by Leah Putz
“You’ve got it,” Jion replied.
“Thank you all.”
“Now, when is dinner?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Did we not just eat at the village?”
“That was at least three hours ago, come on!” Jion complained, standing and tossing Siofra and I each a brand new water skin.
“You’re right, you’re wasting away,” the Prince joked. “We’ll get started on dinner.”
The rest of the evening was spent in good spirits. We ate, joked, laughed, and felt ever so slightly lighter. With this first victory, though small, came the feeling that maybe what we were setting out to do really was possible.
As soon as we had arrived back at the camp I had put my walls up, but it was getting less strenuous to maintain them, so I didn’t even have to worry about a possible migraine.
Shortly after the sun went down, we went our separate ways to head to bed. Though Ailee had assured us the volunteers would arrive in the morning, we were unsure of the exact time. I wanted to make certain I was awake prior to their arrival so I could give the rest of the camp a heads up of when to expect them, as well as try to get a read on them as soon as they were in range. After making a quick stop at the creek to grab a drink and fill up my water skin, I made my way to my small shelter and prepared for bed.
As I drifted off to sleep, thoughts of the prince clouded my mind. Though he still filled me with annoyance at moments, I was starting to understand his mindset and his drive. Part of me even felt a little guilty for the way I had treated him, especially in Loch prior to our departure. As my eyes fluttered shut, I thought that I should set aside some time tomorrow to apologize.
Anything but restful, my sleep was plagued with unnerving nightmares. When I awoke, I had no memory of exactly what had transpired in them, but I was left with a strong feeling of unease. Shivering, I tried to shake it off as I got ready for the day. Before leaving my personal shelter, I double checked my walls, making sure I was prepared to go into the heart of camp. Knowing I would have to probe each new member of our party after their arrival, I wanted to make sure I preserved as much of my energy as possible prior. Once I felt confident that I was prepared, I headed out of my isolation and into the camp.
As I entered camp, I noticed that the sun was already high in the sky. “What time is it?” I asked, thinking of how long I must have been sleeping.
“I’d imagine it’s nearing noon,” Viktor replied. He was in the process of gutting a deer that I assumed he and Jion had killed this morning. “I thought about sending Siofra to wake you, but I figured you may need your rest. I imagine it’s fairly taxing to have your mind open as long as it was yesterday.”
“Yes, it is,” I said. “Thank you for not waking me.”
He gave me a small smile and nodded. After a moment, I gathered up my courage and continued, “I want to apologize.”
He paused in his work, brow furrowing in confusion. “For…?”
“For the way I treated you in Loch. It’s difficult leaving home. I think I took out a lot of that stress on you, especially when I didn’t agree with you or understand your motives or purpose. I understand a bit more now, and I just want you to know that despite the way I may act sometimes, I respect you as our leader. And our future king.” I felt the blush creeping into my cheeks as I spoke. It’s not easy for me to set aside my pride to apologize, and I felt a bit embarrassed to be opening myself up in such a way.
His eyes widened in what I assumed was surprise, but he didn’t answer right away. Briefly, I wished I had opened my mind before having this conversation, just so I could get a better read on him, though deep down I knew that would have been an invasion of privacy. Finally, after what seemed like ages, he replied. “Thank you very much, Lisalya,” he said in answer, before ducking his head and returning to his work. I smiled in relief, thankful that the weight had been listed off my shoulders, but also that Viktor accepted the apology so easily and we were able to move on from the uncomfortable conversation.
“Where are the new soldiers?” I asked looking around the camp and seeing it empty apart from Vik and me. “Have they not arrived yet?”
“They have,” he answered, standing and strolling over towards me. “Breakfast?” he said when he reached me, handing out a piece of meat and gesturing to the fire.
I took it with a smile and a thanks. “So if they’ve arrived, where are they?!”
“They’re with Jion and Siofra and a few other members of the crew. They took them to a clearing nearby to test their fighting abilities. I imagine they should be back fairly soon, they left a while ago. I did tell Siofra to send them back one at a time; I was hoping you may be awake by then and thought it may help to have them enter one by one for you to get a reading on them, rather than all coming back at once.”
“That will help,” I said, cooking the piece of meat he gave me. “It’s a lot easier for me to get a sense of one person than a group of them. How many turned up?”
Vik grinned brightly. “Sixteen. More than we anticipated. It’s a very encouraging turn out. Hopefully they will all be assets to our team.”
“Fantastic! And do you know when we will be going out on another excursion?”
He shrugged. “I’m not positive, but I think we should stay put for a few days. I want to make sure our new team members are comfortable, and we feel confident in them, before we go out and try to gather more people. We can use this time to grow the camp and get a bit more settled. However, if you could, in your spare time, try to search and find the next group we will target.” He trailed off, seeming unsure if what he was asking was being conveyed properly with his words.
I couldn’t help but chuckle at his lost expression. “Yes. I understand what you mean, and yes, I will check. I’m not sure, but I think we’ll have to go further afoot to find the next group. When I reached out and found the last village, I didn’t sense anyone else in a similar vicinity.”
