by Simon Archer
“Sullah,” I replied with equal firmness, “Uruk is dead, so if he had a hold on these northern orcs, it’s gone now. With what’s on the line, we can’t turn aside a possible avenue of assistance. If they can use the Solas to our aid… hell, if they can join their forces with ours, we have a real chance here. We need everything we can get with a fire-breathing dragon girl in the mix.”
“That girl is something we can deal with, William,” Libritas said with simple confidence. “To turn a draconian to his side, this Weaver must have used the corrupted Brand I sensed. With my power, we can set her free.”
I grinned at that and nodded. “Lib’s right. We can probably scratch the dragon girl problem, but the rest remains.” I focused my gaze on the headman. “So, what do you say, Sullah?”
The headman’s brows screwed up, and he let out a hiss of a sigh. I thought for a moment he might relent, but then the door behind him slid open.
“Food and drinks are ready, everyone!” Suli announced with a mew, a large covered wooden dish cradled precariously in her small arms.
Sullah used that expertly as a dodge, getting swiftly to his feet to go aid his daughter. “Kauldan custom is to never speak of serious matters over food. Let us eat, and we can perhaps discuss this later.”
As he hurried to aid Suli with setting the table, Reggie and Petra both gave me sidelong glances. Petra’s was full of concern, and Reggie’s was of suspicion. I couldn’t blame either of them, but we would figure out something. Sullah seemed like a good man, so whatever his feelings about the northern orcs were, there had to be some foundation for it. That meant we could figure out a way to talk him around it.
Suli cleared away the map, carefully rolling it up as her father put the large tray on the table. “Perhaps our lady dryad has sampled our local cuisine in the past, but, William, Sir Thorpe, you will both delight in this.” He raised the polished dome lid into the air with a flourish. “Behold, roasted karush glazed with arrowfruit jam!”
Now, the reddish-green roast before us was definitely meat. Despite the bizarre color, the large, glistening cut looked perfectly cooked with a crispy layer of skin and a mouth-watering aroma that reminded me of a honey-glazed ham with a tangy hint of citrus. The meat was surrounded by what I could identify as steamed arrowfruit, thankfully already shucked from their metallic shells.
“Well, you’ll have to tell us what a karush is, but I can already guess that they are delicious,” I said with a thankful nod to Sullah. All the fighting and running around and, well, world jumping had indeed made me amazingly hungry, and we could always press Sullah later. For now, best to be thankful for this moment of safety and the delightful-smelling meal we had.
“You deserve far more than this for what you have already done for us.” Sullah smiled and nodded to us all. “Perhaps in time, we can reward you more properly. For now, though, I shall get you plates and knives.” He glanced to Suli. “Fetch the wine and glasses, dear one.”
“Of course, papa,” she mewed as he turned to the kitchen. To my surprise, she didn’t immediately scamper off on her errand but hesitated until Sullah had entered the kitchen. The moment he was out of sight, the kitten-girl ran over to me first, pushed a sliver of what felt like a corn husk in my hand, then ran off without another word.
Reggie blinked at the girl’s odd behavior while Petra tilted her head to one side. I put my finger to my lips as I put the sliver in my lap. A quick glance told me that this was a strip of the same material that was used for the map, some kind of plant fiber, and there were a few words in a scrawl.
What a time to not be able to read, but that was when Libritas came into my head.
“I let the headman have his moment earlier, William, but I can translate this. It simply states, ‘I can tell you about the orcs tomorrow.’”
I glanced up as the kitchen doors swung open again and nodded slightly. “Then that’s what we’ll do, Lib,” I sent back to her. “For now, I’m going to enjoy some karush.”
It turned out that the roasted karush was just as delectable as my eyes and nose told me it would be. The well-marbled meat was perfectly seasoned, and while its taste was unique, it combined the best elements of pork and beef as it melted in my mouth. The arrowfruit glaze added a counter-note of sweetness to the savory meat to top off the entire dish. The steamed fruits themselves were firm and tangy like an orange had a baby with a banana, and then Suli and Sullah brought forth a platter of piping hot flatbread, well, if bread was green outside of St. Patrick’s Day.
