Soldiers of the Crown

by Stephen L. Nowland

  “I used to think that way, Aiden,” she explained, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “When I was exiled from akora, I found the world beyond our borders intimidating and strange. Yet, in my first encounter with men of violence, a passing robed man offered me his assistance, in the form of strange magics that paralysed my foes and allowed me to finish them off quickly.”

  “You didn’t find that dishonourable?” Maggie asked cynically, seated at the table next to Nellise.

  “The greatest honour is victory,” Valennia replied stridently. “Although sceptical of this frail young man at first, I soon discovered he was not the monster I had been taught from childhood to believe all magicians were. I am very open-minded by the standards of my people, so I rewarded his efforts with a night of ceaseless passion in the forest.”

  “Is that right,” Aiden remarked with a suppressed grin, wondering if the poor chap had survived before noticing Sayana walking over to join them finally. “You know, Sayana originally came from Akora as well, though I doubt the two of you ever met.”

  “Yes, I hear a familiar accent to her voice,” Valennia divulged. “Though I do not know her, I will drink with her as if she were my own sister. Come, and we shall talk of home, and the miles between.”

  “I don’t drink,” Sayana replied weakly, obviously unsure if she wanted to endure the friendship of this loud woman.

  “Then you shall learn,” Val beamed, putting her arm around Sayana’s shoulder and gently moving her in the direction of the bar. Content to speak with Nellise for the moment, he pulled up a chair and slumped into it.

  “Quite a busy morning, yes?” Maggie observed wryly.

  “I trust Nellise has explained what happened in the cathedral?” he asked, receiving a quick nod in reply. “I had some difficulty with the wizards at the University. It turns out they don’t hold amateur practitioners in high regard.”

  “I sense you have a knack for understatement there, Aiden,” Maggie replied, sipping from a small cup that still seemed too big for her tiny hands.

  “You could say that,” Aiden sighed. “What a first day we’ve had, though. As soon as Ronan wakes up, I’ll need to talk to him about some of his contacts to get us back on track.”

  “That reminds me,” Maggie interjected, “what was that Salinder thing you mentioned earlier?” Aiden tensed up a little, not sure how much he should explain, having forgotten that their new little friend seemed to have a sharp mind and an excellent memory.

  “Oh, nothing important,” Aiden said as casually as he could manage. “It was a word I came across in my studies, and I thought Desmond might have some inkling about its meaning.”

  “I see,” Maggie replied easily, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms. Nellise, having not said a word thus far, also gave Aiden a scrutinizing look.

  “I don’t know why you lied about that just now, Aiden,” the cleric remarked, “but I hope it isn’t something we should know about, for our own safety.”

  “I’m sorry,” Aiden replied hastily, realizing his mistake, “it’s something rather personal to me, but I swear it’s no danger to you or anyone else, for that matter. I was just looking for an explanation.”

  “Well that was the truth, at least,” Maggie observed.

  “What, you too?” Aiden asked incredulously.

  “Our faiths are not as different as you might think,” Maggie explained as if reading his thoughts. “We’ve been talking a little while we were waiting for you, and it turns out we have some things in common.”

  “Which is to say that we agree to disagree on a lot of issues,” Nellise corrected her counterpart.

  “When you get right down to it, the core ideals are the same,” Maggie contested.

  “What you call a god of nature, I just call God,” Nellise pressed, apparently picking up where they’d left off an earlier discussion. “You are praying to the same deity, Margaret, you just don’t realise it.”

  “So, what are you going to do now?” Aiden asked curiously.

  “I honestly don’t know, at least in terms of how my work with the Church will continue.” She seemed sad and reflective, not surprising given the sudden change in her life.

  “What about joining a different Chapter?” Aiden suggested.

  “I briefly considered that option,” Nellise replied. “The other two Chapters only differ from the Heralds in location, not principles, with the exception of the Penitent Sisters and their vow of celibacy which I find a little extreme.”