“I imagine we’ll have to go further and further each time. Based on the map Ailee showed us, this base camp is within a few days march from Nul, so I don’t want to move it. Plus that would be a waste of valuable time. We may have to venture out on overnight trips as needed.”
“How many trips do you anticipate we’ll need?” I asked, examining my meal and deciding it was done cooking and ready to eat.
“I’m not sure to be honest. I think we’ll have to play it by ear as we go. We don’t know how much we’ll grow each time. I want to continue until we’ve amassed a few hundred people at least.”
I made a noise of affirmation, too intent on my meal to speak until I finished. “That was delicious,” I said, wiping my mouth with my hand.
Viktor laughed, and for the first time as I gazed at his boxy smile it struck me how handsome he was, with his long silver hair pulled back and his blue eyes shining. “One of the new recruits is a chef, and he brought with him a box of seasoning. With his permission, I seasoned that before I gave it to you.”
“Ah, that explains it. Thank you,” I said, just as a stranger emerged from the forest and strolled up to the fire.
“Normisle, welcome back!” Viktor said, standing and bowing to the young man. He glanced at me, hinting that this was my opportunity to begin my task. Nodding in acknowledgement, I bowed my head and closed my eyes. Focusing, I broke down the barriers I had built up last night, and honed in on the young man who had taken a seat near Vik at the fire. I didn’t probe too deeply, not wanting to invade his privacy, but I dipped in enough to get a sense of where he was at. I felt apprehension, but also pride. He believed in the cause he had joined, and was willing and eager to see it through to the end, even though that came with a sense of melancholy at the thought of leaving home and uncertainty for what the future may hold. Not to mention fear of retaliation should the mission fail.
When I opened my eyes, I glanced at Viktor. He was embroiled in a conversation with Normisle, but when he got a chance he snuck a look at me, and I gave him a smal
l nod of approval.
This process continued as each of the sixteen new members of the company approached camp one by one. There was a relatively even mix of male and female, and most seemed to be between the ages of nineteen to forty. Though each person was slightly different in personality and feel, the overwhelming sense of all of them was quite similar, and I didn’t feel concerned that any were there for the wrong reasons, or were in danger of betraying us. The woman were especially eager to join us, for I got the sense that sometime in recent years Siglind had put in place some sort of laws restricting their rights. When the prince pulled me aside for a report, I relayed this information to him.
“Yes, I heard tell of that,” he said. “A few years ago he released a proclamation stating that women were the property of their father until marriage, at which point they would become property of their husband. It’s barbaric, honestly.” My jaw dropped. I was shocked at the idea women could be reduced to ‘property.’ Each new thing I heard about Siglind reinforced the idea that we were doing the right thing in protecting our country from such a man.
“I’m very glad to hear that they’re all with us undoubtedly,” he said, relief flowing off him in billows. “Jion and Siofra reported that though they aren’t quite at the level of the Doctsland soldiers we’re used to, they are decent fighters. Most are farmers, but there is a sense of constant danger in Bushand that Nulian soldiers will show up and try to drag people off to the city for work, so they’ve learned to protect themselves, despite Siglind’s law banning weapons.”
“How awful,” I said. “That they live in fear of their own countrymen.”
“Yes, it is awful. But hopefully we’re able to do something about that,” the prince replied with an encouraging smile.
The next few days were spent just as Viktor had intended. We focused on the camp, and making sure we had provisions for our growing numbers. I took the opportunity to learn as many new skills as I could during this time, going on a hunting trip with Jion, helping to finish the rest of the replacement water skins, and even assisting in building a second, and larger, shelter, as well as a small individual shelter for Viktor. And, of course, I kept up on fighting practice with Jion and Siofra when there was time. Once, when they both were busy, I even had a sparring lesson with the Prince.
“I’m not as good as Jion or Siofra, so go easy on me, please,” he said, brandishing his blade out in front of him with a smile.
I raised Gaisgea with my right hand, proud that I could now lift it single handedly, and an eyebrow. “Who shall make the first blow?” I asked, attempting to distract him. I was pleased when it worked.
“Who do you wa- Hey!” he said, scrambling to block me as I swiftly moved forward to strike. “Distraction techniques should be off limits!”
“No they shouldn’t! What does Siofra always say? Battle holds nothing but distraction. That's the only way to practice that will teach you anything.”
“Siofra isn’t always right,” he complained, keeping up effortlessly with my attacks despite what he said about not being a great fighter like his guards.
I raised my eyebrows.
“Okay, okay. Maybe she is,” he acquiesced with a laugh. We moved throughout the camp, taking turns working on offense and defense, until it was time for dinner. Our chests heaved as we finished, and Prince Viktor clapped me lightly on the back as we returned to the fire. “You’ve greatly progressed. I’d say you’re now a soldier of Doctsland.” I couldn't help but beam at his praise.
***
It only took a few days for us to begin to get restless and a bit uneasy. We had grown comfortable at camp, and I felt confident that we had done enough to ensure the new volunteers felt comfortable as well. We had also expanded the camp area to accommodate more individuals. The time had come.
When Viktor asked Jion, Siofra, and I to gather together near my shelter, we all sensed what was coming. “Alright,” he began. “I asked you here because it’s one of the only remaining spots in the camp separate from everyone else. We can have some privacy. Lisalya, thanks for donating your space, sort of.”