“Cholla,” Petra supplied the moment she saw the curious look in my eyes. “The fields of grain we saw on our way here is the source of this bread.”
“The finest bread in all Solanna,” the headman pronounced proudly. “When our barony was strong, many would come by our little village just to sample our cholla.” He picked up a piping hot piece with ginger fingers, then used it to pick up a chunk of the karush. “Eat it like this, eh?”
I was tempted to ask about the implications of that, but no doubt that would be considered serious business by Sullah’s eyes. I cast a sidelong glance at Sir Thorpe, the man who had journeyed the length and breadth of Earth and walked among a dozen cultures, to follow his lead. Reggie caught my glance and made an almost imperceptible shake of his head as he grabbed a piece of cholla himself.
“You eat like an Etrian, my friend,” Sullah said with a hearty laugh as Reggie did exactly as the headman had.
The sign was clear. Reggie thought it was in our best interests not to push the cat-man now. It made sense. These people were our only allies here past Petra, and to break their traditions, even if they were being used to deflect a topic, would only sour a relationship that needed to be strengthened. I smiled and grabbed a piece of bread myself, and that’s how our dinner went.
Despite the threat looming, there was something to be said for good food and fine company. Past his hang-up about the orc tribes, Sullah Sona was in every other way as exemplary of a host as any I’d had, and Suli was full of precocious questions and charm. An hour and a half passed before I knew it, and as Suli cleared the table, Sullah led us to one of the side chambers.
At first glance, it appeared to be an empty room, but I caught the shelves along the far wall filled with a variety of blankets, cushions, and what looked to be folding tables, chairs, and other furniture. Clever. To make up for a limited floor plan, this room was essentially modular, with storable furniture for every occasion.
“The accommodations may not be lavish, but the blankets will be warm and your sleep untroubled,” Sullah proclaimed. “I do not know your customs, Uplanders, but we Kauldans rise before dawn most days, and with the work that needs to be done, we will rise all the earlier.”
“Wake us then, Sullah,” I said as the others nodded in agreement. “We’re all in this together, and I think Petra and Sir Thorpe will be incredibly helpful in both rebuilding and fortifying Kaulda.” I hooked my thumbs on my belt. “I’ll help too, but they’ve got the knowledge and magic. Me, I’ve just got a strong back.”
Reggie laughed at that. “Don’t sell yourself so short, my boy.” He nodded to Sullah. “Regardless, he speaks the truth. We shall rise as your native sons and daughters do, Master Sona.”
Petra added a delicate bow to that, and it was more than enough for Sullah. “Good night to you then, heroes of Kaulda. With the next rise, our real work begins.” With a final salute, the brawny cat-man slide the door shut and left us alone to sleep.
After a few moments, his padded footsteps disappeared into the rest of the house, and we turned to look at each other. Petra looked hopeful while Reggie was more pensive.
“We should do what Sullah suggested and sleep,” I said, resting a hand on Lib’s hilt. “Think about what we can add to our plan. Things will clear up in the morning, I’m sure.” Before Reggie could voice the protest I saw in his eyes, I put a finger of my free hand to my lips as I gestured for everyone to huddle up. Apparently, that was a universal concept because
Petra leaned in as close as Sir Thorpe did.
“I know there’s something up with this orc thing,” I said in a low whisper, “and I’m with you, Reg, we probably need those tribes on our side.”
“Then perchance we should figure out a plan to change our host’s mind now, and press him about it as soon as possible” Sir Thorpe suggested, matching my low tones. “Time is of the essence.”
Petra shook her head, though. “Good sir knight, I would normally nod to your age and experience, but Sullah is a ferynx.” She didn’t bother waiting for our questioning looks before explaining more. “Most ferynxes are very prim and proper, orderly and disciplined. Most of the time, this is a good thing, but orcs are more… primal, much like we dryads, but to a more violent degree. That doesn’t make them evil, though it does mean they are easily tempted by the Black Runes...”