  This made Aiden blink in surprise, for the way she spoke indicated that her previous chapter did not have the restriction, news that Pacian would find very interesting.

  “Can you stay with the church, but remain independent of the other chapters?” Maggie asked curiously.

  “For a time, I may remain an Errant Priest, though I will eventually be asked to choose a path or leave the faith altogether,” Nellise replied solemnly. Aiden wasn’t happy to see her like this — indecisive, sad and without purpose. Her bravery and faith were the sole reason he was still alive at this point. She must have sensed he was gazing at her, for she looked up at him and they locked eyes for a long moment.

  “What?” Aiden asked, starting to blush from the scrutiny.

  “What is it you think I should do?” she asked him.

  “You’re asking my opinion because you value my input as a friend, or because you think God sent me to help you?”

  “It can be both,” she answered with a slight smile. One of these days, Aiden was going to have to disabuse her of the notion he met God, because sooner or later it was going to cause them some real problems. He wasn’t sure Archon Price had actually told her his thoughts on Aiden’s so-called divinity, but for now, she needed advice, and he had some for her.

  “Keep doing what you’ve been doing, but with no regrets,” he told her after a moment’s consideration. “You’ve followed your heart this far, and although it might seem difficult for you, I can’t fault any of your decisions up to this point. Don’t pay too much attention to the politics of the Church. I’m sure His Holiness did what he needed to do for the sake of appearances. God is still answering your prayers, right?” She nodded meekly. “Then how can you question the direction you’re heading in?”

  “Nicely put,” Maggie remarked. Nellise nodded slowly and a faint smile creased her beautiful face.

  “That was some very poignant advice,” she said. “It was almost as if it were divinely inspired.”

  “It’s just me talking here,” Aiden suggested, slightly embarrassed. “Give it some thought, okay? I’m going to get a drink.” Making his way to the bar, he spotted Pacian staring intently a glass of amber liquid.

  “So how are the ladies?” he asked as Aiden pulled up a stool beside him.

  “They’re doing well, and Nellise seems to be taking the change of career in her stride,” he replied, looking at the tall pitcher of amber liquid sitting on the bench. “How are you faring?”

  “I’ll be better once this pitcher is empty,” he explained, pouring more of it into a tall glass and taking a long swig. “If I never see the dead walking around again, it’ll be too soon. I swear I’ve never been so scared in my entire life. Here, have a drink with me.”

  “I guess one or two wouldn’t hurt,” Aiden reluctantly agreed. “Nellise wanted me to tell you that she’s sorry she hasn’t been very talkative of late. For that matter, where do you two stand at the moment anyway?”

  “I’ve been giving her space,” Pacian told him. “She needed to get her head sorted out, and I didn’t want to be telling her ‘I told you so’ while she was coping with it all.”

  “That’s very gentlemanly of you, but I couldn’t help but notice that you’re talking in the past tense,” Aiden observed as he took a sip of his beer.

  “As soon as I’ve had a couple more,” Pacian blustered, “I’m going to tell her how I really feel about her, straight to her face and see where we go from there.”

  “That�
�s a bold move. What’s changed?”

  “Looking death in the face, literally,” Pacian replied with a haunted look. “Have another drink.”

  “I’m not much of a drinker, and you know it. Neither are you, for that matter.”

  “I’m hoping that should make it easier to get drunk,” Pacian explained. “Come on, Aiden, we fought the undead today. Have a drink with me,” he insisted, pouring some more beer into Aiden’s glass.

  Chapter Eleven

  A pounding sensation in his head brought Aiden back to consciousness, although it was some time before he remembered how to open his eyes. The sound of someone groaning nearby could be heard, and the noise made him nauseous.

  Unsure of where he was or why he was feeling so terrible, Aiden looked around with bleary eyes, noting that he seemed to be inside his room at the inn. Light was streaming in through the window, blinding him and making the room spin. Actually, the room was spinning anyway, and it was all he could do to hold on to the mattress with both hands to prevent himself from being thrown off.

