Squire of War

by M. H. Johnson

  Malek clapped Jess's shoulder. "Come, sister, let's see what gifts Neal most definitely did not bring us, should anyone ask."

  And much to their surprise and wonder, they pulled out matching pairs of bronze breastplates, greaves, and barbute helms with full cheek and nose guards. Jess was pleased to see that the ancient looking helms were well padded, with freshly drilled holes to allow for excellent hearing.

  Malek gave an approving nod. "We might give it a few dents, but let's strap these on and see how well we fight with them.

  Fully kitted up within moments, they voided, parried, and struck at full fighting speed, despite limbs already trembling with fatigue, finding they could lunge forward and twist away with little extra effort, trained as they were. For all that bronze atop rawhide was hot and heavy, as Squires they had trained to endure such burdens and more. Fortunately their hearing was unimpaired and their peripheral vision almost perfect with the tiny modifications that had been made to those ancient helms.

  "'Tis a good thing we train at dawn and dusk, or I'd fear cooking like a kettle on a stove," Malek joked, Jess nodding her agreement before turning to the familiar sight of Abe weaving through the field as if he were a heartbeat away from falling, yet managing to stay upright, sacks full of ale and meat pies ever on hand.

  His cherubic grin widened as he caught sight of Jess, bright red hair blowing in the evening breeze, lifting one hand in greeting as he approached, then promptly toppling over.

  Jess and Malek winced. "There goes our dinner." He sighed.

  Jess nodded. "Mashed meat pies tonight."

  "Same as every night."

  The pair chuckled, helping to right a flustered Abe, gazing so sadly at his sacks. "Oh bother. I fear I squished them something awful." His freckled features looked so crestfallen as he stared up at Jess that she couldn't help but forgive him with a hug.

  "It's all right, Abe. These things happen. And thank you, as always, for bringing our fare."

  "Oh, I'm so happy to!" He declared, crestfallen gaze turning instantly to a smile once more. "They are especially delicious! Cook always has a look in her eyes when I mention you, and, well, she always saves the very best of everything for you two. And I don't blame her a bit! After all, everyone knows that Head Proctor Hatsk is a right royal jackass." He flushed at those words. "You're the smartest, most beautiful and friendly student in the whole school, Jess. All those rumors about Hatsk being a savage butcher who killed his own assistant and buried his body along with poor Sella have to be true."

  Jess exchanged a grin with Malek. It seemed her fellow Squires were engaging in good old fashioned character assassination. Before Jess flinched, suddenly recalling that Gruntig's death was no one's fault but her own.

  "He doesn't sound well-loved," Malek said.

  Abe nodded enthusiastically. "Everyone hates him. Or at least, some people do. To be honest I just run when I see him, so he's never bothered me."

  "An understandable strategy," Jess deadpanned. "But you don't want to give him reason to chase you, so best just to avoid his eye and walk past with other students beside you. Then he has no cause to look your way."

  Abe grinned. "That's a wonderful idea. So, what are you two doing? Anything I can help with? Oh, I see you are both wearing bronze, and it looks so beautiful on you, catching the sun like fire! Even if our professors say it is no match for steel."

  "It isn't," Malek acknowledged. "But then again, nothing is, and few can afford anything better than a cuir bouilli breastplate and a simple iron helmet, not proper steel at all, and that bronze is superior to. In fact, properly forged and hardened bronze is actually a hell of a lot tougher than people give it credit for. Only against steel armor does it fail. Yet almost no one wears steel plates, few can even afford mail hauberks. A sharpened bronze blade can be just as sharp as steel, able to cut through flesh just as readily, though it will need resharpening frequently. The advantage of steel weaponry is that we can forge longer blades with better edges, and the blades are much less likely to warp or bend in combat. They can bite into bronze armor, but it is far more likely just to leave ugly dents than actually pierce a properly hardened bronze breastplate."

  Malek patted Abe's shoulder, relieving him of ale flasks and pie. "Best to read the treatises or speak to martial instructors. The real reason why you see bronze so rarely even after the cataclysm, when all but masterwork steel armaments turned brittle, is cost, Abe. Bronze armor is expensive. Cuir bouilli and quilted linen gambesons are almost as tough, and comparatively cheap."

