Box Set Page 22