I stifled a laugh at his word choice. “Not a worry. Is it time for another excursion?”
“Yes,” he answered. “I feel that we’ve spent enough time here, making sure the new team members assimilate and expanding the camp to allow for growing numbers. We can’t waste any additional time here. We’ve got to get back out there.” He turned to me. “Have you had a chance to locate our next targets?”
I had tried previously, but wanted to make sure of the position of those I had found. Squeezing my eyes tightly closed, I focused all of my energy into my task. One at a time, I closed out each of those I recognized. Once that was done, I began to spread my awareness, opening the boundaries of my mind to try to reach out and locate someone new nearby. It was slow work, and work that I was only recently growing accustomed to. At home I had no need for such a skill, and though I practiced as much as I could on the journey, there was no one else to find on the open water, despite how large I tried to cast my nets.
Here, though, there was someone else to find. I had to reach further than before, but eventually I began to feel the tendrils of another consciousness, multiple to be exact.
“I have,” I affirmed. “They’re a bit further away, it will take more time to get to them than the previous group.”
“How far?” Jion chimed in.
“I’d say about a two or three hour walk.”
Viktor nodded, mulling this information over. “I think we should still try to do it in one day. An overnight trip is dangerous, and I wish to avoid it if at all possible. This will make for a long day, but I believe it’s manageable.”
“I agree,” Siofra added. “Lis, can you tell how large this group is?”
“No, not exactly. I believe it to be a larger pocket of people. A small town, perhaps? I cannot be too sure.”
“Let’s plan for an average size town, then we can be prepared for anything,” Viktor said.
“We need to bring more soldiers with us.” Siofra asserted. “If we’re looking at a town this time, we can’t rely only on the four of us in case things go sideways. We need some backup.”
“I hear you, but I’m concerned about appearing threatening,” Viktor said.
“So we bring a handful of backup soldiers and have them wait outside the town while we negotiate. We can call them in with a signal if need be, but we won’t be showing up to their door with an army,” suggested Jion.
“I don’t love it. There may be a delay when they’re trying to get to us to help us,” Siofra expressed.
“I don’t love it either. What if the townspeople catch wind and feel threatened?” Viktor countered.
“Great. If you’re both unhappy, that means I’ve found a reasonable compromise. We’ll go with this plan. Are we done now?” Jion said.
Viktor laughed, though it was a bit humorless. “Yeah, we can be done now. We’ll leave a bit before sunrise tomorrow. Does that work for everyone?”
When we all nodded, he stood. “Wonderful. Now let’s all get a good night’s sleep, and pray that tomorrow’s journey goes as well as our previous one. Jion, before bed can you rally up that handful of soldiers you were talking about? Preferably a mix of our original crew from Doctsland and Bushand soldiers. You can pick whoever you want, but no more than fifteen soldiers, please.”
I went to bed feeling slightly uneasy, though I was unsure why. I felt confident in our plan, and I couldn’t discern the source of my tension. For some reason I took comfort in the fact that I would be once again carrying Gaisgea with me tomorrow.
***
Siofra’s polite knock woke me from what had been a restless sleep. It was still dark out, but that was to be expected. In a very similar fashion to the previous excursion, we ate a light breakfast together by the fire, and then set off. The main difference being that this time the regular crew was accompanied by thirteen additional soldiers. True to Viktor’s request, J
ion had grouped together a mixture of the new volunteers and our original crew, though our Doctsland crew made up the majority. I thought this was a smart move, in case things go sour and the Bushand soldiers decided to side with their countrymen.
Before our departure, Viktor ran through the plan once more with everyone involved, ensuring that each understood his or her place in today’s journey. Those left behind at the camp were instructed to continue making room for expansion, and to spar with each other to increase their fighting potential. Once he felt assured everyone was in accordance, we left the camp.
Viktor and I made up the front of the party so I could guide him in the right direction, while Jion and Siofra made up the rear. I closed my eyes and opened my walls, focusing on the minds of those I had identified yesterday, and then we were off. I kept my mind trained on the thin wisps of consciousness I had snagged, letting them pull me in the right direction. I noticed that as we traveled deeper into Bushand, the forest I’d grown used to near our camp lessened. The chopped stumps of former trees sprinkled the landscape, and the earth seemed somewhat trampled and scorched. “What is this?” I asked Viktor as we walked.
He chewed his lip in concerned consideration. “I’m not sure exactly what this is or why it has happened, but I can tell you it’s Siglind’s doing. He’s so hellbent on advancement in Nul, new weapons, new tools, he is plowing through the forest of the countryside to grow his army. I had heard tell of it from Bushanean envoys sent to update my step-mother on her son and her country, but I didn’t really understand what it meant. Seeing it, especially after seeing the beauty of the beach where we landed, is quite heartbreaking,” he explained, and the sorrow rippling off of him confirmed his words.
Though the distance was further, the journey seemed to fly by fairly quickly. As we got closer the nervousness that had plagued me the night before returned, and it did not go unnoticed.
“What’s wrong?” Viktor asked, glancing at my worried expression.