  Abe nodded enthusiastically. "Thank you for explaining it to me, Malek. All I recall about metallurgy is that only steel blades with edges are easy to make, the natural ether tempering the blades with sufficient magic that the metal matrix doesn't turn brittle."

  Jess smiled. "Steel swords are not easy to make, Abe. The stabilizing edges just means it's not much harder to forge than it was before the cataclysm. Armor is entirely different. The fine helms and steel breastplates that Squires wear cost a fortune because they have no edges for arcane energies to percolate and help temper the steel, so they do take a master smith to forge without turning brittle, and the armor still fails the final tests as often as not. I suspect bronze breastplates and helms would be seen all over the battlefield, as it is actually stronger than iron given no more temper than being baked in ash, if it wasn't so difficult to get a hold of the tin needed to make bronze."

  Abe grinned. "I knew you were a scholar, Jess. They were so wrong to throw you out, no matter what that jackanapes of a proctor said."

  As soon as he said the words he flushed. "I'm sorry, Jess, I didn't mean to say that. It's just, you distract me." Embarrassed cheeks grew bright red as he bowed his head.

  Jess chuckled softly. "It's all right, Abe. Don't tell anyone, most especially not that serpent of a proctor, but we actually graduated with full honors." She swallowed. "It's just that, well, we're not allowed in the school any more. But as far as the world at large is concerned, we left under amicable circumstances."

  Malek nodded, gaze cynical. "As they'd be fools to insult nobility and expect largess in turn, if lords have to worry about their sons actually being at risk of shame and censure, should they do nothing but carouse all their days, as so many city lords do. Even if Jess and I have to leave, even if we are denied written letters of recommendation to vaunted posts and other sought-after positions, the true goal of so many students, no one of noble birth is forced to leave Highrock in shame unless he committed a high crime, no matter what that bastard of a proctor wants."

  Jess grinned. "And Rens made it clear that we wouldn't be denied those letters either, if he had anything to say about it."

  Abe nodded, brightening once more. "Oh, guess what? The ceremony is happening tomorrow! I'm glad you decided to stay, Jess. You can watch me be a part of it, if you want. The ceremony, I mean."

  He sighed, gently squeezing a surprised Jess's hand. "If they needed a Druid, I'd tell Master Rens we had to include you, because you would be fantastic! Everyone knows how good you are at growing things. The healers already miss your absence, but Hatsk just smirks at them and calls them pathetic excuses for healers when they grumble about you being forced to leave. But guess what? One of the healers is actually going to be helping with the ceremony! Rens thinks healing magic must be the missing link that would allow us to better access the Dreamrealms, and the tome we've uncovered gave us clues on how to use a healer to unlock the seal between worlds."

  Jess frowned. "What are you talking about, Abe?"

  Abe blinked. "The tome that is showing us how to breach the barrier between our worlds, so all the lost secrets can be ours!"

  Jess swallowed. "But Abe, I thought... wasn't Rens worried about the barrier being breached? I thought he just wanted to peer inside living dream. If anything, he wanted to close off the Shadowrealms to protect Highrock."

  Abe blinked. "But how can we gain its secrets if we push it away? If we bring it forth, if we had adventu
rers who could safely plumb its depths, one can only wonder at the treasure to be found!" Abe sighed. "Oh well, at least our ceremony will let us examine everything in detail, like a hawk flying from above. It's fascinating to wonder what's inside!"

  Abe darted forward so fast Jess had to fight the urge to knock him back, Abe squeezing an armored Jess as tight as he could.

  "I'm so, so sorry, Jess. Highrock isn't the same without you."

  Jess smiled. "Thank you, Abe. That means a lot."

  Abe whispered something, still hugging her close.

  "I'm sorry, Abe?"

  He stepped back, head lowered. "When you go back home..."

  Her heart lurched at those words.

  "Can I, um, visit you?"

  Jess blinked. "Visit me?"

  Abe's grin beamed like the sun. "Yes! I would so love to, you know. You are my best friend here at Highrock and you like to talk to me and no one else does and, well, I'll miss you when you go, so take care and think about it, okay? Bye bye!"