  Eventually, the room settled down and Aiden celebrated by throwing up into the chamber pot nearby. He even managed to get some of it on target. He slumped down on the floor afterwards, reaching over with unsteady hands to grab a pitcher of water that was sitting on the small table near his bed. A few minutes later, he was starting to feel a little better, so he rose unsteadily to his feet and tidied up his hair.

  This was his first experience at getting drunk, and he failed to see the appeal. Flickering images of the previous evening flashed through his mind, but none of them made any sense. Across the room, Pacian was still in his bed, drifting in and out of a restless sleep and snoring loudly.

  Aiden’s hearing was playing tricks on him, for the snoring emanating from Pacian’s bed seemed to be echoing. Peering closely at his bed, Aiden realised there was actually someone else under the blankets with him. It was only when they rolled over that Aiden saw Valennia amidst the tangle of blankets.

  Shaking his head in amazement at his old friend, Aiden left Pacian to his fate and staggered out the door, heading down to the washroom. He poured a bucket of fresh water into a tub and dunked his head into the icy cold water to shock himself back to sobriety.

  The sound of people chatting casually in the common room swept over him as he walked through the door making the walk over to the bar more challenging than it should have been. He gingerly sat down on one of the stools and ordered some stew, silently hoping it was going to stay down.

  “You’re looking worse for wear, mate,” Ronan suddenly said, having sat down next to him without being noticed.

  “Don’t shout,” Aiden begged, clutching at his head, drawing a quiet laugh from the laconic sailor.

  “I wasn’t. First time, huh?” he remarked, receiving a slight nod from Aiden in reply. “Yeah I don’t remember my first time either. Anyway, I’ve got some important news for you.”

  “Can it wait?” Aiden rasped as his breakfast was presented by a waitress who was looking at him strangely.

  “If it could wait, it wouldn’t be important,” Ronan replied, looking around to make sure no one else was listening. “While you and your friends were drinking, I went out and made contact with a few old… well I wouldn’t call them friends as such, but you get what I mean.”

  “Anyway, they weren’t too interested in telling me much of anything, ‘cause since I joined the navy they think I’m practically one of the authorities. But I did manage to wring the general location of the guild’s headquarters out of them, so we need to get down there and talk with them before they find out I’ve been looking.”

  “Down there?” Aiden echoed between careful sips of stew. So far, so good, he thought.

  “The sewers, or ‘aqueducts’ if you’re so inclined,” Ronan clarified. “Back in my day, we had a nice warehouse we worked out of, but I guess times are hard for the guild and they’ve had to go underground. Pun intended.”

  “Do we actually have to wade through—”

  “No, there’s a path along the edge of the ‘river’,” Ronan assured him. “Bit smelly, but that’s part of the reason why it’s such a good place to hide.

  Aiden nodded, rubbing his temples and praying for his head to stop pounding. “Have you heard what happened yesterday?”

  “Yep, Sayana told me all about it,” Ronan replied casually. “I offered her the comfort of my company last night, but she turned me down.” Aiden felt a flash of jealousy go through his mind, but he quickly dismissed it.

  “Right, well, you know about Alan Leonson then?” he asked.

  “Mostly, yeah,” Ronan shrugged, leaning back against the bar. “He’d apparently borrowed heavily from some shady types, and they forced him to do some work for them. Word is he was trying to sell some stolen relics of the magical kind to the guild, though the deal fell through at the last minute.”

  “That’s not surprising, and those people have a connection to the assassin’s that have returned to the city.”

  “Maybe not directly,” Ronan said, scratching his chin thoughtfully. “Whoever is pulling the strings on this puppet show may have brought him in separately. Poor bastard probably didn’t even know why he had to blow up the pavement, and I bet the assassins didn’t know he was behind it either.”

  “What makes you think that?” Aiden grated, his voice sounding gravellier than it used to be.

  “If I was in charge, I wouldn’t want any one group of employees knowing who else was in on the job,” Ronan explained. “Less chance of it falling apart that way.”