“But it does make for serious culture clash with the ferynxes,” I finished for her. “So a hard sell will only piss him off.” Reggie and Petra both frowned in concern at that, but I continued, “Don’t worry though. Suli slipped me a note, said she could explain everything about the orcs tomorrow.”
“Hopefully this new information will be enough.” Reggie let out a faint sigh and rubbed his whiskers. “Then there’s little else to be done for it. I think past enlisting outside help, our path is clear.”
“So, we should sleep then,” Petra chimed in as she turned for the shelves of bedding and blankets. “Make sure to bundle up. The night’s grow cold here on the plains!”
11
True to Sullah’s words, all of Kaulda rose early, before the twin suns broke the horizon, and set to work. The local tradition seemed to also include an interesting take on food carts, as some of the locals wheeled about a wagon loaded with steamed, meat-filled cholla buns and a piping-hot beverage they called zym, something so close to coffee that I wondered if it was a transplant from our Earth. The elf in charge was named Pallu, and yes, he was an honest-to-God fantasy elf that looked like he stepped off the set of Lord of the Rings. Pallu refused anything in payment from me, or anyone else, for the food and drink. That was just how things were done here, and I smiled at the charity of it.
Much of the morning’s work was grim. We went through the burned buildings, both to clear away debris to begin reconstruction and to find the last few of the dead. As Sullah had noted, the main granary was a complete loss, and a good third of the Kauldans were left homeless in the aftermath, but even amidst all this darkness, there was a spark of joy. Around mid-morning, Petra and I had the luck to find a family of three that had managed to find shelter in a cottage before it collapsed, trapping them in a root cellar. Between some good old-fashioned muscle from yours truly and Petra’s vines, we freed them, and that alone was grounds for an impromptu celebration among the townsfolk.
By mid-day, the twin suns of Etria were beating down on us all, leaving those of us that weren’t photosynthetic hot, sweaty, and ready to take a break in the shade. Thanks to Reggie and Sullah’s combined organizational skills, the collective spirit of the Kauldan people, and Petra’s plant-shaping magic, almost all the damage had been cleared away, and the burnt timbers and ashy membranes were swept into piles at the western edge of the village for the craftspeople to pick over. I was right in the thick of it as well, helping out wherever another strong back or sharp mind would be of service.
As I sat under the shade of Sullah’s porch with Reggie, sipping at cold well water and picking at a selection of fruits Petra had given us, the dryad laid down in the town square, eyes closed as she seemed to drink in the sunlight. She was even more beautiful to me today than she had been before as if every day of freedom caused her to blossom brighter. Lib’s mark in the center of her chest certainly seemed to glow stronger, I noticed.
“The people here truly have a very communal attitude,” Reggie noted as he nodded to where Pallu led his wagon filled with fresh food among the resting workers. “Kind hearts and strong arms too. As much as I wish I didn’t have to teach them the art of war, I think they will take to it well in defense of their homes.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “I feel the same, but at the same time, freedom is something worth fighting for.” I glanced over at my old friend. “After we eat, I’m going to try to find Suli. I know you and Petra can handle starting the rebuilding and fortifications, and the sooner we know the truth about the northern orcs, the better.”
Sir Thorpe snapped me a sharp salute. “You can count most assuredly on us both, William.” He frowned thoughtfully as he relaxed in his chair. “You do realize, though, that even if we win this, rescue the Weaver’s slave and beat back his army, this is just the very tip of our work here?”
“Of course.” I flashed him a grin as I picked out a piece of earthfruit. I was already growing fond of this unique Etrian take on a sweet potato. It was juicier and more flavorful than the Earth variety and was more like eating a jam-infused roll than anything else. “You’re game for it, right? I recall you’re the one who refused to stay behind because you’d run out of adventure.”