  Abe turned tail and fled back to the keep as fast as his legs could take him, bright red curls billowing in the wind.

  Malek chuckled softly. "It looks like you've found at least one admirer who cares nothing for your standing at this school."

  Jess flushed. "He's like an adorable stuffed toy bear. Or perhaps a puppy." She couldn't help grinning. "Still, I get the feeling that I could tell him anything about my past, and he wouldn't bat an eye."

  Malek chuckled. "If it meant a chance of courting you? You could tell him you were a queen of Hell, and he'd only be worried that some handsome diabolist might steal you away."

  Jess winced. "I'm not that bad."

  Malek held her close, removing her helmet, kissing her forehead. "You're not bad at all. Come, sister. A dinner of meat pies prepared by our favorite cook awaits."

  Grinning, Jess dug in, sharing jests and fond memories, letting all care and worry fade with final sips of ale, making her bedding and shutting the door of their makeshift cottage before sinking into deepest slumber, curled against her closest friend.

  45

  Jess, are you asleep? Jera and I wanted to talk to you."

  But Jess was already awake, basking in the silvery rays from the brilliant moon overhead washing over her, the air alive with the sound of crickets and the hoot of owls. A soft breeze laden with pine, jasmine, and an endless plethora of wildflowers left her feeling invigorated and alive.

  Jess smiled as her friends approached.

  Jera, jacket wrapped tightly about her gazed wide-eyed at Jess, leaning against her beau. "My word, Jess, it's like you knew we were coming."

  Jess winked. "Perhaps I did."

  Jera smirked, green eyes twinkling. "Let me guess. The grass told you we were approaching?"

  Jess chuckled softly. "Hardly the grass, Jera." She pointed up at the rustling oak that made up one of the few trees about the Squire's mock fortifications that had seen more raids, desperate defenses, and all out assaults than any real keep ever had.

  A few trees Eloquin had deemed realistic, as some keeps left themselves foolishly vulnerable, allowing such near their main fortifications, the Squires assaulting the other side when Eloquin wanted to truly test them. "It was the leaves above your head."

  Jera paled and swallowed, suddenly deadly serious. She and Alex exchanged a solemn glance, bowing as one. "Our thanks to the tree, Jess. We will never mock the power of the forest nor the debt we owe it, and you."

  Jess winced. "Don't be so serious, Jera, I was having you on."

  Jera smiled. "So, you just happened to be up?"

  Jess shook her head. "Nope, the tree really did clue me in, but it's not like he expects you to worship him or anything, and the thought of you blaming yourself for what that sorry excuse of a proctor did is just another burden upon my heart."

  Malek nodded. "We chose to charge those Velheim bastards. We put our fellow Squires' lives at risk. If anything had happened to them, it would have been our burden to bear. The fact that all of us made it and we were able to rescue everyone, save for poor Abella, is a miracle for which I'm more than willing to accept our early discharge in trade."

  Jess nodded in heartfelt agreement to Malek's words before frowning, fearing that another had been lost. A flash of a panicked girl's cry, sucked into something black and terrible.

  Jess shivered, momentarily sickened, the sound of crickets drowning out ghostly cries, and as fast as it took her to wonder why she was sitting so still, her friends gazing at her so oddly, it was gone.

  "It's not right." Alex shook his tousled hair, Jera squeezing his hand tight. "None of this is right. That bastard of a proctor shouldn't even be here. He clearly cares nothing for students or staff, scurrying like a rat, looking for any excuse to lash out with his rod."

  Jess clenched her fists. "He wouldn't dare."

  Alex's gaze hardened. "He has. And the look I saw in the girls he struck made it quite clear they were too terrified to say a word."

  Jess swallowed. "But I know Dean Echobart. Everything else aside, he is a good man."

  Jera nodded. "He can only do something if people formally report the man, the more the better. But Hatsk has implied that anyone who dares to complain will meet the same fate you did. And really, his smirk says it all. So no one says a word."

  "Bloody bastard," Malek snarled. "I should have broken his back while I had the chance!"

  Alex flashed a bleak smile. "Rumors and innuendo abound. Why don't you share with us what happened, as best as you remember. I have some ideas, but I need to get my facts straight first."