  “Okay, just let me finish up here and we’ll head out. Is everyone else ready?”

  “There’s no sign of Val or Pacian,” Ronan answered with a shrug.

  “We won’t be seeing him out of bed for a few more hours, I suspect.”

  “This can’t wait,” Ronan insisted ominously. “Do we really need them?”

  “I guess we can do this without them, sure,” Aiden admitted.

  “Then we leave in ten minutes. I’ll gather the others and let them know what’s going on.”

  “I appreciate that,” Aiden thanked him. “Wait, uh, can you tell me what happened last night? The waitress keeps looking at me strangely.”

  “I left after Sayana turned me down,” Ronan replied as he stood up. “Ask Val, she was still conscious when I got back and probably saw the whole thing.” Aiden nodded, and then focused on finishing his food. With the addition of some crusty bread, he was satisfied with the meal and then set about checking his gear before walking over to the table where the others were gathering.

  Sayana must have held back on her intake, for she didn’t appear to be hung-over at all as she sat at the large table, although she did appear a little on edge for some reason Aiden couldn’t discern. Maggie was packed and ready to go, though both women looked up at Aiden with barely concealed amusement on their faces.

  “Okay, what happened last night?” he sighed, slumping down into a chair.

  “There were so many things that happened, it’s hard to know which one you’re talking about,” Maggie suggested slyly.

  “You know what? Forget I asked.” From across the room, he saw Valennia make her way down the stairs and head towards them, fully equipped and appearing to be completely sober. Maggie and Sayana exchanged a knowing glance, and Aiden was reluctant to ask further questions.

  “Look, we’re going to try and make contact with some of Ronan’s former associates,” Aiden continued as Valennia came over to stand beside him. “It involves going down through the sewer system, and I just wanted to let you know that you don’t have to come along if you don’t want to, because it’s not going to be pretty.”

  “I do not fear this ‘sewer’ of which you speak,” Valennia stated. “But I will not be going anywhere until I receive my daily payment.”

  “Oh, of course,” Aiden said, quickly going through his pouch and producing a silver noble.

  “Then you may count upon my st
eel for this quest, Aiden. May our enemies die horribly at my hands.”

  “I’m hoping it won’t come to that, but it’s always good to hear your enthusiasm,” Aiden remarked. “What about you two?”

  “I’ll manage,” Maggie shrugged. “I told you I’d help out with your task, and I mean to follow through on it.”

  “I’ll come along if you promise not to try and stick your tongue down my throat, or any waitress for that matter,” Sayana stated flatly, causing Valennia and Maggie to burst out laughing.

  “I told you I didn’t want to hear about it,” Aiden groaned, flushing red with embarrassment.

  “You Aielund men are very strange,” Valennia said with a curious look. “You talk with such bravado, but then cannot perform when the times comes.” Maggie burst out laughing again, and Sayana couldn’t help but join in, prompting Aiden to consider the benefits of joining a monastic order.

  “Wait, does that mean that you and Pace...?” he asked, suddenly realising her full meaning.

  “The pretty blond boy challenged me to a drinking match,” the Akoran warrior explained, “but after five drinks he was barely able to stand. Nonetheless, he propositioned me and I accepted his offer, but upon reaching the bed he collapsed and fell asleep almost immediately. I was not impressed.” Aiden and the ladies present shared a laugh at Pacian’s expense, but quietened down when Ronan returned with Nellise in tow.

  “Not a word of this to Nellise, okay?” Aiden whispered to the others, who agreed to keep it between themselves.

  “Sir William won’t be joining us,” Nellise said with some sadness as she placed her helmet on the table. She was otherwise fully armoured and evidently not ashamed of it anymore. “His bones are taking longer to mend that he’d hoped for.”

  “Even with all the healing power under that roof?” Aiden asked, frowning.

  “The healing energy we channel speeds up the natural process,” Nellise explained. “At Sir William’s age, his natural healing is a good deal slower than yours.”