“Indeed,” Reg replied as a sparkle of excitement flashed in his old eyes. “To be quite honest, I couldn’t be happier, even with imminent danger at every turn… but you’re young yet. Clever as you are, I want to be sure that you know the enormity of this. Might be positively endless, you know.”
I nodded as I took a big bite of the sweet fruit and chewed thoughtfully. After I swallowed it down, I smiled. “Sounds like the best thing I could do with my life, Reg.”
As he nodded and tucked into his lunch with seriousness, Libritas sang in my head. “It is, and I thank you for being so noble as to offer your service, William. Your father would be proud.” Her mental contact brought to mind something that had been worrying at the back of my head all morning, so I brought it up before I lost track of it in the work and bustle of the afternoon.
“Lib, you told me that your power of freedom not only breaks these brands, like Petra had but also frees people to be their best selves,” I began mentally as I took another delectable bite of earthfruit. “So, is there some reason why I shouldn’t mark everyone in Kaulda with you?”
Even as I sent it, I felt that the very idea of it was wrong in some elemental way.
“That... is a dangerous path to suggest,” she sent, her mental voice strained with temptation. “At the height of my power, I could have done as you wish, put my own brand on every sentient creature across Etria… but I would ask you a question in return.” There was a long pause as if she seemed to take in a deep breath that a length of steel certainly couldn’t take. “Is Freedom truly free if it is forced at the point of a brand?”
It was an interesting question, and instead of snapping off my first reply, I mulled it over slowly as I chewed. The implication was clear. Forcing any kind of emotion on anyone was a violation, positive or not. That made me wonder if Lib’s brother and sister Brands had been as responsible for their fall as the Black Runes. They had all been positive emotions and ideals once, and the strange hunger that tinged her voice when I brought this up hinted that they hadn’t resisted as Libritas had.
“I see your point, Lib.” I popped the last hunk of earthfruit into my mouth. “We’ll keep the branding to those who are already enslaved.”
“Thank you, William, for your understanding.” Lib let out an ethereal sigh. “If I were to fall, all hope for my world would be lost.” She perked up a little. “But even in my weakened state, know that I shall give all that I can to our cause!”
God, I loved the speed of mental communication. Reggie was barely half-way through his meal, light as it was, despite how much Lib and I had already discussed.
“I know you will, and I’ll give back one-hundred percent,” I sent back with a smile. Across the square, Petra stood up and stretched while the rest of the village got ready to get back to work, and on the far side, I caught sight of Suli skipping towards us.
“In this, we are united. Some of my gifts are more subtle,
as you will find out. Of particular note is my ability to open your senses to the chains that bind others and restrict their freedoms, and not simply the physical ones. The mental and emotional ones as well.” Libritas hummed at my side with pride. “After all, if you wish to break the chains to free people, you must be able to find them.”
“That’s probably one of the most awesome abilities ever,” I sent as I pushed up off the edge of the porch. “In fact, after we talk to Suli, I want to take another crack at Sullah with your help.” After a wave to Suli, I glanced back at Sir Thorpe. “Keep an eye out for Sullah for me, Reg, and run interference until I get back.”
“Very good, Master William,” he said as he rose as well. “We shall keep our esteemed headman busy with supervising the construction of a new wall for this fair town.”
Petra met me half-way as I walked into the square. She laid a hand on my chest, her smooth fingers setting a tingle through me as she smiled. “And what would you like me to do to help?”
I returned that smile and ran my fingers down her cheek. Her skin was smooth and flawless under my fingers, and I resolved then and there that if I could somehow manage it, we would have a quiet moment to sort things out, just the two of us.
“You have the critical role of creating that wall, Petra.” I pulled back my hand. “I don’t know exactly how you feel about using trees for, well, building materials, but I trust you’ll give Kaulda the best defenses possible.”
“I will do my very best to ensure the safety of these people.” Petra nodded firmly and patted my chest one more time as she slipped past me. “Just as I know you will too.”
I nodded back as Suli skipped right up to me. “I just hope I’ll get the answers we need.” As I turned to the little cat-girl, her ears flicked forward as she reached up toward my right hand.