  Jess nodded and told her tale as best she could, what she remembered anyway, changing only a few truths she feared sharing, even with her friends.

  Alex frowned. "All right, Jess. I get that you were checking Sella's things in the baths for traces of intoxicant, and if Hatsk really did beat her within an inch of her life and cast her out to die in a gutter somewhere, that's grounds enough for his dismissal if not a trial and a stint in the stockades."

  Jera nodded. "But what made you think her flask might have been tainted? Or ours, for that matter?"

  Jess opened her mouth, swallowing, realizing she had not a clue.

  Malek turned to her, nodding his head in silent agreement. "It's like there's a gap in our memories. I recall knowing and acting on that knowledge, but not what exactly what it was that we knew."

  Jess nodded. "And when Twilight warned me that the boy was in danger, and I raced to the rescue, that's when I sprung Hatsk's trap. Duggin ambushing me with a cinquedea, and no slouch with the weapon either. I couldn't risk pulling my blows, and only because I felt guilty about... well, never mind. Anyways, I left Duggin alive. And a good thing too. Hatsk was waiting with the other proctors in tow, accusing me of attempted murder, his beady little eyes and vicious smile oozing pure malice."

  Alex frowned. "No mention was made of any knife, particularly one so suitable to killing at close range. No student should be wearing a cinquedea, particularly not a male, without the benefit of being a Squire or Aspirant."

  Jess nodded. "And conveniently, no trace of servitor or weapon has been found, though I know Eloquin tried."

  Alex's eyes narrowed. "Hatsk is a rotten apple, and has to go. Give me time, Jess. I think, perhaps, I might be able to design a spell that would allow us to track down that dagger."

  Jess grinned. "That would be fantastic, Alex. If we had proof, we could intimidate Duggin into giving a confession that would seal Proctor Hatsk's fate for sure."

  Alex nodded. "Rens has hit some complications, for all that he's working feverishly hard on perfecting the ritual that will allow us to open a doorway into living dream, so the ceremony is still a few days off. That gives me some extra time." His gazed at the night sky, sighing whistfully. "Imagine it, Jess. Soon we'll be able to explore lands of adventure and wonder, just like in the tomes you and Malek love so much."

  Jess exchanged a worried glance with Malek. "Alex, tell me true. Don
't you recall being worried about this rift, not so long ago? All but calling Malek and I fools for daring utter oblivion, pursuing a Delver's dream?"

  Alex grinned. "I do, Jess, and I realize now how narrow-minded that was. It's your dream. Who am I to scold you out of pursuing it? And with the madness that Highrock is becoming, I see less and less wrong with thoughts of escaping into lands of endless dream and wonder."

  "And nightmare, Alex," Malek softly reminded. "Lands dark and foul, where the most hideous and twisted imaginings might be found, very much alive and aware, and hungry for your soul. That was the moral of at least half the tomes you lent me. Did you forget your own lessons?"

  Jera shook her head. "Not at all. But we learned from them. Rens will have us warded by the most potent magics before we open the rift wide to better explore all its secrets."

  Alex chuckled softly. "Don't worry, Malek. I'm just saying that I appreciate your hunger far more than I did before, and if anything, I owe you an apology." He took a deep breath. "Not to mention my life. The least I can do is try to devise some means to track down that dagger, even though I ache with every fiber of my being to help Rens. When I explained to him that I had a debt to repay to you two, he understood immediately, for all that his hunger to explore living dream is even stronger than mine."

  Alex smiled. "Remember, Jess, even while you were wearing that bloody foul robe, no one mocked you in the Wizards Wing. A mage always honors his obligations, and you're a useful ally to have."

  He gently clasped Jess's hand. "And you're my friend. And you saved our entire coterie. I can never really repay you for that, but if there's even a chance that I can put an end to Hatsk smearing your reputation with anyone foolish enough to listen to him, I will."

  Jess blinked back unexpected tears, Jera kissing her cheek and squeezing her hand in sympathy as they said their farewells before heading back to the keep once more.

  Jess gazed at her friend, shaking her head. "I know I should love Alex and Jera finally feeling the same tingle of excitement that we do at the thought of exploring worlds of dream and wonder. But their sudden fascination just fills me with an odd sort of dread."